Published: June 01, 2006

Iran Democracy Monitor No. 12, June 1, 2006

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Editor: Ilan Berman

Another Kind of Cartoon Controversy

An offensive cartoon in a government-owned newspaper has touched off a wave of ethnic unrest among Iran's Azeri population. The picture, published on May 12th by the Iran daily, depicted an Azeri-speaking cockroach in an image seen as derogatory to the country's largest ethnic and linguistic minority, leading thousands of Azeris to take to the streets in Tabriz, Ardebil, Urumieh, Naghdeh and Meshkinshahr. And, despite conciliatory government moves - including the shuttering of the offending newspaper and the imprisonment of its editor - the protests have grown in strength and violence, expanding to include calls for the resignation of local officials. The Iranian government is desperately trying to put a lid on the escalating incident. Iran's powerful Supreme National Security Council has reportedly ordered a sweeping ban on media coverage of the expanding unrest, and regime officials have skirted discussions of the scandal in their public appearances and statements. (United Press International, May 28, 2006; Tehran Rooz, May 31, 2006)

Iran's Baha'i Under Fire

Domestic persecution of Iran's Baha'i religious minority is worsening. In recent weeks, the Iranian government has stepped up arrests, raids and propaganda against members of the Baha'i community in what observers say is a systematic campaign to eradicate the religion from the Islamic Republic. Symptoms of the effort include a rise in anti-Baha'i reporting in Iran's state-run media, as well as an upsurge in round-ups of Baha'i by government security forces. "We see a pattern emerging that is quite ominous," Bani Dugal, the Baha'i faith's official representative to the United Nations, confirms. "It's basically trying to create terror in the Bahai community, and also to win over the Iranian population to accept it." (New York Times, June 1, 2006)

[Editor's note: The anti-Baha'i crackdown appears to have been spurred by an October 2005 memorandum from the Chairman of the Command Headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces. That edict, reportedly issued on behalf of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, directs Iran's Ministry of Information and Security (MOIS), Pasdaran, and national police to secretly "collect any and all information about members of the Baha'i faith," according to Asma Jahangir, the UN Commission on Human Rights' special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.]

In Iraq, Influence By Proxy

Using Shi'ite militias and like-minded political organizations, the Islamic Republic is dramatically expanding its reach in neighboring Iraq, British and Iraqi officials have warned. Iran's growing presence in Iraq's Shi'a-dominated south includes the provision of military training for anti-Coalition insurgents, as well as the establishment of a robust intelligence and military network. Iranian-linked forces have also been implicated in the May 6th downing of a British helicopter over Basra, which killed five British soldiers. But Iran's efforts are not going unchallenged. "Saudi Arabia is trying to counter the rising power of Iran in Basra by giving money and weapons to fanatical Sunni groups operating there," one Iraqi official has confirmed. (Knight Ridder, May 26, 2006)

The Islamic Republic Versus The Internet

The government of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears to be moving ahead with its efforts to control and monitor the Internet. In recent days, Iran's Information Technology Company - working with the Ministry of Communications and Technology - has reportedly launched a campaign of "smart filtering" utilizing domestically-developed software capable of more efficiently monitoring online content and blocking access to prohibited websites. At the same time, Iranian officials appear to be tightening the legal parameters of acceptable Internet use. Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is said to be contemplating a sweeping new regulatory scheme under which Internet service providers would need to obtain licenses - and pledge to host weblogs and websites promoting national interests - in order to operate. "If the Culture Ministry's plan for websites and blogs is implemented," says communications expert Hamid Zia'iparvar, "it will mean that there will be a kind of control over all personal, news and political sites." (Tehran Rooz, May 30, 2006; Tehran ILNA, May 31, 2006)

American Foreign Policy Council, Washington, DC
http://www.afpc.org

alan@newsblaze.com