Spotlight on Iran
Spotlight on Iran
Spotlight on Iran
Spotlight on Iran
Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Ali Ja’fari
Another income source for the young: kidney trade flourishing
Website filtering policy
Turkey’s foreign minister on an official visit to Iran
Turkey’s foreign minister on an official visit to Iran
Turkey’s foreign minister on an official visit to Iran
Turkey’s foreign minister on an official visit to Iran
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Highlights of the week
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Debate over Revolutionary Guards’ involvement in politics reignited after Revolutionary Guards chief’s interview to Mehr
The remarks made by Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Ali Ja’fari against Iran’s former president Mohammad Khatami during an interview given last week has rekindled the debate over the Revolutionary Guards’ involvement in politics. In an interview to Mehr News Agency, Ja’fari argued that only those who had not crossed the "red line” could take part in elections, and that Khatami did not pass the test he had faced during the riots that broke out following the presidential elections in 2009.
Ja’fari’s remarks drew strong criticism from top reformists, who accused him of inappropriate involvement in political affairs, in contradiction to the constitution and the political will of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic revolution, who had prohibited the armed forces from taking part in politics.
Mohammad Reza Khatami, the former leader of the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front and the former president’s brother, sent a strongly-worded letter to the Revolutionary Guards chief, arguing that he did not have the legal, juridical, or religious authority to set conditions for any citizen’s participation in political activity.
Hojjat-ol-Eslam Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, the reform-minded grandson of the founder of the Islamic revolution, also criticized Ja’fari’s remarks. According to a report published on the reformist opposition website, Khomeini wrote a Facebook post wondering whether the Revolutionary Guards chief did not see himself and the organization he heads committed to Khomeini’s instructions and the principles of the revolution. The report could not be verified.
Senior conservatives, however, expressed support for the statement made by the Revolutionary Guards chief. Judiciary chairman Sadeq Amoli Larijani claimed that, under the constitution of Iran, the Revolutionary Guards are not just a military body, but also an element responsible for protecting Islam.
Yadollah Javani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards political bureau, also stepped forward in defense of Ja’fari, saying that the Revolutionary Guards are charged with the responsibility of acting against the reformists as part of their responsibility of protecting the revolution. According to Javani, Ja’fari’s remarks on the role played by Khatami in the 2009 riots does not constitute intervention in political affairs, instead being a revolutionist reaction in the context of the Revolutionary Guards’ efforts to contend with the factions threatening the revolution and the regime.
Subsidy policy reform as seen by an Iranian citizen: housewife’s letter to Ahmadinejad
This week the conservative daily Khorasan published a letter sent by an Iranian housewife to President Ahmadinejad. In the letter, subsequently published on other websites, the woman describes the financial difficulties she is facing as a result of the subsidy policy reform, launched about six months ago.
She says that she supported the president when he announced the reform, believing it would make things better for Iran’s poor. Unlike the rich, who consume a lot of energy, the poor do not require that much energy, and she therefore believed that the cash benefits distributed instead of the subsidies would let the poor improve their economic situation. However, when the cash benefits were paid and the subsidies were cut, the prices went so high that the subsidies were barely felt at all, and the financial situation of the poor became worse.
"I’m no economist and I don’t understand the meaning of economic growth or single-digit inflation,” the housewife wrote, saying that the prices of meat and fruits increased so much that it’s no longer possible to have them on the table.
"Believe me, the beautiful, good reality that you present on television,” the woman wrote to the president, "is not the reality with which we are struggling.” She said that while she still considered Ahmadinejad the protector of the weaker sectors of society, he had to weigh all aspects of every decision he made, because people’s lives are too short for trial and error.
Another income source for the young: kidney trade flourishing
Iran’s media reported this week that kidney trade is on the rise, particularly among young people. Mehr News Agency reported that many young men and women become involved in the unofficial market of kidney trade, driven by unemployment and the need to finance their routine expenses, including weddings. The price of a kidney on the unofficial market can reach 10 million tomans (about 9500 dollars).
In an interview to Mehr News Agency, the director of the Association for Support of Kidney Patients in Kermanshah Province said that the phenomenon of young people, mostly aged 20 to 30, willing to sell a kidney to secure income is prevalent in the province due to the lack of economic opportunities there. Many even travel to Iran’s larger cities, particularly Tehran, to get a higher price for their kidney.
In recent years Iran has become one of the world leaders in kidney trade, with various estimates suggesting that thousands of Iranians sell their kidneys every year as a result of economic distress. In 2006 Iran legalized kidney trade to tighten government control over the process; however, the export of kidneys from Iran is still forbidden.
Website filtering policy: Google Plus network blocked;
report on plan to unblock Facebook denied
ISNA news agency reported this week that Google Plus, Google’s recently-launched social network, has been blocked by the authorities, making it impossible for Iranians to access it.
At the same time, the Tabnak website reported that this week the Ministry of Telecommunications launched a new system for filtering search results on the Google and Yahoo search engines. The launch of the new system was apparently the cause for the unblocking of several usually blocked websites for several hours on the morning of Monday, July 11.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the committee responsible for setting website filtering criteria denied a statement made last week by a senior cyber police official, according to which, in the future, the committee may unblock the Facebook network. Abdolsamad Khoram Abadi claimed that the issue was not on the committee’s agenda, and that none of its members was authorized to make independent decisions on the matter.
Debate over Revolutionary Guards’ involvement in politics reignited after Revolutionary Guards chief’s interview to Mehr
The remarks made by Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Ali Ja’fari against Iran’s former president Mohammad Khatami during an interview given last week has rekindled the debate over the Revolutionary Guards’ involvement in politics.
In an interview to Mehr News Agency, Ja’fari addressed the possibility of Khatami and the reformists returning to political life, arguing that only those who had not crossed the "red line” could take part in future elections. The Revolutionary Guards chief said that Khatami, by supporting reformist opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, did not pass the test he had faced during the riots that broke out following the presidential elections in 2009. Ja’fari added that Khatami should distance himself from the stance he had adopted following the elections, and that, in his view, the public would not forgive him for his conduct (Mehr, July 5).
Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Ali Ja’fari
Ja’fari’s remarks drew strong criticism from top reformists. Mohammad Reza Khatami, the former leader of the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front and the former president’s brother, sent a strongly-worded letter to the Revolutionary Guards chief, saying that he was in no position to decide who may take part in political life, and that he did not have the legal, juridical, or religious authority to set conditions for any citizen’s participation in political activity. Ja’fari should not become involved in political matters and follow Ayatollah Khomeini’s decree that prohibited the armed forces from taking part in politics. Khatami referred to Ja’fari’s remarks as reflecting a "military coup government” where the military commander is the one who makes the laws (Jaras, July 7).
Hojjat-ol-Eslam Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, the reform-minded grandson of the founder of the Islamic revolution, also strongly criticized Ja’fari’s remarks. According to a report published on the reformist opposition website, Khomeini wrote a Facebook post about his grandfather’s political will, in which he had banned the military from involvement in politics. Hassan Khomeini wondered whether the Revolutionary Guards chief did not see himself and the organization he heads committed to Khomeini’s instructions and the principles of the revolution (Kalemeh, July 7). Earlier this week, the Imam Khomeini’s Heritage Center, headed by Hassan Khomeini, issued an announcement saying that Khomeini did not have a Facebook page and that the report on the remarks he had allegedly published there was untrue (Tabnak, July 7).
Former reformist Majles member Emad Afrugh also criticized the Revolutionary Guards chief’s involvement in political matters, saying that the Revolutionary Guards’ involvement in politics and economy was a mistake that kept them away from their main objective and compromised their role in guaranteeing unity (Kalemeh, July 7).
Senior conservatives, however, expressed support for the statements made by the Revolutionary Guards chief. Judiciary chairman Sadeq Amoli Larijani claimed that, under the constitution of Iran, the Revolutionary Guards are not just a military body, but also an element responsible for protecting Islam (Saham News, July 6).
Conservative Majles member Hamid Rasa’i strongly criticized Mohammad Reza Khatami for his letter to Ja’fari, saying that protecting the revolution also falls within the Revolutionary Guards’ responsibility. In an interview to Fars News Agency, Rasa’i said that the Revolutionary Guards had faced the enemies of the revolution whenever its interests were threatened. He accused Khatami of reiterating statements formerly made by the opposition organization Mojahedin-e Khalq (Fars, July 8).
Yadollah Javani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards political bureau, also stepped forward in defense of Ja’fari, saying that the Revolutionary Guards were charged with the responsibility of acting against the reformists as part of their responsibility of protecting the revolution. In an interview to the Neda-ye Enghelab ("Voice of the Revolution”) website, Javani said that the attack on Ja’fari stemmed from the conclusion the reformists had reached on the main part played by the Revolutionary Guards in their defeat in the 2009 riots. According to Javani, Ja’fari’s remarks on the role played by Khatami in the events of 2009 does not constitute intervention in political affairs, instead being a revolutionist reaction as part of the Revolutionary Guards’ efforts to contend with the factions threatening the revolution and the regime (Neda-ye Enghelab, July 10).
Mojtaba Zolnour, the Supreme Leader’s former Revolutionary Guards representative, also expressed reserved support for Ja’fari’s remarks. The power to decide who may or may not enter politics rests with the Guardian Council, not the Revolutionary Guards, Zolnour said. However, protecting the revolution and its accomplishments is considered one of the Revolutionary Guards’ responsibilities, and they are entitled to express their opinion on general political issues even though they are not permitted to act in a partisan context. He added that Ja’fari’s remarks were not indicative of his support for any particular political party (Alef, July 8).
In recent years, and particularly following the 2009 presidential elections, the reformists have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of the Revolutionary Guards’ growing involvement in politics and the economy. In election campaigns held in Iran in the past decade, senior Revolutionary Guards officials have openly and publicly took the side of the conservative candidates, opposing the reformists. Following the riots that broke out in the summer of 2009, senior Revolutionary Guards officials joined others who demanded that the reformist opposition leaders be brought to trial.
Subsidy policy reform as seen by an Iranian citizen: housewife’s letter to Ahmadinejad
This week the conservative daily Khorasan published a letter sent by an Iranian housewife to President Ahmadinejad. In the letter, subsequently published on other websites, the woman describes the financial difficulties she is facing as a result of the subsidy policy reform, launched about six months ago.
"I am an Iranian Muslim woman,” the letter began. "I do not understand the meaning of ‘right’ or ‘left’, nor am I a politician. I am a woman and a mother, and like all other women and mothers I have to keep the wheels of my life turning.”
"Mr. President, when you ran in the election with slogans about justice and defending the oppressed, a ray of hope was lit in my heart that after years of war and "reconstruction,” [the period of reforms imposed by former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, after the war against Iraq 1989-1997], that you would ease our lot a bit.”
The housewife writes that she supported Ahmadinejad when he insisted on launching the subsidy policy reform. Unlike the rich, the poor have no huge houses, villas, swimming pools, and hot tubs that require tremendous energy expenses, no luxury cars that consume a lot of fuel. She was certain, therefore, that the cash benefits would be enough for her day-to-day living expenses. But when the cash benefits were paid and the subsidies were removed, everything became so expensive that the cash benefits were not even felt, and the increase in the price of goods exceeded the cash benefits paid to the citizens.
"I am no economist,” she wrote, "and do not know the meaning of economic growth and single-digit inflation, but I see that meat has gotten so expensive that we must banish it from our lives. We have to teach our children not to ask for fruit any longer, because we cannot afford to buy it for them.”
"Mr. President, the price increases are breaking the people’s backs. Prior to the subsidy policy reform I believed that, once implemented, it would make the tables of the poor more diverse, but now I see that our tables grow barer every day. I can’t have meat on the table because I can’t afford it. And now we have to get used to getting by without milk [referring to the recent increase in the price of milk under the subsidy policy reform].”
"A senior official recently interviewed on television was asked what would happen if people could no longer afford milk due to its high cost, leaving it on the shelves and hurting the farmers. The official responded that, in that case, the milk would be turned into a milk formula and exported abroad. This means that, as far as he is concerned, it doesn’t matter that people can’t consume milk and children suffer from a lack of iron and calcium and even die.”
"I am not educated enough to be able to express an opinion,” the housewife writes. "I do understand, however, that the subsidy policy reform does not imply a complete elimination of the subsidies. It is meant to remove the subsidies on goods and services consumed less to require people to save money, and at the same time to increase the subsidies on goods and services consumed more. Removing the subsidies on milk, a widely-consumed product, is not the right thing to do, and if subsidies on fuel are removed, the subsidies on public transportation must be increased to encourage people to use it.”
"Mr. President, low income and the high costs are embarrassing all fathers before their children, and bringing us to our knees. Believe me, the beautiful, good reality that you present on television is not the reality with which we are struggling. I know that you devote all your abilities and efforts so that we can live our lives more comfortably. As someone who voted for you, I still consider you someone who protects the weak and disadvantaged classes in society. However, I beg you to weigh all aspects of the decisions you make, because our lives are too short for trial and error, and because the Iranian people have already endured enough tests in their lives. Signed, Ma’soumeh Kamali.”
Another income source for the young: kidney trade flourishing
Iran’s media reported this week that kidney trade is on the rise, particularly among young people. Mehr News Agency reported that the drop in the price of kidney transplant surgery led to a rapid expansion of the kidney trade market. Many young men and women become involved in the unofficial kidney trade market, driven by unemployment and the need to finance their routine expenses, including weddings.
The increase in the number of kidney patients in Iran, and the relatively small number of patients who suffer brain death (whose kidneys may be used for transplants) draw more attention to the possibility of selling a kidney than before. 2285 kidney transplant procedures were performed in the past Iranian year (2010-2011). In 1690 cases the kidney was donated by a healthy volunteer; the remaining 595 procedures were performed after receiving a kidney from a patient who had suffered brain death.
Dr. Iraj Najafi told Mehr News Agency that 10 to 15 million Iranians suffer from kidney disease, and that many of them are unaware of their illness. The high incidence of kidney diseases in recent years has led to a significant increase in the number of dialysis patients and kidney transplant procedures.
As a result of the severe kidney shortage, many Iranians express their willingness to sell a kidney for financial gain. The price of a kidney on the unofficial market may reach 10 million tomans (about 9500 dollars), and many are willing to pay even more for a healthy kidney. Iranians living abroad and suffering from kidney disease are willing to pay as much as 50 to 100 million tomans to obtain a kidney.
Ad written by a 25-year-old man (B positive blood type) offering a kidney for sale (http://rooyekhat.blogspot.com/2010/11/blog-post_22.html)
In an interview to Mehr News Agency, Hossein Biglari, the director of the Association for Support of Kidney Patients in Kermanshah Province, said that the phenomenon of young people, mostly aged 20 to 30, willing to sell a kidney to secure income is prevalent in the province due to the lack of economic opportunities there. He noted that a kidney can be traded for as high as 6 million tomans. According to Biglari, the association he heads attempts to dissuade many young people from selling a kidney; however, due to the critical need of transplants, it has no choice but to put these people on the list of potential donors.
Biglari added that Kermanshah has become a kidney "exporter” to other provinces in Iran, and that many young people from Kermanshah travel to Iran’s larger cities, particularly Tehran, to try and get a higher price for their kidney (Mehr, July 9).
In recent years Iran has become one of the world leaders in kidney trade, with various estimates suggesting that thousands of Iranians sell their kidneys every year as a result of economic distress. In 2006 Iran legalized kidney trade to tighten government control over the process; however, the export of kidneys from Iran is still forbidden. Dozens of NGOs have been established to coordinate and control the process; some of them receive government aid.
In April 2009 the director of the Association for Support of Kidney Patients in Iran said that over 50 percent of kidney donors in Iran were young people in their mid-20s willing to donate a kidney for financial gain.
Website filtering policy: Google Plus network blocked;
report on plan to unblock Facebook denied
ISNA News Agency reported this week that Google Plus, Google’s recently-launched social network, has been blocked by the authorities, making it impossible for Iranians to access it (ISNA, July 11).
At the same time, the Tabnak website reported that this week the Ministry of Telecommunications launched a new system for filtering search results on the Google and Yahoo search engines. A source in the Ministry of Telecommunications told the website that the launch of the new system was apparently the cause for the nationwide internet malfunctions on Monday, July 11. Prior to that, several Iranian websites had reported that all the websites normally restricted by the authorities suddenly became unblocked on Monday morning. For several hours Iranians had free access to all websites. The block was reinstated several hours later (Tabnak, July 11).
Meanwhile, Abdolsamad Khoram Abadi, the chairman of the committee responsible for setting website filtering criteria, denied that the committee may unblock the Facebook network. A top cyber police official claimed last week that the authorities may consider unblocking the social network if the level of public awareness on appropriate internet use increased. In this context, Abdolsamad Khoram Abadi said that the committee had made no decision to unblock Facebook, and that the issue was not on its agenda. He added that no committee member was authorized to make independent decisions on the matter. Such decisions should be made by a majority vote of the committee’s thirteen members, he said, and only the prosecutor general—the committee chairman—may publish its decisions on restrictions imposed on websites.
Khoram Abadi also discussed the use of Facebook itself, saying that defining the use of the social network as a "criminal offense” depends on how it is used. If the network is used for spreading information that compromises state security, offends the sanctity of Islam, or undermines morality, then it is considered a criminal offense. Referring to a statement made last week by a top cyber police official who said that, in itself, the use of Facebook was not a criminal offense, Khoram Abadi argued that it was not true. He called on Iran’s senior officials to avoid expressing views that may encourage young people to access websites openly hostile to the regime (Aftab News, July 9)
Pictures of the week: Turkey’s foreign minister on an official visit to Iran
