Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRmUNE, SATURDAY-SUNpAY, APRIL 12-13, 1997
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By Tom Buerkle
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BRUSSELS - European govemme!lts
struggled Friday to define a new
pohcy toward Iran, beginning the formal
recall of ambassadors from Tehran
b~t ~esisting suggestions that Europe
mimic the U.S. effort to isolate the Islamic
regime diplomatically and economically.
That reticence, including a rejection
by France of economic Sanctions indicated
that the 15-nation European'Union
was unlikely to go beyond the suspc:nsion
of its so.-called critical dialogue
With Iran, which was decided late
Thursday, officials said.
But the European response to a German
court ruling that Iran engaged in
state-sponsored terrorism by slaying
three Kurdish dissidents and their translator
in Berlin in 1992 was firm enough
to win praise from the White House and
condemnation from Iran.
. In a scene that recalled images of the
siege of the U.S. Embassy in 1979.
about 3,000 demonstrators marched on'
!he german Embassy in Tehran, pelting
It Withtomatoes and chanting' 'Death to
Germany!" and "Fascist Germany ser":
vant of Zionism!"
'
.President Hashemi Rafsanjani disrmssed
the German ruling and the
Euro~an .reaction to it as a passing
storm mstlgated by the United States.
and Israel.
He predicted that European countries
would retllm their ainbassadors to
:rehran shortly, as they did afterprotestmg
the death edict against Salmari
Rushdie, the British author; in 1989. He
~dtd that '~was stronger eConom-
Ically than e~ty~ alo .and could
stand up to f~ ~UOt.'
. "W. . es 1IiOâldft='" '. .. *m to Ir....... -.-yUp .
th;. noise in.c . ~ Mi:'Rafsanjani
toIQwQf$biners2atbénld.at-Tebran University
for Friday prayers. "But this will
bring them nothing. ' ,
In Washington, the White House
spokesman, Michael McCurry, hailed
the German court ruling as a confirm~
ation of U.S. charges that'Iran sponsors
international terrorism.
"The European Union and the German
govemment responded appropriately to
that court decision," Mr. McCurry said.
"We'll continue our very close consultations
with our European allies about the
activities that we deem reprehensible by
the government of Iran."
In contrast with the Western condemnation,
President Boris Yeltsin of Russia
promised to strengthen ties with Iran. He
made the pledge during a meeting in
Moscow with the leader of the Iranian
Parliament, Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri.
"We have good, positive cooperation
with Iran, which shows a tendency to
grow," Mr. Yeltsin said.
The leader of the Communists in the.
~ussian Parliament, Gennadi
Seleznyov, criticized the German verdict,
saying, "There is no court in the
world which has the authority to pass'
sentence on a whole nation. ' ,
The overture from Russia, which is
Seeking allies as a counterweight to
NATO's J.>lannedexpansion into eastern
Europe, highlighted one of the problems
facing European policymakers as they
ponder what, if any, additional steps to
take against Iran. The Europeans know
that many countries, including Russia
and Turkey, are ,eager to step intO'any
commercial and diplomatic gap left by a
European withdrawal.
. "D!, c~urse. it's an unpleasant regune,
said Michael Sroermer, director
of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik
in Cologne. "But in the real world to
ignore a country in this geopolitical siroatio~
- with ~5 million people, controlling
~ verr Important piece of real
esta~, With ml and gas - is not very
realistic. ' ,
Greece underscored the liniits of
European unity, meanwhile, saying that
it was not convinced of the need to recall
its ambassador. A spokesman for the
German Foreign Ministry expressed
"astonishment and surprise" at the lack
of solidarity from Athens.
European officials also showed no
signs of shedding their traditional disdain
for U.S.-style economic sanctions
or diplomatic isolation, especially given
the lack of results from Washington's
hard-line stance.
Jacques Rummelhardt, a spokesman
for the French Foreign Ministry, indicated
that France would oppose any altempt
to impose economic sanctions Oll
Iran. "In general, embargoes do not
seem to us to be an appropriate mea-,
sure," he said.
Still, a senior EU official said that
some sanctions, perhaps including a ban
on visas for Iranian officials and restrictions
on loans to Tehran, would be
among the options put to EU foreign
ministers when they meet April 19 in
Luxembourg.
This official also thought European
governments might agree to closer scru-,
tiny of Iranian diplomats stationed in
their countries. On Friday, Britain noted
its expulsion of suspected Iranian intelligence
officials in 1992 and 1994,
and suggested that France and Germany
had failed to crack down on Iranian
operatives working from embassies in
Paris and Bonn.
European oil companies, meanwhile,
said they would not refrain from new
investments in Iran.
, Total, a French company, said it
would continue with its $600 million
project to develop the Sirri oil and gas
fields, while the British-Dutch oil giant
Royal Dutch/Shell said it would continue
to talk to Iran about developing its
huge gas reserves.
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