Back to Brief on Iran
UNITED NATIONS - Pledges by Iranian President Mohammed Khatami to improve human rights and the withdrawal of threats against the life of British author Salman Rushdie have yielded few real changes in Iran, according to the United Nations.
Maurice Copithorne, the U.N. human rights rapporteur for Iran, argues that women's rights, minority rights and even the Rushdie affair have been largely unaffected.
He noted that the deal between Iran and Britain in September "met with a fairly violent negative reaction" within Iran. Also it has failed to discourage Iranian groups from continuing to threaten the author.
"The Iranian government itself says that nothing has changed" in its policy on Rushdie, Copithorne added. More significantly, the 15th of Khordad Foundation -- a non-governmental group which the envoy said includes members who have influence in the government -- raised its bounty on Rushdie's life from $2.5 million to $2.8 million last month.
"There is quite a bit of evidence that the 15th of Khordad Foundation makes no distinction between non-governmental and governmental policy, Copithorne argued. He told IPS he intends to take up the concern when he next meets Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi.
The record for women's rights, which were poor even before the 1979 revolution which replaced Shah Mohammed Reza Pehlevi with Khomeini, continues to be bad, he said.
In particular, he noted that married women require their husbands' consent to acquire passports; that they do not have equality with men in divorce; and that they still face "hijab" (or head covering) laws that are strictly enforced.
Human Rights Watch has noted that last year, for example, the judicial center which issues guidelines on the Islamic dress code ruled that women who wore a "thin or short scarf" or otherwise used coverings which do not hide the hair or the back of the neck could face fines, three months in prison or 74 lashes.
Strikers Lock Out Management at Troubled Iranian Textile Mill, Agence France Presse, November 16
TEHRAN - Workers at a troubled textile mill in northern Iran locked out the firm's director and other managers after roughing them up on Monday, strikers told AFP.
Some 2,500 staff are on strike at the mill in Qaem Shahar, in the Caspian Sea province of Mazandaran. The strike was called on Sunday to protest against nonpayment of wages and alleged mismanagement of the mill.
Iran's textile industry has been hard hit by the sharp economic downturn sparked by the slump in world oil prices.
Mills in Mazandaran province have been hardest hit and many face bankruptcy and closure.
Industrial unrest is not uncommon in Iran but is rarely reported in the state-run media.
Iranian labor law does not recognize a specific right to strike.
Budding Revolutionaries Quizzed on The Great Satan, Agence France Presse, November 12
TEHRAN - Budding Iranian revolutionaries are in line for major quiz prizes if they can answer questions about the "dark side" of US history and provide suggestions on how best to give the "Great Satan" a "big slap in the face."
A revolutionary group is offering unspecified "valuable prizes" to anyone giving the correct answers to 40 questions about Iran's great enemy, the United States, especially in its relations with the Islamic Republic.
The quiz -- "What is the US thinking?" -- has been compiled by the Islamic Propagation Organization and published in three of the country's more conservative newspapers to test Iranians on their knowledge of America's historical misdeeds.
The quiz-masters have also asked: "Why does the US government insist on negotiating with the Iranian government?" "What is the best way for freedom lovers to give superpowers, particularly the United States, a big slap in the face?" and "Why are the Zionists so powerful in the United States?"
Iran's supreme political and religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly poured cold water on any suggestions for US-Iran negotiations.
Gasoline Consumption In Iran Up 5.9 Percent, Xinhua, November 15
TEHRAN - The average daily consumption of gasoline in Iran increased by 5.6 percent during the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year, a senior Iranian official announced Sunday.
To meet the growing demand, the government imported a total of 900 million liters of gasoline during the seven months.
Experts and officials have repeatedly warned that there would be no excessive crude oil for export if the current growth of domestic consumption continues.