Turkey Inside Line: New Anti-PKK Equipment; Waiting for an Apology from Israel

According to the Turkish daily Milliyet, Turkish officials want to buy the BiScopic Protection System for use against members of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) crossing the border from Iran, Syria and especially Iraq. This radar system has both visual and thermal cameras selecting small images up to 1 megapixel.

Meanwhile, according to Israel's Yedioth Ahronot, a senior Turkish diplomat has said that an apology letter, covering tensions in Israeli-Turkish relations, was written jointy by Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer  and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at their secret meetings this spring. The official said that the letter was sent to the Israeli government to be approved but barred by a minister.

When the Ben-Eliezer meeting with Davutoglu was revealed, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called it a blow to his trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Turkish diplomat stated that Israel had made an important step by supporting the UN investigation committee into May's raid on the Freedom Flotilla and added that Ankara is still looking forward to an awaiting apology letter and a compensation amount to the families of nine dead activists. The diplomat continued:

People's memories are short. They forget Erdogan's visit to Israel and Israeli President Shimon Peres' talk in the Turkish Parliament (TBMM). If there had been an anti-Israeli policy, would we have done these? We are in a weird situation because of this between two friends. If Israel was an enemy, we would not mind and if our aim was to cut the ties, we would have done it already!

Iran Special: Political Prisoners, Election Fraud, & The Regime's Backfiring Propaganda

Two weeks ago we wrote about a curious episode inside Iran. Fars News posted a video which claimed to show prominent reformist and former Deputy Minister of Interior Mostafa Tajzadeh, who had just been returned to detention in Evin Prison, "confessing" to three other men that Mir Hossein Mousavi had lost the 2009 Presidential election.

The effort fell apart pretty quickly. The video was clearly not from Evin, and the audio showed signs of manipulation. Tajzadeh's camp said that the remarks from the reformist had been edited together and did not refer to the 2009 election --- EA correspondents have subsequently confirmed that the audio, if not the video, is probably concerned with the 2005 Presidential vote. (We have not been able to access the video since 20 August; Government supporters assert that it can still be seen inside Iran.)

NEW Iran Document: Karroubi on Election Fraud and Repression (29 August)
Iran Video Special: Have Fars (& Revolutionary Guard) Faked a Reformist “Confession” on Election?

We thought that was that, although the regime maintained its attempt to break Tajzadeh, blocking any contact between him and his family for 11 days after he was returned to prison.

We were wrong. Yesterday a Government supporter eagerly wrote me, "What excuse can you provide for us now?" He linked to an item from Iran Newspaper on Network (INN). A student activist, Said Rajavi Faqih, had supposedly said in an interview that Tajzadeh's "election confession" was true: the reformists knew they lost the 2009 elections.

The only problem with the INN piece? Almost none of it was true.

EA correspondents quickly found the Rajavi Faqih interview in Rooz Online and did some other checking of sources:

1. Razavi Faqih actually said that a) while Tajzadeh doubted fraud the day after the June 2009 election, he was immediately imprisoned and so had no additional information about the manipulation; b) when Tajzadeh received the information after he was temporarily released, he changed his mind; c) Tajzadeh is now convinced of a massive “mohandessi”, i.e. a complete plan for election-rigging, long before election day. (Indeed, we reported two weeks ago that Tajzadeh had said this, just before he was summoned back to Evin.)

Razavi Faqih, for his part, denounced the regime’s efforts to regain legitimacy one year after the elections — by distorting Tajzadeh’s earlier remarks — and concluded that after a creeping coup the Islamic Republic is neither Islamic nor a republic anymore.

2. While he is an activist, Razavi Faqih is not linked to Tajzadeh and is no position to know first-hand of Tajzadeh’s beliefs or to act as a spokesman for him. (It should also be noted that Razavi Faqih is currently under duress inside Iran, with his passport taken from him so he is unable to return to Paris, where he usually resides.)

3. The reliable, “official” spokesperson for Tajzadeh is his wife, Fakhrosaadat Mohtashamipour. In a post on her personal weblog on Saturday, she published a statement that Tajzadeh managed to relay to her during their first visit since he returned to prison. In that message, he refers without reservation to election “fraud” and a “coup”.

That message is now making its way around the Internet. Tajzadeh is challenging Government supporters to a public debate over the election's legitimacy --- Mehdi Karroubi made a similar statement yesterday --- and asked the regime, if it was so confident, had not dared to publish the "seven pages" he has written in prisons detailing his thoughts.

So it appears that this latest propaganda effort, like the Fars video, will soon fizzle out. (Government supporters are doggedly pursuing the line that Tajzadeh must have made his confession in private, as his father-in-law has denounced his wife for publishing Tajzadeh's claims of a "coup".)

The INN attempt, however, takes a small place in a wider, more important story. The regime has been trying to break Tajzadeh for some time by getting him to publicly make a confession or distance himself from the reformists. When he refused to do so, he was summoned back to Evin and the Fars video was posted. He was then cut off from all contact with his family for 11 days. Still he refused to bend — unlike other figures like former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi who, at least temporarily, did so — and so the campaign against him, which included the “confession” that he has refused to make, continues.

Tajzadeh is not the only target, of course. One could add the names of other reformist politicians, journalists, and activists who have not only been told that they should be quiet, if they are to be freed, but also that they should renounce the opposition movement and testify to the Government's legitimacy.

And here is the even wider story. Tajzadeh and colleagues are counter-attacking. Two weeks ago, just before he was returned to detention, Tajzadeh joined six other reformists in the complaint --- supported by the leaked audio of a Revolutionary Guard commander setting out measures for repression of the opposition before and after the election --- that fraud had been carried out. That complaint is now being prominently featured by other critics of the Government, with Mehdi Karroubi's statement the latest volley against the regime, the Guardian Council, and the security forces.

So the curious paradox of the Government propaganda effort. A few weeks ago, I would have said that the issue of the 2009 election --- while still contested by the opposition --- had been superseded by broader questions of justice and rights. After all, there is no possible way, given the Government's suppression of the evidence, to find out how many votes each candidate actually received on 12 June 2009.

But now, with its fumbling attempts to post "confessions" or to at least break its opponents, the regime has opened itself up to more, rather than less, attention to the claims of fraud.

Where those claims will head --- to public protest or merely to the simmering of the fire under the ashes of post-election Iran --- is unknown, of course. But they are out there: opposition has not been "broken".

Israel-Palestine Opinion: Hamas, Northern Ireland, and US Diplomacy (Abunimah)

Abu Abunimah writes in The New York Times:

George J. Mitchell, the United States Middle East envoy, tried to counter low expectations for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations by harking back to his experience as a mediator in Northern Ireland.

At an Aug. 20 news conference with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, announcing the talks that will begin this week, Mr. Mitchell reminded journalists that during difficult negotiations in Northern Ireland, “We had about 700 days of failure and one day of success” — the day in 1998 that the Belfast Agreement instituting power-sharing between pro-British unionists and Irish nationalists was signed.

Israel-Palestine: The Hamas Factor (Yenidunya)

Mr. Mitchell’s comparison is misleading at best. Success in the Irish talks was the result not just of determination and time, but also a very different United States approach to diplomacy.

The conflict in Northern Ireland had been intractable for decades. Unionists backed by the British government saw any political compromise with Irish nationalists as a danger, one that would lead to a united Ireland in which a Catholic majority would dominate minority Protestant unionists. The British government also refused to deal with the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, despite its significant electoral mandate, because of its close ties to the Irish Republican Army, which had carried out violent acts in the United Kingdom.

A parallel can be seen with the American refusal to speak to the Palestinian party Hamas, which decisively won elections in the West Bank and Gaza in 2006. Asked what role Hamas would have in the renewed talks, Mr. Mitchell answered with one word: “None.” No serious analyst believes that peace can be made between Palestinians and Israelis without Hamas on board, any more than could have been the case in Northern Ireland without Sinn Fein and the I.R.A.

The United States insists that Hamas meet strict preconditions before it can take part in negotiations: recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by agreements previously signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, of which Hamas is not a member. These demands are unworkable. Why should Hamas or any Palestinian accept Israel’s political demands, like recognition, when Israel refuses to recognize basic Palestinian demands like the right of return for refugees?...

Read full article....

US Culture: A Burned Mosque Site Far from New York City

CBS News reports:

Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville [Tennessee] suburb.

Ben Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department confirmed to CBS Affiliate WTVF that the fire, which burned construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, is being ruled as arson....

US Politics & Religion: A Way Forward on and beyond the Islamic Cultural Centre (Ezell)

The chair of the center's planning committee, Essim Fathy, said he drove to the site at around 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning after he was contacted by the sheriff's department.

"Our people and community are so worried of what else can happen," said Fathy. "They are so scared."

The fire was smoldering by the time Fathy and the center's imam, Ossama Bahloul, had arrived. Fathy was told that responders had smelled gasoline near the fire....

Digging had begun at the site, which was planned as a place of worship for the approximately 250 Muslim families in the Murfreesboro area, but no structure had been built yet, according to Saleh Sbenaty, a member of the planning committee and a professor of engineering technology at Middle Tennessee State University.

"This is a shock," said Sbenaty. "We've had small act of vandals. But this is going to be a crime and whoever did it, they should be punished to the full extent of the law."

The center had operated for years out of a small business suite. Planning members said the new building, which was being constructed next to a church, would help accommodate the area's growing Muslim community.

"We unfortunately did not experience hostilities for the 30 years we've been here and have only seen the hostility since approval of the site plan for the new center," said Sbenaty.

Opponents of a new Islamic center say they believe the mosque will be more than a place of prayer; they are afraid the 15-acre site that was once farmland will be turned into a terrorist training ground for Muslim militants bent on overthrowing the U.S. government.

"They are not a religion. They are a political, militaristic group," Bob Shelton, a 76-year-old retiree who lives in the area, told The Associated Press.

Shelton was among several hundred demonstrators who recently wore "Vote for Jesus" T-shirts and carried signs that said "No Sharia law for USA!," referring to the Islamic code of law.

Others took their opposition further, spray painting a sign announcing the "Future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro" and tearing it up....

The Latest from Iran (29 August): The "Hidden Imam" Circle

2050 GMT: Larijani v. Ahmadinejad (Foreign Policy Edition). Well, we started the day with a story of Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani against the President, so let's close with one....

On Sunday, Larijani implicitly criticised Ahmadinejad's appointment of four special representatives, including Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, for foreign policy affairs, telling reporters, “I have not had the chance to ask the Foreign Ministry about the rationale behind this decision."

Larijani added to the jibe by saying that under current conditions, foreign policy issues must be dealt with more vigilantly.

Larijani is far from alone in his concern. On Saturday, Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Parliament's National Security Commission, which he chairs, is concerned over the appointment of Mashaei due to his lack of expertise and the number of posts that he holds.

The former Iranian ambassador to China and Pakistan, Javad Mansouri, has also said the appointment of inexperienced people as special envoys is “irrational”. He added that the role of the Foreign Ministry, as Iran’s ambassadors do not know whose orders they should follow.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, appearing on Sunday before Parliament, was caught up in heated exchanges over the issue.

NEW Iran: Ahmadinejad Attacks Rafsanjani & “Corrupt” Foes; “Overthrowers Have Not Been Punished Yet” (Kamdar)
UPDATED Iran: Tehran Declares Readiness for Nuclear Talks?
NEW Iran: An Ayatollah's "Larijani is a Jew" Declaration
Iran: Obama Rejects a Public “Red Line” on Nuclear Capability (Porter)
Iran Music Special: The Kanye West No-War Rap
The Latest from Iran (28 August): Music, Sanctions, and Science

2045 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Women's rights activists Maryam Bidgoli and Fatemeh Masjedi have each been given one-year sentences for “spreading propaganda against the state, through collection of signatures for changing discriminatory laws and publication of materials in support of a feminist group which works in opposition to the Regime.”

Bidgoli and Masjedi are both members of the One Million Signatures Campaign for women's rights.

1850 GMT: No Religion in the Islamic Republic? Kalemeh, the website linked to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reports that Mousavi supporters were prevented by security forces from holding a Ramadan religious ceremony in Mashhad.

1845 GMT: And the Answer Is.... You cannot imagine my excitement just now when I read the Press TV headline, "Ahmadinejad Reveals Source of All Crises".

I'm thinking Britney Spears. Or Justin Bieber. Yes, definitely Justin Bieber.

Alas, not only am I wrong but the President's answer is far more mundane: "Monarchic regimes and hegemonic powers are the source of all global crises."

1835 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Shohreh Taghati, the wife of imprisoned lawyer Mohammad Oliyaifard, has said her husband cannot appeal his one-year sentence --- handed down for speaking to foreign media about Iranian juveniles facing the death penalty --- because the verdict has not been formally given to him.

Oliyaifard was sentenced in February and has been in detention since March.

1830 GMT: The Gasoline Squeeze. Ali-Reza Zeighami, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company, has said Iran is about to increase its gasoline production significantly, reaching a target of 191 million litres of gasoline a day.

Iran, according to Zeighami, currently produced 45 million litres of gasoline daily, with 64 million litres being consumed. He warned that, if a gasoline rationing plan is not implemented, the consumption will increase to 100 to 120 million litres a day.

Zeighami said most of the increase in gasoline production plan will occur by the end of the Fifth Development Plan (2015).

1820 GMT: The Purge of the Universities. Minister of Science, Research and Technology Kamran Daneshjoo, who is responsible for higher education, says, "The enemies are making efforts to replace the Islamic atmosphere in [Iranian] universities with their liberal democratic environment."

Daneshjoo's remarks follow last Sunday's statement by Ayatollah Khamenei to university students in Tehran that higher education institutions have become the main "target" of plots by foreign powers.

Daneshjoo said Tehran would publish evidence proving the involvement of several foreign intelligence agencies in efforts to "negatively influence" students.

The Press TV article quoting Daneshjoo does not mention that Iranian authorities have replaced about 20 heads of higher education institutions in recent months.

1440 GMT: Parliament v. Government. Sources report to Tabnak that the impeachment effort against Minister of Energy Majid Namjoo has been halted.

1418 GMT: Protesting Executions. Footage has been posted of a protest in Washington DC yesterday, with EA's Josh Shahryar criticising the stoning of prisoners.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzKlAxwQ4I[/youtube]

The International Committee Against Stoning has posted reports of demonstrations in other cities around the world.

1415 GMT: Education Watch. Teachers have protested in front of the Parliament over the dismissal of 120,000 colleagues across Iran.

1410 GMT: Lots happening in Iran on both the domestic and international fronts --- we've got two new features. An update brings the latest on Iran's confused but possibly hopeful position over nuclear talks with the US, while Nazanin Kamdar reports on an apparent Ahmadinejad outburst threatening former President Hashemi Rafsanjani and "corrupt" foes.

0915 GMT: Economy Watch. Iran's Statistics Centre reports that 730,000 land labourers have lost their jobs during the last five years. Causes include no loans, no government support for purchase of harvests, and escalating imports.

0905 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch (Nokia Siemens Edition). Kaveh Shahrooz provides extensive legal background on the lawsuit filed by detained journalist Isa Saharkhiz and his son Media against Nokia Siemens Networks for selling and providing surveillance technology to Iranian authorities.

0805 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Persian2English reports on detained Kurdish activist Rahim Rashi, who is on Day 38 of a hunger strike.

0800 GMT: We've got a story you don't see everyday: "An Ayatollah's 'Larijani is a Jew' Declcaration".

0720 GMT: Oops! The President's Foreign Policy Guys. Khabar Online reports the first mis-step for the four special representatives appointed by the President's office this week. Hamid Baghaei, Ahmadinejad's deputy for Asia, called he mass murder of Armenians a "genocide". That caused an uproar in the Turkish media, and Foreign Minister Mottaki's explanatory phone call reportedly did not convince his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu.

705 GMT: Too Dangerous to Remember Khomeini? For the second year in a row, Iranian authorities have cancelled all religious ceremonies for "Qadr nights" at the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, scheduled for mid-September. Clerics who normally preside include former President Mohammad Khatami, former Presidential candidate Nategh Nouri, and Hashemi Rafsanjani ally Hassan Rohani.

0635 GMT: Reconciliation? Last Sunday we were watching as President Ahmadinejad and Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, brought together by the Supreme Leader, declared co-operation.

This Sunday we are reading the statement of Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman of the Guardian Council: "We have to pray that the Government implements the Majlis' laws. The Guardian Council cannot do anything else."

Kadkhodaei added that Parliament has abided to the laws and that there has to be a resolution between the Government and Majlis within weeks. If that did not come, then the Supreme Leader had to make decisions.

MP Elyas Naderan, a leading critic of the Government, has protested that the President is trying to establish "unilateral unity". Naderan said that, as the Supreme Leader declared, unity does not mean the constant retreat of one side.

Mehr reports that an arbitration committee is trying to resolve the disputes.

0630 GMT: Khatami Intervention. Former President Mohammad Khatami has declared that a just Government cannot use its monopoly on arms to oppress its citizens and that its most important duty is to defend their rights.

0615 GMT: We start today by noting a most provocative report: Mohammad Javad Haghshenas, the manager of the Etemade Melli newspaper, raided by Iranian authorities and closed last autumn, claims there is an "Urumiyeh Circle", consisting of President Ahmadinejad and close advisors. This group all believe in and pursue policies based on the return of the 12th "hidden" Imam.

According to Haghshenas, the circle began with Ahmadinejad, key advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, and 2005 Presidential campaign manager. Later adherents include Sadegh Masouli, now Minister of Welfare, and the President's controversial Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai.

Haghshenas adds that Rahim-Mashai was in the Minister of Intelligence but was dismissed because of his messianic views. He says "Ahmadinejad loves [Rahim-Mashai] more than normal and gives him multitude of offices to solidify his position as next President".

Wow, what a claim. Who could dare publish this? Surely some newspaper outside Iran, connected to the Greens, reformists, and/or Ahmadinejad's bitterest foes?

Nope. The report is featured in Khabar Online, connected to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and now --- given the sweeping ban on reformist and Green media --- the effective opposition newspaper inside Iran.