American Thinker: Last month, an anti-government riot erupted in Tehran following a soccer match between Iran and Japan. Eye-witnesses reported that the regime used special anti-riot units to crackdown on the 100,000-strong crowd. Young people set tires alight in nearby squares after the match.
Defeating misogyny in Iran
Ottawa demands Kazemi investigation
The Globe and Mail: Stung by opposition charges that it has been too soft on Iran, the Martin government launched an aggressive diplomatic push yesterday for a new investigation into the torture, rape and murder of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi by Iranian security forces in 2003.
Rice: Keep eye on Iran, N. Korea
AP: The world might never know precise details about nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea but must not “under-react” because of incomplete intelligence, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview yesterday. Speaking about last week’s scathing report by a presidential commission studying U.S. spy agencies, Rice said she could not guarantee that U.S. intelligence was on the mark now, as the Bush …
Tehran-Paris ties widening?
Reuters: Iran and EU powers have made progress in talks on ensuring Tehran’s nuclear program cannot be used for weapons, Iran’s president said Tuesday, singling out France for special praise.
“I am sure that today we are closer to a settlement, to a solution, than a while ago,” President Mohammad Khatami said after 90 minutes of talks with French President Jacques Chirac.
Iran bans parliamentary reporter
BBC: The conservative-controlled parliament in Iran has barred an investigative journalist from its premises after revealing MPs’ huge pay and bonuses. Iran’s independent press association accused the chamber of censorship. The journalist, Massih Ali-Nejad, works for an Iranian news agency, ILNA, and a reformist paper, Hambastaghi.
Canada demands Iran return photojournalist’s remains
AFP: Canadian Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew on Tuesday telephoned his Iranian counterpart to demand the return of the remains of photojournalist Zahra Kazemi who died in Iranian custody. “This morning, I phoned the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran,” Pettigrew told the House of Commons, a day after lambasting Tehran over its denial that the 54-year-old dual Iranian-Canadian citizen had been tortured and murdered.
Iranians turn out in force to decry Khatamis Paris visit
Iran Focus: Paris, Apr. 05 Thousands of Iranians marched in downtown Paris today to protest the visit to France by the Iranian regimes President Mohammad Khatami. The demonstration was organised by the French anti-racist movement, MRAP, and the Movement for Peace, two of the largest non-governmental organisations in France.
Iranians turn out in force to decry Khatamis Paris visit
Iran Focus: Paris, Apr. 05 Thousands of Iranians marched in downtown Paris today to protest the visit to France by the Iranian regimes President Mohammad Khatami. The demonstration was organised by the French anti-racist movement, MRAP, and the Movement for Peace, two of the largest non-governmental organisations in France.
Iran insists it will retain nuclear programme
Reuters: Iran will not abandon nuclear activities, despite its negotiations with the EU about ensuring its nuclear programme cannot be used for weapons, President Mohammad Khatami has said in an interview. But it will continue for now to discuss the issue with Europe and the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, Khatami told Tuesday’s edition of French newspaper Le Figaro.
Grits weak on Kazemi case: Harper
The Edmonton Sun: The federal government was complicit in a systematic coverup of the “barbaric” treatment of Zahra Kazemi, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper suggested yesterday. Blasting the “weak” Liberal reaction to gruesome details Canadian officials had received months ago, Harper accused the government of being part of Iran’s whitewashing of the case.
