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A Blessing in Disguise
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By Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer
Under an illegitimate sanctions regime, the West subjected Iran’s civilian nuclear program to an extensive campaign of obstruction and intervention; unilaterally abrogated its valid and binding contracts to build nuclear power plants; illegally withheld nuclear materials rightfully purchased and owned by Iran; and obstructed exercise of Iran’s shareholder rights in several national/multinational nuclear power corporations the world over.
Yet, much to the dismay of those behind the illicit campaign, the Islamic Republic on Thursday, April 9, proved that Western sanctions have been a blessing in disguise, as it did inaugurate its first-ever home-grown nuclear fuel manufacturing plant in Isfahan and also increased the number of its centrifuges to 7,000.
Accordingly, the 5+1 group of nations invited Iran to a meeting on its civilian nuclear program after Washington was forced to drop its irrational opposition to direct talks in a major shift of policy.
The United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain said in a statement they would ask European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana to invite Tehran to the talks to find a diplomatic solution to this important issue “in a spirit of mutual respect”.
The big powers' statement is noticeably more conciliatory than in the past when their officials often threatened to ratchet up illicit sanctions against Tehran or did not rule out military option.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the new beginning of diplomatic engagement and overture with Iran - without preconditions - has come as a direct consequence of scientific self-belief and self-reliance on the part of its faithful and hard-working nation and officials. On the other hand, such poise has never been about arrogance, complacency, refusing to listen to other countries’ opinions or advice, and/or always having to be right.
Quite the opposite, the Islamic Republic, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has always been cooperative, law-abiding and honest, and has repeatedly welcomed dialogue and inspections as part of collective efforts to resolve any outstanding issue related to the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities.
To come to the point, the nuclearization of Iran is a step in the direct direction toward having a world free from weapons of mass destruction. The scientific movement in Iran is also a perfect example of parallel scientific/spiritual progress in modern times.
In short, Iran is now among seven other countries which have mastered the full cycle of producing nuclear fuel. As a result, Iranian negotiators will be sitting at the negotiating tables with their Western counterparts with new terms and proposals.
The West has to accept the new realities and gear itself up for playing a fair and win-win game with the Islamic Republic – without seeking additional guarantees above and beyond those required by the NPT.
A common sense approach to the issue during the talks will make the West acknowledge Iran’s inalienable right to the civilian use of nuclear technology and the return of its nuclear dossier to the IAEA. |
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Obama Overtures 'Lack Something Decisive': Ahamdinejad: Ball Is in U.S. Court
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- President Barack Obama's overtures to Iran show a "lack of something decisive" and should be followed by action, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel in a wide-ranging interview published on Saturday.
"Great things are happening in the United States," the Iranian leader told Der Spiegel. "I believe that the Americans are in the process of initiating important developments."
When it was suggested that the president's moderate tone towards Iran represents a possible turning point in American-Iranian relations, Ahmadinejad expressed cautious reservation.
"I haven't understood Obama's comments quite that way," Ahmadinejad told Der Spiegel. "I pay attention to what he says today. But that is precisely where I see a lack of something decisive. What leads you to talk about a new beginning? Have there been any changes in American policy? We welcome changes, but they have yet to occur."
In commenting on Washington's readiness to enter talks with Tehran over its nuclear program, Ahmadinejad told Der Spiegel that the ball is in the U.S. court.
"We support talks on the basis of fairness and respect," he said. "That has always been our position. We are waiting for Obama to announce his plans, so that we can analyze them."
"Fundamental changes must take place, to the benefit of all parties. The American government must finally learn lessons from the past."
Ahmadinejad said what has happened so far in the new U.S. government's approach is "changes in the choice of language".
"But that isn't enough. For the past 30 years, Germany and other European countries have been under pressure from the Americans not to improve their relations with Tehran. That's what all European statesmen tell us," the Iranian president said.
The president admitted that divide between Tehran and Washington is deep, referring to decades of grievances which Iranians hold against the U.S., including a CIA-engineered coup against a democratically-elected government in Iran as well as America's support for the former regime of Saddam Hussein during Iraq's 1980-1988 war against the Islamic Republic.
"We cannot expect to see problems that have arisen over more than half a century resolved in only a few days. We are neither obstinate nor gullible. We are realists. The important thing is the determination to bring about improvements. If you change the atmosphere, solutions can be found," he said.
Ahmadinejad dismissed U.S. allegations that Iran was stirring unrest in Iraq by supporting certain groups their opposition to the occupation of the country by foreign forces.
"We pay no attention to the reports of American intelligence services. The Americans occupied Iraq and are responsible for its security. In the past, they sought to divert attention away from their own failures by holding us responsible for the unrest. They must correct their own mistakes."
Ahmadinejad said Obama's new strategy on Afghanistan is wrong, adding "the solution for Afghanistan is not military, but humanitarian".
"More than $250 billion (190 billion euros) has been spent on the military campaign in Afghanistan to date. With a population of 30 million, that comes to more than $8,000 a person, or close to $42,000 for an average family of five. Factories and roads could have been built, universities established and fields cultivated for the Afghan people. If that had happened, would there have been any room left for terrorists?"
The Iranian president repeated his attacks against the occupying regime of Israel's legitimacy, saying that the Palestinians bore the brunt of the consequences of World War II and the Holocaust.
"Why did the Germans cause so much trouble back then, allowing these problems to arise in the first place?" Ahmadinejad said. "The Zionist regime is the result of World War II. What does any of this have to do with the Palestinian people? Or with the Middle East region? I believe that we must get to the root of the problem. If one doesn't consider the causes, there can be no solution."
The Iranian president said his country is not alone in its opposition to the Zionist regime's presence in the Middle East.
"Do you believe that the German people support the Zionist regime? Do you believe that a referendum could be held in Germany on this question? If you did allow such a referendum to take place, you would discover that the German people hate the Zionist regime."
"I do not believe that the European countries would have been as indulgent if only one-hundredth of the crimes that the Zionist regime has committed in Gaza had happened somewhere in Europe. Why on earth do the European governments support this regime?" the Iranian president remarked.
In the interview with Der Spiegel, Ahmadinejad denied suspicions Tehran is working towards building nuclear weapons. Instead, he intimated that Israel's possession of nuclear weapons should be the primary source of concern in the region.
"We have no interest in building a nuclear weapon," Ahmadinejad said. "We have sent the IAEA thousands of pages of reports and made thousands of hours of inspections possible. The IAEA cameras monitor our activities. Who is dangerous, and whom should the inspectors distrust? Those who secretly built the bomb, or us, who are cooperating with the IAEA?"
Ahmadinejad defended Iran's nuclear energy program, saying despite Western qualms, the Islamic Republic has the unanimous backing of the 118-member Non-Aligned Movement as well as the 57 member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
The president stressed that "as long as there is no justice, there can be no solution" to the lingering standoff between Iran and the West over the nuclear issue. "One cannot measure the world with a double standard," the president added.
"If a technology is beneficial, everyone should have it. If it is not, no one should have it. Can it be that America has 5,400 nuclear warheads and Germany has none? And that we are not even permitted to pursue the peaceful use of nuclear energy? Our logic is completely clear: equal rights for all," the president added.
Ahmadineajd stressed that Iran is "willing to cooperate under fair conditions" over its nuclear program.
Germany Denies Sanctuary to MKO Terrorists
BERLIN (IRNA) -- The German government has ruled out accepting Iraqi-based MKO terrorists amid their imminent expulsion from Iraq as a result of their terrorist activities since the 1980s, the German website net-tribune reported Saturday.
There are currently no plans to take in members of the group in Germany, an unnamed German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman was quoted saying.
The MKO terrorist grouplet which is still under surveillance by Germany's domestic Verfassungsschutz secret service, has reportedly stepped up lobbying efforts among German parliamentarians to prevent the closure of their main terrorist base Camp Ashraf, located near Baghdad.
The Iraqi government has ordered the expulsion of all remaining MKO terrorists from its soil.
The U.S. military protected the grouplet's terrorist camp in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
It handed over control of the camp to Iraqi security forces in February.
Iraq's late dictator Saddam Hussein used the MKO during his eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s.
The Israeli-backed terror grouplet played also a major role in Saddam's bloody suppression of Shia and Kurdish uprisings after the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
Ministry: Zionists Killed 437 Kids in Gaza
GAZA (Press TV) – The occupying regime of Israel's three-week war on the Gaza Strip left 437 children martyred and 1872 more wounded, the Ministry of Social Affairs in Gaza has said.
Ahmad Al Kurd, Minister of Social Affairs, said that the Zionist army targeted women and children, and that its shelling targeted homes, hospitals, educational facilities and even mosques, International Middle East Media Center reported.
The killing and wounding of large numbers of children proves that the Israeli forces targeted the civilian areas, he added.
According to the report, the occupying regime's offensive to the blockaded strip also left 1500 children orphans, as they lost a parent or both parents in the attacks, and thousands of them suffered psychological problems due to witnessing scenes of death and destructions.
The Zionist regime has been accused of committing war crimes during the war in Gaza, including the use of deadly white phosphorus shells in densely populated civilian areas and the use of civilians as human shields.
Zionists initially denied using the controversial weapon. However, mounting evidence later forced Israeli officials to admit having employed the shells.
The three-week Zionist assault martyred 1,330 Palestinians and wounded 5,450 others -- a large number of them women and children.
Anti-War Protests Held Across Germany
BERLING (IRNA) -- Thousands took to the streets of major German cities during traditional Easter peace marches to protest against U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, media reports said Saturday.
Dozens of peace rallies and demonstrations in 30 cities urged the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Easter peace marchers called also for a nuclear weapons-free world, less than a day after German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for the removal of US atomic weapons from his country.
Peace activists targeted several cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Bremen, Duesseldorf, Munich, Leipzig Mainz, Kiel and the American military base in Ramstein for their Easter marches which kicked off Friday and are to last until Monday.
The Easter peace marches reached its peak in 1983 when more than 500,000 people demonstrated against the deployment of medium-range U.S. Pershing missiles in Europe.
Anti-Gov't Protests Continue in Georgia
TBILISI (AFP) -- Thousands gathered in the Georgian capital Saturday for a third day of protests demanding President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation, but the opposition-led movement appeared to be dwindling.
At least 4,000 protesters rallied outside Georgia's parliament, an AFP reporter said, and opposition leaders said others were gathering at two other locations, blocking streets leading toward the offices of the president and the state broadcaster.
The number of protesters had fallen significantly from the 60,000 who rallied on Thursday and 25,000 on Friday -- the biggest demonstrations against Saakashvili's rule since a war with Russia last August.
Organizers have vowed to continue protests until Saakashvili resigns, but called a one-day break from demonstrations on Sunday, when Orthodox Christian Georgia marks the beginning of the week before Easter.
Opposition leader Koba Davitashvili of the People's Party told the crowd at parliament that protesters would not budge in their demand for the president to leave office.
"There will be no dialogue with Saakashvili. Dialogue is possible on only one issue: his resignation," he said.
Despite the smaller numbers, protesters insisted the opposition movement was gaining momentum.
"Pressure is mounting on Saakashvili. Even if we are less at the rally today the number of people is not the most important thing.
Even if there are only 20 people here, he must listen to us," said protester Levan Chelidze, 45.
Protesters announced a campaign of civil disobedience Friday after Saakashvili offered talks with the opposition but rejected calls to step down.
Some in the wide coalition of opposition forces organizing the protests said they were ready to sit down with the president, but others said there was nothing to discuss but his resignation.
Opponents accuse Saakashvili of mishandling the conflict with Russia and of becoming increasingly autocratic since he came to power after the 2003 Rose Revolution, a peaceful public uprising.
Both the government and opposition have promised to keep the demonstrations peaceful, but tensions are running high and some fear the protests could turn violent.
Police have kept a low profile during the demonstrations and made no moves to interfere with protesters.
Security officials are keen to avoid a repeat of events in November 2007 when riot police used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of anti-government protesters, damaging Saakashvili's reputation as a democratic reformer in the region. |
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