The Daily Telegraph

A millionaire Iranian businessman faces jail for "mutilating" a number of priceless rare books, some almost 500 years old, to improve his own collection.

By Stephen Adams, Arts Correspondent

Knightsbridge-based Farhad Hakimzadeh, chairman of the Iranian Heritage Foundation, cut out pages from manuscripts at the British Library and Oxford University's Bodleian Library.

He removed the pages with a scalpel that he smuggled into the institutions' rare books reading rooms, hiding his actions from CCTV cameras installed to protect the books. Then he took the pages home and inserted them in his own inferior copies.

Police said Hakimzadeh, 60, the director of a company that publishes books on the Middle East and a published author, was likely to be jailed for his actions.

He pleaded guilty to 14 counts of theft in May, relating to pages found by Metropolitan Police officers at his large personal library. They were from 10 British Library books four Bodleian works.

The 10 British Library books which he admitted damaging were worth £71,000 alone. A single page that he cut out from one 1537 book - a world map by Hans Holbein the Younger, who painted Henry VIII - was worth £30,000.

But staff at the British Library, who checked 842 books borrowed by Hakimzadeh, said they believed the actual number of damaged works was much higher.

Dr Kristian Jensen, head of British collections at the British Library, said: "We believe that 150 items have been mutilated by him between 1997 and 2005. Mr Hakimzadeh used considerable skill and deceit to carry out these mutilations and in many instances they were initially difficult to detect."

Staff think many stolen pages will never be recovered.

Dr Jensen said he was "extremely angry" about what Hakimzadeh had done "for his own personal gain".

He said: "Obviously I'm angry because this is somebody extremely rich who has damaged something which belongs to everybody, completely selfishly destroyed something for his own personal benefit which this nation has invested in over generations."

Most of the books he damaged concerned West European experiences of travel and colonisation in the Middle East and dated from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

Hakimzadeh's "targeted mutilation" was "an attack on the nation's collective memory of its own past", Dr Jensen said.

He said he could "not really speculate on his motivation" but added: "Clearly he inserted these pages into copies of his own books. Our copies are in considerably better condition than his."

By doing so "he could end up - to the superficial eye - with a better copy".

But the products of Hakimzadeh's work were merely "pieces of historical falsification", he said.

The library proved some pages were stolen by matching bookworm holes in them with the original text.

Hakimzadeh's crimes came to light when a reader alerted British Library staff that a book had been damaged.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Cobb, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "It proved extremely difficult for the libraries to detect the absence of these pages as Hakimzadeh took care to select material that only an expert would be able to identify.

"He chose unique and rare editions and was therefore able to go undetected for some time. Some of the stolen pages were recovered at his home address but many more have been lost forever."

The businessman, of Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, is due to be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court in north London on November 21.

The British Library has launched separate civil proceedings against him.

An Oxford University spokesman said it was "pleased" that the criminal case was being brought to a close.

Iraqi prime minister on Thursday accused Kurdistan region leadership of violating constitution and strongly criticized Iraqi presidency council of turning blind eye on such violations.

Speaking at a press conference in Baghdad, Maliki expressed surprise over what he called the silence of presidency council on the “constitutional deviations” of Kurdistan region through opening diplomatic headquarters without referring to Baghdad, sending the region’s forces to fight against federal forces and supporting the tribal councils.

Maliki directed the accusations to the Kurdish leadership in response to the criticisms the Kurdish main parties about the supporting councils Maliki intends to form in the disputed territories.
Of the Kurdish oil deals with the foreign companies, Iraqi premier stressed that all such deals were also non constitutional.

About the constitution amendments he had sought before to maintain the authority of federal government on the account of the regions, Maliki repeated his call and said that all the Iraqi parties had already agreed on amending the constitution and the national assembly had formed a committee to take care of that issue, confirming the necessity of amending certain articles of the constitution.

Tensions rose between the Kurdish leadership and Maliki, after Prime Minister ordered forming special armed groups in the disputed territories under the pretext of imposing security and his call for empowering central government, demands Kurds consider as moving back to the ironing central government, on which Iraq had suffered a lot.
Accusations of Maliki did not pass without Kurdish reactions and counter attacks, as one of the Kurdish officials accused Maliki
of controlling power and violating constitution.

Falah Mustafa, Head of KRG foreign relations office told voices of Iraq news agency that Kurdistan region was committed to the Iraqi constitution.

“KRG is committed to the constitution and Kurds are a major part of the federal Iraq. We have a main part in the process of rebuilding Iraq, so we cannot have responsibilities without having authority” said Mustafa.

“We will keep committed to the constitution until the point where all the parties stay committed to that same constitution, including Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki” he added

The Kurdish official also said Malikis speeches would not serve Iraq and its peace process, calling him to avoid individually making decisions and refer to the council of ministers.
Mustafa described Malikis individualism as non constitutional that reminded Iraqis the dark days of dictatorship of Saddam regime.

Also Kurdistan region presidency chief of staff said Kurdistan presidency would announce its response as soon as Premier al Maliki answered the letter of Iraqi presidency he had been addressed about the supporting armed groups.

A prehistoric burial ground has been discovered near the Iranian city of Sanandaj, which dates back to 3,000 years. Sanandaj is located in the western Kurdistan Province of Iran.

According to a report by the FARS News Agency, the 3,000 year-old cemetery was found during a road construction project, that is located 500 meters from the previously found ancient mound of Zagros.

Kurdistans provincial cultural heritage office confirmed that so far five squat burials have been found in the cemetery along with spears, bronze bracelets and earthenware.

Excavations, which started four days ago at the site, will continue for another week, reports from Press TV indicate.

Irans Kurdistan Province contains 218 natural, cultural, historical and religious sites including numerous historical villages.

Ancient bridges, the Safavid Asef Divan monument and the Khosrowabad structure are among Kurdistans many tourist attractions.

Second week of student sit-in started in Sistan and Baluchestan University 

NCRI - Second week of student sit-in started on Monday on the campus of Sistan and Baluchestan University.

On November 15, Three thousand students gathered on university grounds protesting to police brutality on campus. A student was seriously injured by the security guards.

Participating students demanded the resignation of the university chancellor and his deputies connected with the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The scheduled classes came to a complete halt because of the protests. Many faculty members also joined the protests.

Separately, a number of students went on hunger strike over the suspension of five of their classmates at Tehran's Khajeh Nasir Toosi University. The suspended students had earlier in the year protested to the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988.

Agents of MOIS assigned to the school with the Bassij paramilitary students attempted in vain to breakup the strike. The protesting students vowed to stay on as long as their friends' suspensions were lifted.

In the meantime, hundreds of female students on Tuesday protested to restrictions imposed on them by the university administrators in Free University in the southwestern city of Dezful.

In the western city of Hamedan, students demonstrated on the tenth anniversary of "chain murders" which took the lives of some Iranian intellectuals and writers under former mullahs' president Mohammad Khatamei on the campus of Boali Sina University.

In past weeks, students protested to mullahs' suppressive measures against students in Shiraz University in southern Iran.

With December 6, the Student Day, closing in, the clerical regime is in fear of student demonstrations and protests which is marked by thousands of students all over the country.

The Iranian Resistance calls on all international human rights organizations in particular student unions to condemn the suppressive measures imposed by the Iranian regime and support their protests.  

A funeral on Thursday was held at Erbil Airport for the remaining parts of 150 Kurdish martyrs who were slaughtered by the former dictator regime of Iraq and brought back to Kurdistan yesterday, after two months of unearthing them in a mass grave in the southern province of Najaf.
The remaining of the Kurdish victims of Saddam’s genocide had been discovered by the local authorities of Najaf province.
Kurdistan region president and his vice, KRG premier with his deputy, parliament speaker and his vice, as well as a number of Kurdish officials and diplomats of the foreign countries attended the funeral.
Also Najaf governor, who played important role in bringing back the corpses, attended the ceremony.
Wrapped by the Kurdish and the new Iraqi flags, the martyrs will be engraved here in Kurdistan in the coming few hours.
The remains of 150 Kurdish martyrs, found in a mass grave in Nejaf, were flown back to home to Kurdistan on Wednesday, after a moving ceremony that paid tribute to victims of repression under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.
The mass grave was first discovered by a farmer in an area near the southern city of Najaf three months ago, containing the remains of men, women and children. All of them Kurds by documents on some of the bodies.
For the ceremony at Najaf airport, the coffins were set out in five rows wrapped in flags of Kurdistan, before being loaded into a cargo plane and flown to the capital Erbil.
As many as 182 thousand of Kurdish innocent persons were slaughtered and bombarded with chemical weapon, villages were razed, and many civilians were rounded up into camps in southern Iraq during Saddam's inhumane "Anfal" campaign in 1987-1988.
"The mass grave is one of 45 mass graves found in Najaf. Men, women and children were buried alive by the regime," said Asaad Abu Gilel, governor of Najaf Province, at the ceremonyTop of Form
"The remains of 150 people means 150 cases for which the previous regime should face justice," said Wijdan Michael, Iraq's Minister of Human rights.
Thousands of bodies were found in mass graves after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple the dictator, many of them were Shi'ites and Kurds killed during uprisings in the south in the 1990s. Michael apologized for having only one team in her ministry working on mass graves of the ousted regime.

Iran Human Rights: Two men were hanged in the prison of Zahedan, capital of the Iranian Baluchestan province, reported the semi-official newspaper Jomhury on Thursday November 13.

The men were identified as Nazir Ahmad Nasiri and Jamal Boulizadeh and were convicted of drug trafficking, according to the report.

The report didn’t mention the men’s age and when exactly the executions took place.

Iran has blocked access to more than five million Internet sites, whose content is mostly perceived as immoral and anti-social, a judiciary official was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

"The enemies seek to assault our religious identity by exploiting the Internet," Abdolsamad Khoram Abadi, an advisor to Iran's prosecutor general, was quoted by Kargozaran newspaper as saying.

The Internet "inflicts social, political, economic and moral damage, which is worrying," he said, adding that "social vice caused by the Internet is more than that by the satellite network," Mehr news agency reported.

With about 21 million users, the Internet is widely popular in Iran, which information ministry officials say ranks among the top 20 user countries.

In recent years, Internet service providers have been told to block access to political, human rights and women's sites and weblogs expressing dissent or deemed to be pornographic and anti-Islamic.

The ban has also targeted such popular social networking sites as Facebook and YouTube, as well as news sites.

Iran's reformist press was hit by a massive crackdown in 2000, and many journalists turned to blogging after their publications were shut down.

The closures have continued under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, elected in 2005, and have targeted newspapers and other media, including web sites and news agencies, of all political persuasions.

Conservatives have also warned against "cyber imperialism" targeting developing countries.

In its latest edition, Sobh-e Sadegh, the publication of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said, "The Internet, satellite (channels) and text messages played an important role in colour revolutions in Serbia, Ukraine and Georgia."

The weekly said Internet search engines Yahoo and Google, BBC and CNN televisions and even international news agencies including "Reuters, Associated Press, UPI, AFP and DPA" operated as "tools of diplomacy conducted through media."

The magazine accused the European Union of seeking to "develop anti-Iranian cyber space" by supporting dissident bloggers.

Despite a strict ban on satellite television, dishes dot many Iranian rooftops and people have access to dozens of Persian-language channels, including the Voice of America, broadcasting a daily dose of politics and entertainment.

Islamic republic officials have been concerned about BBC Persian-language television which is yet to be launched and warned against interviewing or cooperating with such media.

The head of Iran's state-run television recently said that 30 percent of Iranians watch satellite channels, but observers say the figures are likely to be higher.

AFP

The remains of 150 Kurdish martyrs, found in a mass grave in Nejaf, were flown back to home to Kurdistan on Wednesday, after a moving ceremony that paid tribute to victims of repression under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.
The mass grave was first discovered by a farmer in an area near the southern city of Najaf three months ago, containing the remains of men, women and children. All of them Kurds by documents on some of the bodies.
For the ceremony at Najaf airport, the coffins were set out in five rows wrapped in flags of Kurdistan, before being loaded into a cargo plane and flown to the capital Erbil.
As many as 182 thousand of Kurdish innocent persons were slaughtered and bombarded with chemical weapon, villages were razed, and many civilians were rounded up into camps in southern Iraq during Saddam's inhumane "Anfal" campaign in 1987-1988.
"The mass grave is one of 45 mass graves found in Najaf. Men, women and children were buried alive by the regime," said Asaad Abu Gilel, governor of Najaf Province, at the ceremony
"The remains of 150 people means 150 cases for which the previous regime should face justice," said Wijdan Michael, Iraq's Minister of Human rights.
Thousands of bodies were found in mass graves after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple the dictator, many of them were Shi'ites and Kurds killed during uprisings in the south in the 1990s. Michael apologized for having only one team in her ministry working on mass graves of the ousted regime.

Four members of the PJAK terrorist group have been arrested and several others have been killed in clashes with Iranian forces in the west of the country.

The militants were arrested in the western province of Kurdistan late on Sunday, an official said on Tuesday, adding that a cache of arms was confiscated from them.

Kermanshah province's deputy governor general for political and security affairs, Hojjatollah Damyad, told reporters on Tuesday that a number of PJAK militants, all Turkish nationals, were killed in the west of the country.

The Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) is an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and is responsible for carrying out various bombings in western Iran and southern Turkey.

Iranian security forces have fought Kurdish militants on the country's western borders with Iraq and Turkey for years.

According to a November 2006 article published by The New Yorker, the US military and Israel provide PJAK with equipment, training, and intelligence as part of their ongoing efforts to destabilize the Iranian government.

Press TV

The Iranian Majlis (parliament) on Tuesday endorsed, with a simple majority, the appointment of Sadeq Mahsouli as the new interior minister.
Some 138 deputies said "yes" while 112 others said "no" to the appointment, with 20 abstentions.
Addressing the parliament, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke of Mahsouli as a person who would further develop the management of the country's domestic affairs and help realize major goals.
The president also said that Mahsouli is a committed manager and a hardworking person who would fulfill his plans and programs at the ministry.
Earlier in November, former Iranian interior Minister Ali Kordan was given the axe after confessing to a forged law degree from the University of Oxford.

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has raised concerns about nearly 3,500 opposition Iranians living in exile in Iraq and regarded as terrorists by the Baghdad government, which wants to expel them.

The Iranians, who include members of the exiled opposition People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, have been housed at Camp Ashraf, 70 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, for two decades.

U.S. forces have protected the exiles since 2003, but the Iraqi government views them as members of a terrorist group and wants them out of Iraq, though it has said it would not forcibly return them to Iran.

Ban has cited a letter circulated last week by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Iraqi government outlining concerns about the Iranians at Camp Ashraf.

The letter "urged the government of Iraq to protect Ashraf residents from forcible deportation, expulsion or repatriation ... and to refrain from any action that would endanger their life or security," Ban said.

In September a group called the International Committee of Jurists in Defense of Ashraf said that if the U.S. military handed control of the camp to Iraq, the Iranians would be in danger of expulsion to Iran by pro-Shi'ite elements in the Iraqi government

Iraq and the United States signed an accord on Monday requiring Washington to withdraw its forces by the end of 2011.

A group of Iranian exiles has demonstrated for weeks outside the United Nations building in New York to highlight the plight of the people at Camp Ashraf.

A spokesman for the protesters, Nasser Rashid, said the Camp Ashraf exiles would fear for their lives under the Iraqis.

"Our concerns are heightened because of the ... unstable security circumstances in Iraq and Tehran's considerable infiltration within Iraqi security forces," he said.

Amnesty International has urged Iraq and the United States to treat members of the Iranian rebel group, also known as the Mujahideen e-Khalq, as "protected persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and not to deport them to Iran.

The 1949 pact bans extradition or forced repatriation of people who could face torture or persecution.

The People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran began as a leftist-Islamist opposition to the Shah of Iran but fell out with Shi'ite clerics who took power after the 1979 revolution.

Tehran has long demanded the expulsion of the rebel group, which is officially listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.

(Editing by Chris Wilson)

Iran Human Rights: Two men were hanged in the prison of Rasht (capital of Gilan province, north of Iran) early Thursday morning (Nov. 13), reported the Iranian daily Etemaad.

The men who were identified as "Afrasiab" and "Parviz" were convicted of murdering a man in March 2005, said the report.

According to the report, Afrasiab and Parviz were hanged in the "Lakan" prison of Rasht, early Thursday morning.

NCRI – Brig. Gen. Azizollah Rajabzadeh, Mullahs' suppressive police chief in greater Tehran announced the end of a six day long "drills" in the capital, reported the state-run news agency ISNA on Saturday.

"With the new plan the police has in mind for Tehran, there will be no room for criminals to commit a crime," Rajabzadeh said.

Police will turn Tehran into an island of security and serenity soon, he added.

Many local residents were astonished by the tactics the State Security Forces (SSF) -- mullahs' suppressive police -- had employed throughout the games. Using at times heavy weapons not customary even by the Iran regime standards; mortars, military vehicles just to name a few.
Rajabzadeh called the new move "public security and serenity."  He then went on to say,"30,000 SSF agents with 4,000 military vehicles and 50 helicopters will guarantee Tehran's security during the maneuvers."
 
On November 1, Brig. Gen. Abdullah Iraqi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC) Prophet Mohammad's garrison in charge of Tehran's protection announced a new security plan for the capital, reported the state-run news agency Fars.
 
"Units from Bassij [paramilitary Bassij force] joining the regular SSF units began patrolling the streets of capitals," Iraqi said.
 
"We tested these units for their performance on duty with regular SSF units and the results were overwhelming. Thus, since October 28, the mix Bassij and SSF units went fully operational throughout Tehran. The units will replace the fixed check points operating in the capital," Iraqi added.
 
He said that the reasons for the changes were a better security respond to the citizens' growing need for higher security in Tehran's districts.

However, the real reason behind the IRGC and SSF new plans are adopting more suppressive measures against rising popular protests in Tehran and elsewhere in the country.

London (KurdishMedia.com) 14 November 2008: The security forces of Islamic Republic of Iran shot a 4-year-old Kurdish boy in Dalaho, Sare Pole Zahab region, Iranian Kurdistan. The boy pronounced dead immediately after he was shot, reported Kurdistan media on Friday.

The boy was shot, according to the source, when the military forces of Islamic Republic exercised a military manoeuvre in Sare Pole Zahab region of Iranian Kurdistan. During the manoeuvre the security forces shoot the boy.

No further information was available.

HAKKARI, Turkey, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Six 13- and 14-year-olds should face 23-year prison sentences for allegedly taking part in violent demonstrations in Turkey, a prosecutor says.

A Diyarbakır chief public prosecutor's office indictment recommends that the teenagers be punished severely for allegedly being involved in the illegal protests organized by the Kurdistan Workers' Party, Today's Zaman said Friday.

Some protesters taking part in the demonstration in the Turkish city of Hakkari on Nov. 1 hurled Molotov cocktails and stones at police, authorities said.

The protests were coordinated around the arrival of Prime Minister Recap Erdogan in the southeastern city. The protesters were dispersed by tear gas and warning shots from police.

See online : Saeed sentenced to death for an offence he committed when he was 16

By Catherine Bosley

LONDON (Reuters) - Whether photographing prostitutes in a Tehran brothel or Saddam Hussein's chemical attack against Kurds, Pulitzer Prize-winner Kaveh Golestan wanted to shock viewers "like a slap in the face."

Golestan's photographs, which have graced the covers of Time magazine and The Economist, are the subject of the show "Recording the Truth in Iran" at the London School of Economics.

Golestan died in 2003 after stepping on a landmine while covering the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"His main point was people," Golestan's widow Hengameh told Reuters as she walked along a row of large black and white photographs.

"Nobody can ignore the truth," she said, adding that Golestan wrote that he intended his work to slap the viewer in the face.

DIE FOR THEIR BELIEFS

Golestan is best known for his photographs of the riots that brought down Iran's Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979 and ushered in a government based on Islamic law, for which he was awarded a Pulitzer.

Among the pictures on display at the LSE is one of a crowd of young men in suits throwing stones at police. In another, a student with a carnation in his hand scratches his head as he stares at a blood-stained pavement.

Iranians forced the U.S.-backed Shah, whom they accused of neglecting the poor, from power and replaced him with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had spent some 15 years in exile.

When in February 1979 Khomeini returned to Tehran, Golestan was on hand to photograph him getting out of the airplane.

During Iran's bloody eight-year conflict with Iraq, Golestan headed for the frontline, covering Iraq's siege of the southern Iranian city of Abadan.

"I was amazed by how youngsters were willing to die for their beliefs," Golestan said in a quote displayed alongside his pictures at the LSE.

Because Iran was outmatched by Iraq's military, Khomeini recruited thousands of teenaged boys imbued with religious fervour and sent them into battle.

"I felt I had to show this though my photos," Golestan said. "I was in search of the deep human feelings that are buried within each person."

One of Golestan's photographs on display at the LSE exhibition shows a wounded young soldier lying on the ground, his face a mask of agony and a picture of Khomeini peering out from his shirt pocket.

EXPOSING INJUSTICE

Hengameh, who lives in London, says that among her favourites are her husband's pictures of prostitutes, which he took before the 1979 Islamic revolution.

"With prostitutes you usually think they're dirty women. But he totally changed my mind," she says, pointing to a shot of a heavy-set woman clutching a cat. "These people are poor. You can see they're not horrible women."

Hengameh says her husband, like many Iranians, initially supported Khomeini.

"The revolution wasn't just mullahs. It was everybody in Iran. He wasn't against the revolution. He was pro-people," she said, adding that Golestan ran into trouble with the shah's regime.

Golestan's first photo exhibition, which featured pictures of children in mental hospitals, was closed down by the shah's secret police.

"He was always exposing some injustice in Iran," she said.

"Recording the Truth in Iran" runs from November 10 to December 19.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Iran Focus

Iran’s State Security Forces (SSF) are carrying out a nationwide crackdown primarily targeting youths and women.

The government-ordered clampdown is taking place under the guise of combating "trouble-makers" and "mal-veilers".

Click below to watch a film showing the police brutality in Iran.

The footage, which was captured in Khorramabad, western Iran, first aired on the Iranian opposition satellite station Simaye Azadi on Tuesday. Simaye Azadi said it obtained the video from supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (MeK). 

Click here to watch the film.

NCRI – The mullahs' regime announced the start of a new "security drills" in Tehran for a six day period beginning on Monday.

Simultaneous with the games, the State Security Forces (SSF) – mullahs' suppressive police – has tightened the security by having Special Patrols on Tehran traffic jammed streets.

According to reliable reports from the Resistance sources in Iran, most street corners are manned with 10 SSF agents. In addition, there are Special Patrol Vehicles roaming around the city districts making their presence visible to local residents. They intentionally turn on their sirens and beacon lights to terrorize the public.  

Rajabzadeh called the new move "public security and serenity."  He then went on to say,"30,000 SSF agents with 4,000 military vehicles and 50 helicopters will guarantee Tehran's security during the maneuvers."
 
On November 1, Brig. Gen. Abdullah Iraqi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC) Prophet Mohammad's garrison in charge of Tehran's protection announced a new security plan for the capital, reported the state-run news agency Fars.
 
"Units from Bassij [paramilitary Bassij force] joining the regular State Security Forces (SSF) – mullahs' suppressive police-- began patrolling the streets of capitals," Iraqi said.

"We tested these units for their performance on duty with regular SSF units and the results were overwhelming. Thus, since October 28, the mix Bassij and SSF units went fully operational throughout Tehran. The units will replace the fixed check points operating in the capital," Iraqi added.
He said that the reasons for the changes were a better security respond to the citizens' growing need for higher security in Tehran's districts.

However, the real reason behind the IRGC and SSF new plans are adopting more suppressive measures against rising popular protests in Tehran and elsewhere in the country.

NCRI - Morteza Tamadon, Tehran's governor introduced on Tuesday a new security apparatus called "Council for Providing Security," reported the state-run Shahabnews.  "The new body is consisted of thirteen other security council working in Tehran Governorate to ensure durable security for citizens," Tamadon said.

Tehran's officials' talk of more security comes at the time when another body named "Province Security" is already operating in the capital and 29 other provinces, Shahabnews added.

Tamadon did not go into the details of what specifically this new "council" will do. However, he did say that we should expect the security forces to perform their best. Rather, security in cultural and economic aspects is very important too.

"Peace and serenity are two very important components in a healthy society. We need a stress free environment to do our job," the governor said.

The timing for the new announcement is of considerable importance since it comes simultaneous with the six day "drills" already in progress by the State Security Forces (SSF) – mullahs' suppressive police – in Tehran.       

Ankara, 13 Nov. (AKI) - Turkey has reached agreement with the Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq on a strategic plan to counter violent separatists from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). According to Turkish media reports citing the Firat news agency, the administration in northern Iraq led by Massoud Barzani will cut links between Europe and the PKK, which uses bases in northern Iraq as a springboard to launch cross-border attacks on neighbouring Turkey.

Turkey also wants Barzani to force PKK militants to leave northern Iraqi territory, the agreement says.

The agreement also includes the deployment of special Turkish forces to strategic locations in northern Iraq, in addition to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, in a bid to cut logistic, political and military support to the PKK.

In return Turkey will recognise the Barzani administration, Firat reported. Turkey will also open an embassy in Erbil and invite Barzani to the Turkish capital of Ankara, it added.

Turkish officials claim 2,000 PKK terrorists are hiding in the mountains of northern Iraq, where they enjoy free dom of movement.

Turkey, backed by intelligence from the United States, has stepped up its campaign to crackdown on the PKK both inside Turkey and in northern Iraq, since the organisation increased its attacks on Turkish soldiers, as well as civilians.

The PKK is classified as a terrorist organisation by the European Union, the US and several other countries.