SOS IRAN

r. Iman Foroutan
Executive Director
Iran of Tomorrow Movement
imanf@sosiran.com

Office: 818-986-0200
Fax: 818-474-7229
24-hour Message Center : 888-SOS-IRAN
www.sosiran.com

Reza Pahlavi Offers Senators Three-Pronged Approach on Iran

Confront and Pressure the Regime,
Support the People




Hosted by US Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL) Reza Pahlavi of Iran affirmed the world needed to focus on the big picture regarding the crisis facing his homeland, proposing an integrated three- pronged policy approach to the clerical regime of Iran. Offering his views to US law makers, he said "the best way to deal with the Iranian regime is by confronting it, pressuring it, at the same time supporting the Iranian people."

Elaborating on his three point policy recommendation, the Iranian opposition leader said "Where ever the regime is up to mischief, it needs to be confronted." Prefacing his second point by emphasizing that meaningful pressure needed to be applied on the regime in such a way as to avoid hurting the Iranian people, he prescribed "a progressive set of smart and vigorous sanctions targeted at the economic, political and personal interests of the regime's inner circle and power base." The third and what he referred to as the most critical point of his policy recommendation was the need for the "free world to provide unapologetic and robust support for the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people."

Rejecting war as a policy option, the former jet fighter pilot said, "the option of war must be taken off the table." Pronouncing "endless diplomacy" as equally ineffective, he said "it has been fruitlessly pursued, with the full weight, backing and prestige of the
European Union, Russia, the UN and the United States for several years now, only resulting in the clerical regime's inching closer to its objectives of acquiring WMDs." Pahlavi reminded his audience that the Iranian regime had been dangerously emboldened by "the lack of resolve it has seen amongst practitioners of international diplomacy on Iran."

Agreeing that war was not an option, Senator Santorum said, of Reza Pahlavi: "He is a leading and enthusiastic advocate of the principals of freedom, democracy and human rights for his countrymen;" adding that "Reza Pahlavi has upheld the honor of his country in a time of upheaval and darkness."

Marking the second of such appearances, in recent days, Reza Pahlavi was joined, last week, by Senator Brownback (R-KS) and Congressman Sherman, (D-CA) at a press event, at which the forty six year old Iranian leader introduced torture victims and former political prisoners of the Iranian regime converged in Washington to protest the U.S. tour of former Islamist President Khatami. At that event, Senator Brownback introduced the "Iran Human Rights Act," while Congressman Brad Sherman criticized the Bush administration's approval of Khatami's visit, calling it an appeasing concession to the clerical regime of Iran.

Earlier this summer, as part of his continuous campaign against the clerical regime, Reza Pahlavi was received at the French National Assembly where he addressed over 40 French lawmakers, pressing them and other senior policy makers on issues relating to the democratic movement in his homeland.

Asked what role he envisioned for himself, Reza Pahlavi said "my function is that of a catalyst -- raising global attention to our national plight, and helping bring the Iranian opposition together." He added "my goal is to enable my compatriots to participate in an all inclusive, transparent national election, beyond this regime, whereby they can choose their form of government; beyond that, should the Iranian people embrace my vision of a secular, modern and democratic system of constitutional government, I will be honored to serve."

Leading a campaign of political defiance against the militant Islamist regime of Iran, Reza Pahlavi is the former Crown Prince of Iran. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force training program, has a political science degree from the University of Southern California and has authored Winds of Change, The Future of Democracy in Iran. He is married and is father to three daughters.

Salman Rushdi is Out! Pope is In!

ُ

Sheema Kalbasi:



In a world where taboos have run out of their juicy sausages and children grow out of their rattles everyday ... we have to fear what we (as a Muslim or a non Muslim) say about Islam or Muslims. Ok! Pope is the Pope and one expects much more from a religious figure than his racist mindset has disclosed to us publicly (what was that about Christianity blossoming in Europe and not in the Middle East because of social and cultural... something... something... and problems of multicultural coexistence? -- he is German, right?!) but he has the right to say what he wants... and there is some truth... to his remarks on Islam too... but it needs to come from the Muslims. I hope he will outlive David Irving's prison sentence and the Mujahideen Army's suicide attacks. Jesus Chris! What's up with us, the Muslims! We can't take one remark by the Pope... and as I blog... the ones suffering from the mad cow disease a.k.a. Jihadists are mapping Pope's and their's blowup plans!... just look at the latest news on Pope.

http://zaneirani.blogspot.com/2006/09/salman-rushdi-is-out-pope-is-in-in.html

Families Of Kidnapped Persian Jews Sue Khatami In US Court

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven Jewish-Iranian families have filed suit in an American federal court against former President Mohammad Khatami over charges that he is responsible for the kidnapping and torture of their missing family members. The families, currently residing in Los Angeles and Israel, contend that Khatami instituted the policy of imprisoning their relatives without trials and refusing to provide them any information concerning their whereabouts. The Jews were arrested on different occasions during the years 1994 through 1997, as they sought to leave Iran across its border with Pakistan.

On Friday evening copies of the complaint and summons were served on Khatami at a reception in Arlington, Virginia hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Khatami has twenty days to file an answer denying the allegations or default the case.

The plaintiffs, who are not U.S. citizens, brought the suit under special laws - the Alien Torts Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act - which permit foreigners to sue their tormentors for torture and kidnapping in American courts. The lawsuit filed in the New York District Court is being represented by attorneys Robert Tolchin of New York, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Jerusalem and Pooya Dayanim of Los Angeles. The plaintiffs are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages against Khatami for his role in the on-going disappearance of their loved ones.

Since the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, millions of Iranian citizens have sought to escape from the Islamic regime. In normal circumstances when Muslim citizens are arrested attempting to leave without official permission, the established punishment is a small fine or a short jail term. However, in the instances where Jewish citizens have been similarly arrested, the Islamic government has instituted much harsher penalties. The Plaintiffs allege that Khatami has singled out the Jewish community and authorized the policy of secretly imprisoning the Jews indefinitely.

Over the years, the Jewish families have received reports from other former prisoners and guards that the missing Jews are alive and being held in different prisons. In the case of the Tehrani family of Los Angeles, a former Muslim neighbor has sworn out an affidavit testifying that he has seen their missing son, Babak Tehrani, in a Tehran prison two years after his disappearance.

"These Persian Jewish families are seeking to bring Khatami before an American court for his involvement in the torture and imprisonment of their loved ones in Iran," stated the families' attorney Nitsana-Darshan-Leitner, "It is shocking that the State Department would grant this anti-Semitic criminal a travel visa instead of joining with the families in the struggle to bring him to justice. The court case will establish that these missing Jews are indeed still alive in Iranian prisons and that the former President violated international law with his policy of arrests and torture which targeted the Jewish community

A CONFERENCE / THE PERSIAN CONSTITUTIONAL MOVEMENT 1906-2006

THE CENTENNIAL OF
THE PERSIAN CONSTITUTIONAL MOVEMENT 1906-2006
A CONFERENCE

sponsored by
THE IRANICA INSTITUTE
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
CAL STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON


DATE: September 16-17, 2006
PLACE: Chapman University, Orange, California
ROOM: 237 Kennedy Hall
BOOK & POSTER EXHIBITION: 233 Kennedy Hall

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
[Limited seating. Please arrive early]
Both day events in English

Saturday, September 16, 2006

9:00-9:30 a.m. Registration

9:30-10:00 a.m. Welcoming Remarks

Dr. A. Kamron Jabbari, Iranica Institute
Dr. Daniele C. Struppa, Chapman University Provost
Dr. Thomas Klammer, Dean of School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Cal State, Fullerton

Session One: 10:00- 12:15 p.m

Prof. Elton L. Daniel, University of Hawaii
“Iranian Constitutional Revolution in Comparative Perspective�

Prof. Hafez F. Farmayan, University of Texas at Austin
“Reflections Upon Persian Constitutional History�

Prof. Ali Gheissari, University of California, San Diego
“Iranian Constitutional Revolution: Democracy or State-Building?�
Moderator: Dr. A. Kamron Jabbari

LUNCH BREAK

Session Two: 1:30-3:45 p.m.

Prof. Hamid Dabashi, Columbia University
“The Role of Expatriate Intellectuals in the Making of the Constitutional Revolution of Iran�

Dr. James Clark, American Institute of Iranian Studies
“The ‘War of the Quarters’ in Tabriz�


Prof. Evan Siegel, New Jersey City University
“The Evolution of Ahmad Kasravi’s views on the Iranian Constitutional Revolution�
Moderator: Dr. James Coyle

SHORT BREAK

Session Three: 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Dr. Willem Floor, World Bank
“Modern Theater and the Diffusion of the Ideas of the Constitutionalist Movement�

Dr. Hasan Javadi, George Washington University
“The Journal Mulla Nasreddin and the Constitutional Revolution�
Moderator: Prof. William Cumiford

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Session Four: 10:00-12:00 a.m.

Prof. Houri Berberian, California State University, Long Beach
“Children of the Same Country: Reflections on the Causes of Armenian Participation
in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.�

Prof. Nader Hashemi, North Western University
“Religious Disputation and Democratic Constitutionalism: The Enduring Legacy
of the Constitutional Revolution on the Struggle for Democracy in Iran�
Moderator: Dr. Robert Bamban

LUNCH BREAK

Session Five: 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Prof. Majid Tehranian, TODA Institute
“The Iranian Constitutional Revolution in Historical Perspective�

Prof. Morad Eghbal, University of Baltimore
“Lasting Truths: Revisiting Constitutional Thought and Human Rights from
the Code of Hammurabi, the Edict of Cyrus the Great, and the Iranian
Constitutional Revolution of 1906.�
Moderator: Dr. Ron Steiner

PARKING: Five story parking structure is located behind Kennedy Hall. Turn west onto Sycamore St. at the intersection of Glassell Street. Permits are not required on Saturday and Sunday.

DIRECTIONS: http://www.chapman.edu/map/parking.asp
or,
http://www.chapman.edu/map/yahooMap.asp

****************
About the Iranica Institute:
Iranica Institute was established in 1995 by a former college professor, Mr. Ahmad Kamron Jabbari. It has since grown into an international network of scholars, educators, artists and everyone who is interested in the issues that concern a geographic area, historically know as the Iranicas [Eranshahr]. This area includes the following: Iran (Persia), Armenia, Eastern Turkey (Anatolia), Georgia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of India, Central Asian countries of Tajikistan,Uzbekistan, Kirghizistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakstan, parts of ancient Mesopotamia, ethnic people such as the Jews, the Kurds and the Assyrians, and the countries around the Persian Gulf.

To join this network, please write to:
Iranica Institute
P.O. Box 5731
Irvine, CA 92616. USA

Press Conference on Iran;

kamranbeigi@earthlink.net

Torture victims of the Islamic Regime,

Former political prisoners and

Opposition figures to the Islamic regime

Press briefing on:

Visit of former President Khatami

UN Security Council crisis

National Press Club

529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor

Washington, DC 20045

Thursday September 7^th, 2006

9:00 AM

Background:

The unprecedented US tour of the former president of the Islamic republic brings with it an opportunity to evaluate the past, present and the future prospects of a regime that is at odds with its own citizenry of 70 million, and is today at the center of an international conflict—stemming from its long record of human rights violations, regional militancy, deceit and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.

A group of recently escaped Iranian torture victims, former political prisoners and opposition personalities, representing varied political orientations will discuss their individual and collective view points and stories.

For further information and arrangement of interviews;

contact: + 1.202.498.4375

Gedenkveranstaltung

18 Jahre nach Hinrichtungswellen in iranischen Gefängnissen
(Sommer 1988)

14 Jahre nach Mykonos-Attentat

(Sep.1992)

Programm:

Ein Kurzfilm aus Iran: Angehörige sprechen über die Hinrichtungen vom 1988

Wolfgang Kaleck (Vorsitzender des Republikanischen Anwältin-nen- und Anwältevereins ) : die Möglichkeiten der Strafverfolgung von Menschenrechtsverletzungen

Monireh Baradaran ( ehe. Pol. Gefangene und Schrift-stellerin): gegen Vergessenheit

Gast des Abends:
Arash Sarkouhi: Tar

Zeit: Do. 14. Sep. 2006,19 Uhr
Ort: Werkstatt der Kulturen,
Wissmanstr. 32,
U- Hermann- Platz

Veranstalter:

Verein iranischer Flüchtlinge in Berlin e.V.
Komitee zur Unterstützung der politischen Gefangenen im Iran-Berlin e.V.

PROTEST: "hosting" a speech by Khatami,?

Esmail Khoi Foundation

to

Director
Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation
Washington DC.
----------------------------------------------------------


Esmail Khoi Foundation
A Non-profit 501©(3) Cultural & Human Rights Org.
2526 Mt. Vernon Rd. Suite B-220
Atlanta, Georgia 30338
Phone: 770-698-0851

Reverend Canon John L. Peterson, Director
Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation
Washington DC.

September 1, 2006



The Honorable Rev. Peterson:

We learned that you are hosting a speech by Mohammad Khatami, former president and one of the high-ranking officials of the Islamic regime in Iran since it inception in 1979.
We are deeply dismayed that the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation which promotes justice, transparency, accountability and empowerment of women has invited and is honoring this man who is anti-woman, corrupt and responsible for murder of so many innocent people!

Today is the 18th anniversary of massacre of thousands of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, by the Islamic regime. The victims were buried in mass graves without their families and relatives knowing about their burial sites.
During Khatami’s presidency, torturing and physical elimination of political activists, students, writers and journalists continuously actually increased. In July 2003 the Public Prosecutor of Tehran murdered Mrs. Zahra Kazemi an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist in detention. Many pro-democracy students were killed and imprisoned. Writers Saeedi Sirjani, Mohammad Mokhtari, Mohammad Javad Pouyandeh and others were murdered. Ministry of Intelligence agents murdered Mr. Daryoush Forouhar general secretary of Iran’s Mellat Party, and his wife in their home. All of these happened during Khatami’s presidency. The list is very long and these are just a few samples. For these and other reasons the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has condemned the Islamic regime for severe violation of human rights on 52 occasions in a three years period alone!
According to July 2004 report of International Federation for Human Rights, the Islamic republic of Iran is ranked 160th out of 166 countries in terms of freedom of expression, and this was during Khatami’s presidency!

Dear Rev. Peterson, how can one promote justice and at the same time honor a person like Khatami, who is responsible for so many crimes against humanity? Please let us understand, how to reconcile this contradiction!
We feel Justice will be promoted if we all try to bring Khatami and his associates to justice under an independent International Court.

You promote empowerment of women, but Khatami and his associates in the Islamic regime are all anti-woman. The Islamic regime has practiced gender apartheid and many women have been stoned to death every year including during Khatami's presidency! Now you are honoring this man!

Dear Canon Peterson, you promote transparency and accountability, but the Islamic regime is one of the most corrupt on the face of the planet. According to an Economist Intelligence report in early 2002(Khatami’s presidency), a corruption scandal was exposed and Shahram Jazayeri a 29 year old business man, confessed he had given money to as many as 60 reformist deputies supporters of Khatami in the Parliament. This included $700,000 to President Khatami, the man you are honoring on September 7th 2006!
Dear Canon Peterson,
The Islamic regime and Mohammad Khatami as its president for 8 years never had “dialogue” with the Iranian people and all attempts for dialogue by the people systematically were suppressed. The regime and Khatami, one of its pillars is against Persian Civilization. During Khatami’s presidency they continued construction of Sivand dam near Passargad, that will flood the tomb of Cyrus the Great and the rest of what is left of the Persian heritage in Passargad. The Islamic regime instead of “dialogue” is advocating that Israel be wiped off the map. How can Khatami who represents, a regime of anti-civilization and anti-dialogue, credibly talk about “Dialog of Civilizations”?
Dear Rev. Peterson,
There is an ocean of blood separating the Islamic regime and 95 percent of the Iranian people. No force can bridge and reconcile this wide and inhumane gap, except the power of justice and liberty. This will happen at the time when an independent International Court is organized and Mohammad Khatami, your guest of honor, and his associates sit on the defense bench and families and relatives of the victims of the regime on the other side. I feel that time is approaching, and we would like to have you as a guest of honor in that Court, to witness the cries, tears and suffering of the men, women and children of God who have suffered and lost so much at the hands of Islamic regime and its cohorts!

Respectfully

Siavash Abghari, Ph.D., President
Esmail Khoi Foundation