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MASTER KILLER IS THE AUTHOR OF BILL TO KILL PRESS FREEDOM, PAPERS
By Safa Haeri
PARIS 6TH July (IPS)
Mr. Sa'id Emami, alias Eslami, the man the Islamic authorities of Iran identified officially as the "mastermind" behind the last November chain murder of political and intellectual dissidents is also the one who authored the bill introduced in the Majles by some 26 conservative MPs aimed at curbing further the already limited freedom of the Iranian press, according to the Tehran Tuesday newspapers.
Mr. Emami killed himself in prison ten days ago by absorbing a depilatory product, according to the Islamic authorities in charge of the assassination case.
MPs going to the Majles Tuesday morning learned by reading the popular and influential pro-Khatami daily "Salam" that Mr. Emami-Eslami, in a top secret report submitted some ten months ago to the then Information (Intelligence) Minister, the hojatoleslam Qorban'ali Dorri-Najaf Abadi, had suggested to limit as much as possible the activities of the independent press and dissident intellectuals.
Observers in Tehran told Iran Press Service that the publication of the top-secret report not only would shatter all those who support the new press bill, but it may well kill it as well.
"There is no doubt that the article, a gem of real investigative journalism, is published to deliberately coincide with the start in the Majles of the debate concerning the controversial bill", noted one Iranian analyst.
It was the same paper that, last December, forced the Intelligence Ministry to admit that it's official agents had assassinated Dariush Foruhar and his wife Parvaneh Eskandari, leaders of the nationalist and secularist Iranian People's Party and writers Mohammad Mokhtari and Mohammad Ja'far Pouyandeh.
In his report, Mr. Emami would insist on the necessity of drawing a new cultural regime with laws suiting the security needs of the regime.
"As you are aware, activities of elements like (Hushang) Golshiri, Cheheltan, (Mahmoud) Dolatabadi, (Mohammad) Mokhtari and others aimed at reactivating the (Iranian) Writers Association and securing international support are creating security risks and problems for the State. In order to contain that threat from the dissidents, one has to stop them writing, to create dissension among leading writers, pitting them against each other and discredit them", he tells the Minister.
In their project, the conservative deputies, acting on order from the leader of the regime, the ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, who's authority is more and more under question, are calling for drastic limitation of the freedom of the independent press by increasing the number of conservative members of the press supervisory board, making mandatory for the journalists to disclose the source of their sensitive news considered as endangering the security of the State and banning from professional activity anyone writing articles defamatory to the leader.
Pro-reform personalities and press say if the bill is approved, it will become the Majles darkest law. But it's supporters and initiators counter that the aim is to preserve the security and interests of the Islamic Republic.
Analysts say knowing that President Khatami has only the popular press at his disposal, the aim of the conservatives is therefore to undermine this power that serves as his best link to the people. By linking the present press bill to Sa'id Eslami, the master terrorist, the reformists have pre-empted, making it difficult for the legislators to adopt it, experts notes.