Muslim Demonstrations Continue, Iran Marks 27th Anniversary of Islamic Revolution

Iranian women walk on a U.S. flag during a demonstration to mark the 27th anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution in Tehran February 11, 2006. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl

Iranian demonstrators burn the U.S. flag during a demonstration to mark the 27th anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution in Tehran February 11, 2006. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl

French Muslims protest against cartoons of Prophet Mohammad published in several European newspapers in Strasbourg February 11, 2006. The cartoons have sparked protests across the Muslim world. The banner reads 'Islamophobia'. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

Muslim protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in front of the Danish embassy in Berlin against cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad, February 11, 2006. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

Muslim demonstrators kneel to pray during a demonstration at Dam Square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Saturday, Feb, 11, 2006. About 200 Muslims staged a demonstration against publication of cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad, ignoring pleas from mainstream Muslim leaders for restraint. (AP Photo/Evert Elzinga)

Zionazis detain a Palestinian demonstrator in Al-Quds Saturday Feb. 11, 2006. Zionazis on Saturday dispersed a crowd of Palestinian youths who tried to burn Danish flags to protest the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad deemed offensive to Muslims. The drawings, first published in a Danish newspaper and later reprinted in publications across Europe, have sparked outrage across the Islamic world. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Demonstrators participate in a protest against the publication of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammad in newspapers at Trafalgar Square in London February 11, 2006. REUTERS/Mike Finn-Kelcey

Pakistanis gather during a protest in Parachinar, a tribal town 300 km (186 miles) west of Islamabad February 11, 2006. Hundreds of protesters from Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim sects rallied in a tribal town on Saturday to condemn the recent suicide attack in Hangu. Pakistani investigators have found remains of a suspected suicide bomber who attacked a procession of minority Shi'ite Muslims, killing dozens of people and sparking sectarian clashes, police said on Saturday. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

Swiss Muslims pray in front of the house of parliament during a demonstration in Berne, February 11, 2006. The protesters staged a demonstration on Saturday to protest against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad printed by Danish and European media. REUTERS/Sebastian Derungs

A crowd gathers on a sidewalk outside the Philadelphia Inquirer, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006, in Philadelphia to protest the newspaper's decision to reprint a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad that has triggered worldwide protests issue so far. Denmark, where the drawings were first published four months ago, warned Danes to leave Indonesia, saying they faced a 'significant and imminent danger' from an extremist group and announced it had withdrawn embassy staff from Jakarta, Iran and Syria. Muslims in several European and Asian countries, meanwhile, kept up their protests against the caricatures. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy)

James Stephsenson of Coatsville, Pa. holds signs during a protest outisde the offices of the Philadelphia Inquirer Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006, in Philadelphia. The protest was over the newspaper's decision to reprint a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy)

Othman Gomez Kortazar (2nd L), spokesman for the Assabil Islamic centre, speaks to the press in Bilbao, northern Spain, February 11,2006, during a protest against cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed, published in various European newspapers. REUTERS/Vincent West

A protester holds a copy of the Koran during a demonstration against a Danish newspaper's publication of caricatures of Prophet Mohammad, in Montreal February 11, 2006. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi

Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN -- Millions of Iranians across the country took to the streets on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The rallies were different this year since the country is being treated unfairly over its civilian nuclear program.

Irritated by the unjust treatment, which goes against all established international treaties, masses of people poured into the streets to show that they have no intention of relinquishing their legal rights, even in the face of bullying by the major powers.

The demonstration in the capital Tehran was captured by about 700 cameras and correspondents from various countries. The foreign news media acknowledged the strong turnout and the reasons behind it. The marchers were to converge on Azadi Square to listen to a speech by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, but the streets leading to the main square were so crowded that many people could not even get near the area.

Almost all senior and mid-ranking officials as well as ordinary people who attended the march described the massive turnout as a strong and unequivocal message to certain Western governments that the great Iranian nation would not be intimidated by bullying powers in its justified and legal path. Fresh from mourning ceremonies for Ashura marking the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), the marchers angrily and loudly voiced their support for Iran’s nuclear energy program, chanting, “Nuclear technology is our inalienable right.”

The marchers were so vocal in their unwavering support for the country’s nuclear rights that some commentators called it a “national nuclear referendum”.

Naturally, citizens are asking themselves why Iran is being pressured to relinquish its rights after all the close cooperation and all the investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In his speech, the president said Iran may reconsider its membership in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if it feels its enemies are using the accord to unfairly pressure the country.

After two and a half years of talks with the European Union big three (France, Germany, and Britain), during which they found out that Iran does not seek nuclear arms and only wants to have nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, the EU3 revealed their true motivation and asked Iran to scrap its nuclear technology for producing nuclear fuel.

“They tell us, ‘You don’t need nuclear energy,’ but we tell them, ‘If nuclear energy is a bad thing, why do you have it, and if it is good, why don’t you allow other nations to have it, too?’”

The president said the industrialized countries want to maintain their technological superiority over other nations.

“They want to keep the valuable nuclear energy at their disposal so that they can sell it in drops at the price of the blood of nations in the future and impose their will on other nations.”

The president went on to say that some countries which are members of the IAEA have not signed the treaty banning the proliferation of nuclear weapons and possess nuclear arsenals, adding that such countries are now trying to decide for Iran and other nations.

“They have become so rude that they even tell us that we don’t we have the right to (nuclear) research.”

Without mentioning Israel by name, the president said there is an occupying regime in the region which has not signed the treaty but has stockpiled nuclear weapons and endangers the security of the region.

“We ask, ‘Why should they have stockpiles of nuclear weapons and threaten the security of the region and then tell us that they have not signed the NPT?’”

Ahmadinejad expressed astonishment at the current situation, saying it seems that the countries which have not signed the NPT have the right to do whatever they wish, but Iran, which was among the first countries to sign the NPT, should not have the right to use civilian nuclear technology.

"The Islamic Republic's policy has been to pursue its nuclear efforts in the framework of the agency and the NPT.

"However, if we find out they intend to take advantage of these regulations to destroy the rights of the Iranian people, you should know that the Iranian nation will reconsider its policy," he added.

The crowd voiced its approval of Ahmadinejad's remarks with chants of "Nuclear technology is our inalienable right".

"We would still like to be patient, so do not try to wear down our patience," the president said.

"You are telling us not to produce our own nuclear fuel and that you are going to produce it somewhere else instead and then give it back to us… Do you think we believe you?

"You have deprived our country of spare parts for passenger planes for 27 years. What's the guarantee you will provide our nuclear fuel tomorrow?"

According to international law, any country which sells airplanes should also sell spare parts to the buyers, Ahmadinejad pointed out.

President shrugs off threat of sanctions

The president added that the industrialized countries think that they are talking with a people who are behind the times.

“Do you think that you are talking to nations of one hundred years ago? You are trying to impose your consumer goods… you should know that our nation and Muslims with strong will, natural talent, and with reliance on God can overcome problems.

"They will not sell us things. Very well then, don't. The young people here have developed technology for nuclear energy and stem cells with their bare hands. So they will definitely be able to provide their own daily requirements."

Ahmadinejad mocks Western concept of freedom of speech

Ahmadinejad also accused European countries of being puppets of the Israelis for publishing newspaper cartoons of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him and his household).

"They say that their countries are free, but they are lying. They are held hostage by Zionists, and the Americans and Europeans should pay for that," he told the crowd.

“Those who have insulted the prophet of Islam have actually insulted monotheism and justice. They have no faith in any of the divine prophets.

"How come insults are free in your country but any research on the Holocaust is a crime?"

Ahmadinejad has called for an academic conference to be held to discuss what happened in the Holocaust.

"If you are searching for the Holocaust, you will find the real Holocaust in Palestine," he added.

"Questioning the myth of the Holocaust and the creation of the illegitimate Zionist regime have haunted them.

"For more than 60 years, this myth has enabled the Zionists to blackmail the Western countries, justify the killing of women and children, and make them refugees in occupied land," the president said as carried by the AFP news agency.

"We suggested to them that we will send an unbiased group to look at your documents in Europe and inform the nation, but you will not even allow your own scholars to investigate the Holocaust.

"This is the same way as you dealt with things in the Dark Ages."

Ahmadinejad also hailed the victory of Hamas in last month's Palestinian parliamentary elections.

"The Zionists are on the verge of being destroyed; the time of occupation is coming to an end, so put an end to your slavery of Zionism," he said of the West.

"The recent elections in Palestine show what is inside the nation, so if you want a solution to the Palestinian issue, let them say what they want to say in a referendum, the result of which you have seen so far," he added.

http://tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=2/12/2006&Cat=2&Num=011

The shadows of Iranian protesters are cast over a representation of an Israeli flag which they are burning in a demonstration to mark the 27th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran, Saturday Feb. 11, 2006. The Iranian president on Saturday rejected Western pressure to freeze the country's nuclear program and issued a veiled threat to walk away from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)