[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 6/26/09: World News From The Middle East

Presenter, Woman # 1
So far it has been another quite Friday in Tehran and there is no news from Tehran that indicates otherwise.The only announcement today was the one that was made by the Guardian Council’s spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei.He said that the council has almost finished reviewing grievances pertaining to the presidential elections and that they haven’t so far found any major discrepancies in the elections which took place two weeks ago.He added they were the most accurate and more transparent elections since the Islamic revolution in 1979.Meanwhile, religious leader Ahmad Khatimi called for punishing those who caused the disturbances without any mercy to teach everyone a lesson. Among the 20 who were killed during the demonstrations, 8 were from the Basij forces.This number is up from 17 which was the original number given by official Iranian media. The three defeated candidates are still contesting the elections results two weeks after they were held. The whole criticism was made against the expediency council and some even warned to take the council to court, which is an unprecedented development.
We leave you, Reda Al Basha from Teheran.

Reporter, Man # 1
Although life is gradually returning to normal, Iranian opponents continue to exchange accusations thus deepining their divisions, and threatening to end the cautious calm that prevailed in the past days. It seems that the two reformists candidates have decided to defend their positions to the end. Defeated reformist presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi said that the new government will be illegitimate even before it was established. He continues his attacks against the Guardian Council, saying that it should not decide on elections’ grievances, because it is not independent (not alive). The other defeated reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi said that he is being pressured to withdraw his demand to cancel the elections. He also criticized government accusations against his supporters of carrying out acts of disturbances and said that he will not give up on those who voted for him. Mousavi made this statement as the security committee in the Iranian parliament intervened by meeting with Mousavi and former president Hashimi Rafsanjani in order to resolve the crisis. Rafsanjani expressed his willingness to mediate between contesting parties.Meanwhile, the spokesman for the defeated presidential candidate, Mohsen Rezaei criticized the Guardian Council’s statement that there were no mentionable discrepancies in the ballot boxes that were recounted based on his request. Rezaei said that Guardian Council decision is questionable and warned to take the council to court if it does not change its position. The crisis will not end unless these three defeated presidential candidates accept the status quo, which seems far from happening so far. The two reformist presidential candidates insist on questioning the legitimacy of any future government that will be formed based on the results of the recent elections and the other presidential candidate warned that he take the matter to the court. Reda Al Basha, Dubai Television, Tehran.

Host, Man # 1
Dr Gahnem Jawad, do you agree that the coverage of demonstrations in Tehran was exaggerated and that this gave the wrong impression to what is taking place in Iran?Or do you think that there is an important event in Iran that we must understand?

Guest, Man # 2
Without a doubt, a major event is taking place in Iran. The Arab and Muslim societies are not used to this kind of event. As the pervious two speakers said, a huge social movement is taking place inside the Iranian society which is very active. There is a conflict between two sides withen the regime.

Host, Man # 1
You are saying that a huge social movement is taking place in Iran? Not a movement that is being portrayed as huge?

Guest, Man # 2
No way, there is a true and huge social movement and it has implications. I do not agree with my colleague Jafar when he said that the demonstrations have only taken place on Tehran.There are also other cities that witnessed demonstrations by supporters of both reformers and conservative. This has happened in all Iranian cities. The media coverage focused on Tehran because journalists and all media were in the capital.Contrary to all expectations, the size of the demonstrations and the ability of the protestors to come up with slogans while the demonstrations were happening were very interesting. The Iranian people have this unique ability when compared to others.

Host, Man # 1
Is there a conflict within the authority? Is there someone who wants to completely challenge the Islamic republic, or is the situation still under control?

Guest, Man # 2
So far, only few people participated in the latest protests that we have seen in the internet, and called for completely challenging the Islamic republic. Without a doubt, the reformist movement of includes 17 different parties and groups.These groups have gathered under the banner of the reformist movement led by Mir Hossein Mousavi, and it is supported by former president Khatimi and others such as Rafsanjani. Of course the Participation Party of Rafsanjani has also joined this movement. Members of the Participation Party and the movement of Khatimi work within the framework of the reformist movement. However some groups who are working under the banner of the reformist movement, want to harm the Islamic revolution.It is hard to identify such movements and this is what happened when the young woman Nida who was killed and whose picture was all over the internet.The media continue to talk about her.The questions are who killed Nida.Perhaps she was killed by non government forces; perhaps some groups who wanted to escalate the situation have killed this young woman.Now she has become a symbol for these demonstrations. This is very hard especially after we listened to Ali Larejani criticizing the minister of interior for mistreating the protesters.It is hard to tell how much the two sides are committed to remain peaceful, it is very hard to control the streets in these cases.However using the streets to express grievances is one of the most effective ways that we have seen recently, such as the purple revolution, orange revolution, and the cedar revolution in Lebanon and other street demonstrations.These demonstrations are civil phenomena in response to the militarization and military operations.Will these demonstrations continue or will the government be able to resolve this situation. I believe that a deal is being made inside the regime in Qum between Rafsanjani, as the head of the expediency council and he is an influential person in the regime.

Presenter, Woman #1
The Iraqi security source said that ten people were killed and twenty five others were injured in a bombing that happened in one of the markets in Bab-shaikh districts in the middle of the capital Baghdad. The source added that the bombing was carried out using motorcycles. Yesterday, several bombings have happened, killing and injuring dozens of civilians and some police officers. On the other hand, the American army announced that nine of its soldiers were injured when two explosive devices went off in Rasaofa area.

Reporter, Man #1
The security situation in Iraq takes a new turn as June 30th, the date in which US forces are scheduled to withdraw nears. Al-Amil neighborhood, Al-Baiya’a, Al-jihad neighborhood, Baghdad and Falusia all have lost some of their residents to Thursday’s blooding bombings. Booby-truck vehicles and explosive devices were used in these bombings, killing and injuring dozens of Iraqis as well as American soldiers. These bombings came back after having receded for a while. This has several implications specially pertaining to the withdrawal of the American troops.The Iraqis received these bombings and their messages with anger and protest. The bombings created doubts among them pertaining to whether the Iraqi security forces can maintain security after US army withdraws. Hundreds of residents in Sadr city expressed their anger for what happened in their city. Dozens of people were killed and injured there Wednesday, when a booby-truck vehicle exploded near one of the crowded local markets. The residents of the city consider this bombing evidence that the Iraqi army is too weak to fend off the armed groups and the militias. The Iraqi government had a different opinion about these attacks. Faraq Al-hashimi, the vice president of the republic, said that the acts of violence have a political goal to delay or suspend the withdrawal of the foreign troops. Political observers think that the escalation of violence serves all political and armed groups in Iraq. It strengthens sectarianism among Iraqis, compelling them to return to voting for members of their own groups. Meanwhile, several foreign forces continue to carry out their regional plans in Iraq, by confronting their American enemy on the Iraqi lands.

Presenter, Female #1
Two years after the end of clashes between the Lebanese government and Fatih Al-Islam that took place in the Palestinian refugee Camp Nahr Al-Barid in northern Lebanon, about 20,000 people have returned to the rebuilt camp.

Reporter, Female #2
UNRWA has built ready-made homes for the Palestinian refugees who decided to return to Nahr Al-Barid. These homes are close together and overcrowded, making it impossible for the Palestinian refugees to endure the smells, insects and disease.

Guest, Female #3
We close the windows and go sit outside because my mother almost suffocated and her face became very yellow. The other day my father took her to the hospital because of the smell.

Reporter, Female #2
Ibrahim lives with his pregnant wife and his 7 kids in a ready-made 2-bedroom house but they are not alone, although it may seem so.

Guest, Male #1
We live with animals. The rats live under us. We sleep here as the rats make noises under us. There are also snakes and we have pictures of them on our cell phones.

Reporter, Female #2
During the summer these homes are very hot while in the winter they are very cold. This sight is good proof of this. This old woman is fed up with what seems to her like daily problems between neighbors over the waste and bad odors.

Guest, Female #4
They fight over the garbage. They fight over the smell. They fight over this and that. We don’t have hot water! We don’t have anything.

Reporter, Female #2
Sukhur is one of the lucky ones who found a place to rent inside the camp and UNRWA helps rent payment.However he is fed up with the system of having to acquire permission for everything.

Guest, Male #2
We need accommodations such as easing restrictions on checkpoints. There are a lot of people who are suffering. For example, relations with our Lebanese neighbors were great. They were very good relations. We used to visit each other all the time and now no body comes to visit us. Basically, we are cut of from our Lebanese neighbors.

Reporter, Female #2
This tragic situation that the families who received their homes in the Nahr Al-Barid refugee camp due to lack of housing is not any better than the situation of the families who still live with their relatives here in Bidawi refugee camp or some commercial stores which have been transformed into residential homes in which many live in single rooms. Most of the commercial stores in neighboring Bidawi camp near Nahr Al Barid camp, have been transformed into homes. Refugees have come up with innovative ways for recreation and cooling off on hot summer days, like the ones used by Khaled, whose little sisters face is covered with mosquito bites.

Guest, Female #5
These kids play under the sun all day. We were in the Nahr Il Bard refugee camp, sitting peacefully in our homes, thank God. Once they rebuild our homes and we will return to them.

Reporter, Female #2
Their hearts have always full of the longing to return to their homes in Palestine. This time however, they are thinking of returning to their homes in Nahr Il Barid refugee camp. From northern Lebanon. Nisrin Hatoum. Al Arabiya.

Presenter, Male #1
Anbar's Deputy Governor said Monday that the US forces have completed the withdrawal process from Anbar's cities, a week ahead of schedule.Anbar’s Deputy Governor, Hikmat Jassim Zaidan, added that the withdrawal process from Anbar’s cities was carried out in stages over a period of six months.Zaidan further said that most of the U.S. forces have withdrawn from Anbar’s territories, with some being redeployed to military bases along major highways far from the cities.The redeployment aims to help secure the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from other Iraqi provinces.A senior leader in the Islamic Dawa or Call Party dismissed reports that Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nur al-Maliki, has threatened to summon Members of Parliament over the questioning of some government ministers. This news comes after lawmaker and representative of Iraq’s Kurdistan Alliance, Mahmud Othman, accused the Iraqi Prime Minister of issuing threatening remarks during last week’s meeting with leaders of the parliamentary blocs. This issue has generated mixed reactions from the various parliamentary blocs.

Reporter, Male #2
Iraq’s MPs have expressed mixed reactions over the remarks that were issued by the representative of the Kurdish Coalition, Mahmud Othman.Othman quoted Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, saying:” If the situation remains as is, and the questioning of the ministers continues, the government will open the files of the MPs and other officials,” adding that the situation has turned into an issue of “file-opening.” Othman challenged al-Maliki to bring it on, urging him to open any file in his possession. He said: Anyone has a file to open then they ought to bring it out, and not use it as a pressuring card. Meanwhile, Kamal al-Sa’idi, a senior leader in the Islamic Dawa Party, expressed regret over the statements that were issued by some MPs.Al-Sa’idi accused some MPs of trying to take al-Maliki’s words out of contest in his latest meeting with leaders of the parliamentary blocs. According to Al-Sa’idi, all that was said by the Prime Minister is:” You (MPs) have politicized this issue,” by questioning certain ministers and not others.Meanwhile, MP and representative of the Iraqi National List Party, Ezzat Shahbandar, said that the fair questioning of any Iraqi official will help serve the integrity of the government and help improve the performance of the monitoring committee inside the National Assembly. Shahbandar added that Iraqi officials must take into consideration the nation’s interest during the questioning of the ministers.He described nation’s interest as a “dilemma caught between the rock of corruption and the hard place of integrity.” MP and member of the Public Service Committee in the National Assembly, Adnan al-Dambus, said that the allegations against al-Maliki are serious.Al-Dambus further said that al-Sa’idi’s statement of defending al-Maliki was not enough, urging the Prime Minister to come forward and clarify the issue in question.He added that al-Maliki must explain what took place in that meeting with leaders of the parliamentary blocs.Meanwhile, MP Husam al-Azzawi said that the main function of the parliament is to legislate and monitor. The National Assembly has drafted many legislations and laws. However, the council has failed as a monitoring agency due to the issue of power sharing in the political process, and due to the spread of administrative and financial corruption inside government’s institutions.In brief, the Iraqi people are paying the price of administrative corruption, which requires the government to step forward and try to help and not hamper the work of the monitoring agency inside the National Assembly. In order to monitor effectively and impartially, the National Assembly and the government must work in conjunction with one another.

Presenter, Male #1
Meanwhile, representative of the Iraqi Parliamentary List Party, Alia Nusaif, accused the government of trying to target members of the Integrity Committee in the National Assembly, over the questioning of the Iraqi Minister of Trade.Nusaif said in statement that these “desperate” attempts will not stop members of the parliamentary integrity committee from carrying out their duties of combating corruption. She also called on the National Assembly not to bow down to such threats.

Presenter, Male #1
The Mufti of Egypt has approved the death sentencing of Hisham Talat and Muhsin Al-Sukari.
The implementation of the execution awaits the appeal court’s decision.Our reporter, Muna Ashmawi, in Cairo has the details of this report.

Reporter, Female #1
The Egyptian Mufti’s approval for the death sentence for what was done by Hisham Talat Mustafa and former Deputy Officer Muhsan Al-Sukari created a sense of relief amongst all segments of the Egyptian population. Observers believe that this verdict saved the face of the Egyptian regime. The Egyptians who are fed up with poverty, subjugation and unemployment feel a sense of relief to see one of the most economically and politically powerful Egyptian officials, be brought to justice just like any ordinary person. He was charged in a case filled with elements of excitement and ambiguity, which some describe as the case of the century.

Guest, Male #2
Of course I came here to cover the case and we are observing it like any other journalist or any other person trying to cover the case. We will show the Arabs and Americans that the Egyptian legal system is transparent. Just because a person has money and authority doesn’t mean he’ll be able to buy his way out of the case.

Guest, Male #3
This case, in particular, received all that it deserves from the stand point of legal procedures. As you have seen there were 27 hearings in which many testimonies were heard.There was not a single demand that the court did not respond to. This is to the credit of the great Egyptian judiciary system which has shown that it can handle the most challenging cases.

Reporter, Female #1
Hisham Talat and Sukari left wearing red suits signifying that they had been sentenced to death. They are now waiting for the implementation of this ruling which has not yet been scheduled.

Guest, Male #4
There are discrepancies in the procedures and in the evidence that was brought from Dubai. All the evidence was fabricated and we will show this in the appeal court, God willing.

Reporter, Male #5
Are you sure he’s innocent?

Guest, Male #4
Of course. We are sure and he is sure as well.

Reporter, Female #1
The defense lawyers are very hopefully that they can re-open the case in search of loopholes for a way to reduce the death sentence.

Guest, Male #6
We will contest the verdict at the appeal court. I will personally submit defense statements listing the reasons for our appeal, which are many. The list includes, misimplementation of the law, denying the defendant his rights, violations of document submission, reference mistakes and many other reasons. There are many reasons to appeal the verdict.

Reporter, Female #1
The murder of the Lebanese singer Susan Tamim has opened all heated cases in Egypt in which all prominent members of the ruling nationalist Democratic Party or the owner of businesses think that they are above the law. They thought that they could determine their fate and impose their own will and they also thought that if the Ministry of the Interior or Jamal Mubarak were demanded to testify as a witness, they would be spared. They thought that if they had a lot of money and influence they could get out of prison and start a new life. Here in Egypt they planned out the murder. In London was the failed attempt. In Dubai, the crime took place. Again in Cairo, the murderer and the instigator were sentenced to death. Yet one question remains: will the appeal court be full of surprises or will justice take its course on a road leading to the gallows? Muna Ashmawi. New TV. Cairo.

Ever since the Iranian revolution stunned the world in 1979, the Arab world, or at least the Arab regimes and their allies in the West, have been obsessing over Iran's "exporting of the revolution" and the implications it would have on the Arab world. Eventually, this obsession manifested itself into a Sunni-Shi'a divide. Rumors and speculations quickly spread across the Arab world about the Islamic Republic's plans to spread Shi'ism across the Middle East, hence terminologies such as, "Shi'a Revival" and "Shi'a Crescent" have emerged, fueling fear and suspicion amongst Arabs across the region.Arab rulers feared Iran's governance system, known as wilayat al-faqih (guardianship by a jurist) would appeal to their populations. Wilayat al-faqih holds that in an Islamic state, a divinely anointed scholar of Islamic law must exercise unquestioned authority over elected officials and the rest of the government. This has not materialized; however, something more powerful may have: the powerful images of popular demonstrations against the Iranian government serving as a reminder to Arab rulers of their vulnerability.During a recent visit to France, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani has praised "Iranian democracy" and said that Iran has "witnessed four presidents since the Iranian revolution thirty years ago" while in contrast "during this [same period] the presidents in some Arab countries have not changed, and so this shows that Iran practices democracy."The Libyan President Mu'amar el-Qaddafi has been in power since 1969, the current Yemeni's president Ali Abdallah Saleh since 1978, and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak ranks third, ruling The Land of the Nile River since 1981, earning him the title "pharaoh" amongst those who dare to speak out on the streets of Cairo. As we say in Arabic: Allah Yutawal Omerhom, may God grant them longevity. Those leaders and others may have a lot to worry about as Iran's demonstrations have caused many in the Arab world ask to themselves why they cannot do the same. This might not be evident in the media, but all you have to do is talk privately to some of the youth and read the blogs. Although Iran failed to penetrate the Arab world with its 1979 revolution, it may have succeeded with the recent popular uprising.
While watching news clips from a variety of television networks, the images of smoke, tear gas, small fires, protesters being beaten up by the police and military remind me of another situation that has been going on for decades. Can you guess where? Now here is a question to all those "brave, fair and balanced" journalists, pundits, bloggers and analysts in the U.S. who have been using strong terms to condemn the Basij and the Iranian government's crackdown on demonstrations, such terms as brutality, murder and horror: why can't you use the same language when you watch and film Israeli soldiers beating Palestinian children in the town of Bil'in, or when they evict a helpless widow from her ancestral home and throw her out to the cold? Why?