BRIEF ON IRAN No. 417 Tuesday, May 21, 1996 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Governor General of Tabriz Admits Unrest, Radio Israel, May 19 Following the reports in recent days from circles inside Iran and Iranian opposition abroad regarding unrest in [northwestern] city of Tabriz, the speech of the governor general of the city was published in state-run daily Salam in Tehran. In his speech, he effectively confirmed the widespread unrest, gatherings and protests of demonstrators. In this speech he blamed Mahmoud Ali Chehregani, Tabriz's candidate for Majlis, for leading the unrest... The governor of Tabriz called the protesters saboteurs who wanted to disturb the elections process and the security to pretend our city is in discontent. He then added the group of protesters most of whom did not even know Azari [the ethnic language of Tabriz residents] and were brought from out of province to maneuver in Tabriz. But the alertness of authorities and decisive reaction of security forces ended this episode.... On the same time, Salam reported that security agents attacked several "operational houses" and arrested a number of people who had ties with Chehregani... Fearing Uprising Khamenei Calls for Further Restrictions in Universities, Iran Zamin News Agency, May 20 Khamenei the leader of Iran's mullahs in his meeting with higher education authorities called for "further Islamization" of Iranian universities. In his statement published in Sunday newspapers, Khamenei said that higher education authorities must replace professors who fight against "holy values" of the regime, and substitute them by elements loyal to revolution. He then added "Islamization of universities is necessary, essential and inevitable." Mullahs' Push for More Intolerance, BBC Radio, May 18 The daily newspapers Jomhouri Islami and Ressalat criticized that Islam is not yet implemented in Iran. Jomhouri Islami in its editorial wrote that the universities are not yet purged of Westernized professors and Western textbooks. This paper does not consider the media as Islamic... Ressalat newspaper wrote that in the past 17 years Hezbollah has adequately mastered the [handling of nation's] affairs and it is time that the Islamic system rid itself of experts who are slaved to Western thoughts... Pro-Rafsanjani Paper About to Shut Down, BBC Radio, May 19 In an editorial, the daily Akhbar published in four pages, wrote that after a year of waiting for the paper quota appropriated by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, it has no choice but reducing the number of pages. The paper added that its next issue will be in two pages which is a prelude to the shutdown of this paper. Akhbar, which during parliamentary elections supported the candidates of [pro-Rafsanjani] Servants of Construction, apologized to its readers and promised to dedicate the next issue only to complaints, wishes and their desires. Iran Bans Critical Islamic Weekly, Reuters, May 20 TEHRAN - Iranian authorities have banned a popular radical Islamic weekly known for exposing corruption three months after dropping an earlier ban, a newspaper reported on Monday. The daily Kayhan quoted Ali Akbar Ashari, a spokesman for the Press Review Board that oversees the printed media, as saying the state body stopped publication of Payam-e Daneshjoo (Student's Message) for "repeated violation of the Press Law."... Kayhan said the ban was based on articles of the law which deal with publishing un-Islamic material, causing division among people and insulting officials.... Payam-e Daneshjoo has gained popularity by publishing stories criticizing high officials. It recently accused relatives of Rafsanjani of corruption and charged Iran's largest state-affiliated economic conglomerate with mismanagement. 30 Lashes for Family Feud in Public, Agence France Presse, May 20 According to a newspaper close to the government, a man and his ex-wife were sentenced to 30 lashes by a court in Tehran for publicly arguing. At the time of divorce, the guardianship of their three children was turned over to the husband, as is the case in most divorces in Iran... The newspaper added that the divorced couple were quarreling on this issue before their children in a park. The judge sentenced each one to 30 lashes to teach them to "observe etiquette in public."