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Date: Thursday, October 04, 2001
Ref.: 65 / M / 205
The Rt Hon Members of Parliament
Who is a good terrorist
and who is bad?
Following the bloody and tragic events of 11th
September, the world has united in addressing issues concerning terrorism. The worldwide
condolences and condemnations, the international coalition against global terrorism,
urgent trips of various world leaders to the United States of America and the resolution
of the UN Security Council are the public signs of this.
However, since there is still no universally
acceptable definition of who is a terrorist a few questions come to mind:
 | What is the true meaning and definition of a terrorist and terrorism?
|
| Does it only refer to those who inflict pain and bloodshed in the
United States and for the American people and is it only headed by Bin Laden? |
Obviously not but how do we recognise them?
| Is it enough to have an internationally recognised court convict the
Islamic Information Minister and implicate the President and Supreme leader of the Islamic
Republic in international terrorism against their opposition?
 | If so Frithjof Kubsch the head of the panel of judges at the Mykonos
trials did so on 10 April 1997 in Berlin Germany. |
|
| Is the assassination of Iranian dissidents in and out of Iran seen as
a terrorist act?
| If so among the many brutally assassinated outside Iran at the hands
of the agents of the Islamic Regime are Prime Minister Shapur Bakhtiar in France, Dr
Abdolrahman Ghassemloo the leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran in Austria, and
the four Kurdish leaders in Mykonos restaurant in Germany. |
|
| Is a confession to terror enough to recognise a terrorist system?
| If so the Information Minister, Ali Fallahian, already convicted of
terrorist acts by the German courts admitted to his agents assassinating
Darioush and
Parvaneh Foroohar at their home in November 1998; As well the kidnapping and murder of
other intellectuals. |
|
| How do we judge a system that approves the competency of a convicted
terrorist for Presidency? |
| Ali Fallahian stood for the June 2001 presidential elections. One of
the ten recognised as competent enough to head the Islamic government from over eight
hundred candidates. |
| Should we ignore or overlook repeated Human Rights violations and
country reports condemning these violations, kidnappings, disappearances, arbitrary
arrests, extra judicial killings, executions … in our assessment of who is a terrorist
or one that helps and harbours terrorism. |
Association of Iranian Researchers has not received
a reply to its letter of September 21, addressed to the Prime Minister (attached)
concerning the Foreign Secretary's visit to Iran. More importantly, you the Members of
Parliament have not been involved in any decision making and have only been updated or
informed of the Prime Minister's decisions and actions. The essential questions remain:
- How can the British Foreign Minister travel to the Islamic Republic
with such urgency and without consultation with the nation's representatives?
- Is it not correct that Mr. Robin Cook's proposed trips were always
debated in Parliament and his planned trips never actually took place?
- How could the British Foreign Secretary, as the representative of one
of the oldest democracies in the world, travel to a country that not only has been
recognised as the number one state sponsoring terrorism by the US State department (April
2001 report) but one that actually confesses to supporting HAMAS and the Hezbollah amongst
others?
How do we define and identify terrorists and
terrorist regimes? Perhaps this should be the key question the British Parliament debates
during its emergency session.
With Respect
Hossein Ladjevardi
President, Association of Iranian Researchers.
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