ITALIAN PREMIER’S BRIEF SOJOURN IN TEHRAN TO FOSTER RELATIONS
By Ahmad Ra’fat
ROME 24 Feb. (IPS) Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato is going to Tehran today for an eight hours "exclusively working" visit "in line with the exchange of visits between the senior Iranian and Italian officials, Italian sources said Friday.
During his brief visit to the Iranian capital, Mr. Amato is scheduled to meet with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and first Vice President Hasan Habibi, they added.
Originally, Mr. Amato was scheduled to go to Tehran on Friday and stay until Sunday, but following an outcry by the Italian parliament, where more than 300 MPs demanded an outright cancellation of the visit in protest to the "bundle suspension" of independent publications and the arrest of a dozen of reformist journalists on orders of the lamed leader of the regime, Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i.
The MPs from both the ruling coalition and opposition told a press conference that Amato should at the very least seize the opportunity to "strongly condemn the grave violations of human and civic rights in Iran.
Opposition legislator Marco Taradash said Rome had "harmed Iranian reformers through its policy of unconditional openness."
Trips to Tehran by Italian officials has become a ritual on the same level as their contacts with other European and American partners, a "tradition" layed down by former Italian Premier Romano Prodi, the present President of the Eeuropean Union, who became the first European Prime Minister to officially visit Tehran after the Islamic revolution of 1979.
In that past 12 months, Italian ministers of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Industries and Foreign Trade as well as the President of the Italian parliament Luciano Violante have visited Iran and it is expected that the Education Minister and even the President, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, would follow Mr. Amato in the Iranian capital.
Responding to critics of his planned visit, Mr. Amato said it was necessary to leave open the doors half open to Tehran, observing that Iran was one of the countries where "presence of dangerous elements inside the establishment threatens international peace and security".
In an editorial, "Corriere Della Sera" asked if it was not time to review Italy’s past policies concerning the Islamic Republic, as the EU approach of "critical dialogue" not only has not helped reformers but has harmed them badly, profiting the ruling hard liners.
Italy is Iran's first Western European trading partner. The volume of bilateral trade for the last year exceeded 2.5 billions US Dollars and the first months of the present year saw the conclusion of several important contracts signed during the visit of the Industries and Commerce Minister Enrico Letta, who travelled to Tehran between 16 to 21 February, leading a 120 members strong Italian trade and business delegation.
In his talks with the Iranian counterpart, Mr. Letta said scrapping of double taxation levied by Iran was a "precondition" for expansion of economic ties with Iran and active participation of both Italian and European companies in the Iranian economy and called on Tehran to remove hurdles to expansion of bilateral trade.
He said improvement in social and human rights conditions, curbing illegal migration and reforming red tape in Iran would help expand Tehran-Rome relations.
''Italy is monitoring the human rights situation as well as economic development in Iran and if the conditions that are conducive to easier trade ties are met, Italy is fully prepared for closer relations'', he remarked on his return from Tehran, observing that "Iran was not the worst of Italy’s trade partners".
However, he suggested that both Italy and the EU should continue supporting reform process undertaken by President Mohammad Khatami, saying that in his opinion, "democracy being contagious, as demonstrated by the number of dictatorial regimes that, once in close contact in the nineties with democratic regimes, they fell, victims of democracy virus".
Like in the case of the President of German Bundestag Herr Wolfgang Thierse and Mrs. Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, conservatives-controlled media reacted angrily to Mr. Letta’s statements, describing them as an "inadmissible interference" in Iranian domestic affairs.
Talking to IPS, Mr.Taradash said:"It is painful to see the Italian government be satisfied with signing trade agreements with Iran without considering political dimensions of the ties".
"Even if the policy of non-critical dialogue with Iran was adopted with all the good wills to help the reform process started after the victory of President Khatami, however, events that shock Iran in the past months are proof that not only Mr. Khatami’s position has not been strengthen, but also he became ever weaker", he added.
In his view, the continuation of friendly and constructive relations with Iran must be based on the respect, by the Iranian authorities, to individual and social rights and the end to the present repression of dissidents, freedom of expression and the press.
Former Foreign Minister and Professor of Laws at Rome University Antonio Martino, who is one of the signatories of the petition addressed to Amato says support provided by Italy to regimes such as Iran, Libya and Iraq is in the follow up of the nation’s anti-US policy adopted by former left wing governments, "a policy that aims at transforming the EU into an anti-American organisation, replacing the former Soviet Union, thus giving Iran an important role to play".
Besides political and economical issues, the presence and activities in Italy of the outlawed Mujahedeen Khalq Organisation would be also discussed between Amato and his Iranian counterparts, sources said, explaining that Tehran has made the matter one of its priorities in discussions with European countries.
Italy was the first European nation visited officially by President Mohammad Khatami and relations between the two ancient nations are cordial. ENDS IRAN ITALY 24201