POLICE have arrested 49 people this week in a northern Iranian city during a crackdown on "satanic" clothes, according to an IRNA news agency report. The measures are the latest in a country-wide campaign against Western cultural influence in the Islamic Republic, where strict dress codes are enforced.
"Police confronted rascals and thugs who appeared in public wearing satanic fashions and unsuitable clothing," Qaemshahr city police commander Mahmoud Rahmani told IRNA. Mr Rahmani also said that five barber shops were shut and 20 more warned for "promoting Western hairstyles".
In the past, such crackdowns have lasted a few weeks or months, but the current campaign was launched in 2007 and has not let up. It includes measures against men sporting spiky "Western" hairstyles or women wearing tight trousers and high boots.
Women are supposed to wear clothing that covers their hair and disguises the shape of their bodies. But some, particularly in cities, wear headscarves pushed back well beyond their hairlines and sport tight-fitting outfits.
Some analysts say the authorities fear such open acts of defiance against the Islamic Republic's values could escalate if they go unchecked. This worries them when Iran is under pressure from the West over its disputed nuclear work, they say.
"Some individuals, not knowing what culture they are imitating, put on clothing that was designed by the enemies of this country," Rahmani said. "The enemies of this country are trying to divert our youth and breed them the way they want and deprive them of a healthy life."
Mr Rahmani did not say how the offenders would be punished. Usual penalties are a warning or a fine.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has in the past suggested Iran's enemies may try to stage a "soft" or "velvet" revolution by infiltrating corrupt culture or ideas.
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Lebanese Christian leader Michelle Aoun, long hostile to Syria, arrived in Damascus on Wednesday in a historic first visit to Syria that will include talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and leaders of Syria's Christian community.
Lt. General Aoun, head of the parliamentary minority, told reporters at the airport that he hoped that his visit would usher in a bright stage in the Syrian-Lebanese relations, the official SANA news agency reported.
The head of the Lebanese arrived at the Damascus International Airport aboard Assad's private plane of and was met by Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Fisal al-Miqdad, who took him to the al-Shaab presidential palace.
The Syrian al-Watan daily quoted Aoun on Wednesday as saying that his three-day talks in Damascus would touch on Syrian-Lebanese diplomatic ties, demarcating borders and the missing Lebanese who are believed to be detained in Syria.
Aoun dismissed criticism of the historic visit by the rival March 14 coalition led by Saad Hariri, whose father Rafik Hariri, a former prime minister, was assassinated in 2005 in a bombing many blame on Syria. "I am being attacked because I said that Christianity had originated in Syria," the Lebanese al-Nahar daily quoted him as saying before his trip. "I want to separate Christians from the March 14 alliance because it was mistaken."
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Lebanese Christian leader Michelle Aoun, long hostile to Syria, arrived in Damascus on Wednesday in a historic first visit to Syria that will include talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and leaders of Syria's Christian community.
