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AHMADINEJAD ANGERS PARLIAMENT
Maryam Sinaiee, Foreign Correspondent
The National
Sept 9 2010
UAE
TEHRAN // The recent appointment of four special envoys by President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad violates Iran~Rs constitution and should be
withdrawn, nearly half of the members of Iran~Rs parliament say.
A written statement signed by 122 of the parliament~Rs 290 legislators
on Tuesday said the president must follow the guidelines by the
supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned the government
last week against ~Sparallel action in various fields, including
foreign policy.~T
Mr Ahmadinejad on August 22 designated the four envoys to handle
presidential diplomacy in the Middle East, Asia, Afghanistan and the
Caspian Sea. Ayatollah Khamenei has the last say in matters of foreign
policy, and foreign ministers are never appointed without his approval.
The president~Rs critics believe Mr Khamenei~Rs remarks last week
showed his disapproval of Mr Ahmadinejad~Rs attempts to form his own
foreign policy team. The president had chosen his foreign minister
largely to gain a parliamentary vote of confidence in his government.
~SWe hope that Mr Ahmadinejad explains whether he doesn~Rt trust the
foreign ministry, which is apparently the reason he has appointed
special envoys so that certain messages are to be delivered by
such envoys outside of the accepted diplomatic [channels],~T the
conservative legislator, Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, the Fararu news
portal quoted him as saying on Sunday.
According to a report issued Sunday by the parliament~Rs research
office, the president is entitled under the constitution only to
appoint special envoys ~Sin special cases~T or ~Sif required by need~T
and not in general fields such as ~SAsian affairs~T.
Such appointments require cabinet approval and parliamentary input
to ensure their compatibility with Iranian law. Mr Ahmadinejad~Rs
appointments had neither, the report said.
Critics of the president are also concerned that two of his
appointments - chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie as special envoy
for Middle East and the head of Iran~Rs Cultural Heritage and Tourism
Organisation, Hamid Baghaie, as special envoy for Asian Affairs -
lack experience in foreign policy and are not qualified for the posts.
A few days after Mr Baghaie~Rs appointment was announced, he caused an
outcry in Turkey when he made a reference to ~Sgenocide of Armenians
by the Ottomans~T at a seminar in Tehran titled ~SIran: The Bridge
to Victory~T.
After strong editorial protests in Turkish newspapers, Cultural
Heritage and Tourism Organization said August 28 that the remarks of
its director had been distorted.
Turkey~Rs foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, also called his Iranian
counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, for an explanation of Mr Baghaie~Rs
comments.
~SRemarks such as those ~E weaken the Iranian diplomacy machine. It
is not clear based on what authority and from what position Mr Baghaie
has made such crude remarks,~T Mr Mottaki told reporters on Sunday.
Whether Mr Ahmadinejad cancels the appointment of special envoys is
a test of his loyalty to Ayatollah Khamenei, conservative critics say.
~SIndifference to the wishes of the Supreme Leader and religious
authorities ~E can have very high costs for the players in this scene,
however capable they may think they are,~T the conservative Alef news
portal warned the president on Monday.
From: A. Papazian
Maryam Sinaiee, Foreign Correspondent
The National
Sept 9 2010
UAE
TEHRAN // The recent appointment of four special envoys by President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad violates Iran~Rs constitution and should be
withdrawn, nearly half of the members of Iran~Rs parliament say.
A written statement signed by 122 of the parliament~Rs 290 legislators
on Tuesday said the president must follow the guidelines by the
supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned the government
last week against ~Sparallel action in various fields, including
foreign policy.~T
Mr Ahmadinejad on August 22 designated the four envoys to handle
presidential diplomacy in the Middle East, Asia, Afghanistan and the
Caspian Sea. Ayatollah Khamenei has the last say in matters of foreign
policy, and foreign ministers are never appointed without his approval.
The president~Rs critics believe Mr Khamenei~Rs remarks last week
showed his disapproval of Mr Ahmadinejad~Rs attempts to form his own
foreign policy team. The president had chosen his foreign minister
largely to gain a parliamentary vote of confidence in his government.
~SWe hope that Mr Ahmadinejad explains whether he doesn~Rt trust the
foreign ministry, which is apparently the reason he has appointed
special envoys so that certain messages are to be delivered by
such envoys outside of the accepted diplomatic [channels],~T the
conservative legislator, Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, the Fararu news
portal quoted him as saying on Sunday.
According to a report issued Sunday by the parliament~Rs research
office, the president is entitled under the constitution only to
appoint special envoys ~Sin special cases~T or ~Sif required by need~T
and not in general fields such as ~SAsian affairs~T.
Such appointments require cabinet approval and parliamentary input
to ensure their compatibility with Iranian law. Mr Ahmadinejad~Rs
appointments had neither, the report said.
Critics of the president are also concerned that two of his
appointments - chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie as special envoy
for Middle East and the head of Iran~Rs Cultural Heritage and Tourism
Organisation, Hamid Baghaie, as special envoy for Asian Affairs -
lack experience in foreign policy and are not qualified for the posts.
A few days after Mr Baghaie~Rs appointment was announced, he caused an
outcry in Turkey when he made a reference to ~Sgenocide of Armenians
by the Ottomans~T at a seminar in Tehran titled ~SIran: The Bridge
to Victory~T.
After strong editorial protests in Turkish newspapers, Cultural
Heritage and Tourism Organization said August 28 that the remarks of
its director had been distorted.
Turkey~Rs foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, also called his Iranian
counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, for an explanation of Mr Baghaie~Rs
comments.
~SRemarks such as those ~E weaken the Iranian diplomacy machine. It
is not clear based on what authority and from what position Mr Baghaie
has made such crude remarks,~T Mr Mottaki told reporters on Sunday.
Whether Mr Ahmadinejad cancels the appointment of special envoys is
a test of his loyalty to Ayatollah Khamenei, conservative critics say.
~SIndifference to the wishes of the Supreme Leader and religious
authorities ~E can have very high costs for the players in this scene,
however capable they may think they are,~T the conservative Alef news
portal warned the president on Monday.
From: A. Papazian