Voice of America July 31, 2008
Ahmad Rafat, VOA correspondent in Italy: The Kayhan daily in a very short editorial with no signature talks about “the mafia regime in Italy”, or says, “mafia representatives are sitting in Italy’s parliament”. There are two reasons for the furious reaction of Mr. Shariatmadari[ the editor of Iran’s state-run Kayhan and a theoretician of the regime]. First, the Rome’s municipality decision for naming one of the streets of Rome as 18Tir (8 July) in commemoration of Iranian students’ movement and their democratic demands in Iran; second, the decision of a group of members of the Italian Parliament and the Parliament speaker for meeting Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, who was in Rome last week.
Some Italian representatives have made comments in their interviews with Italy’s media. For instance, one of Italian lawmakers, Mrs. Elizabetta Zamparutti, in an interview with one of Italian media, said that Mr. Shriatmadari had better think about the executions, the arrests and the suppression in Iran, and not interferes in the affairs of a democratic parliament that has the right to meet with whoever it wants at any time. Another member of Italy’s parliament, Mrs. Fia Manestein from the ruling Freedoms party of Mr. Silvio Berluscon, said also that Mr. Shariatmadari had better think about Iran’s mafias rather think about Italy’s mafia. I also had a contact with the Italy’s foreign ministry; the spokesman said they already knew about the “editorial” and they had no intention to respond to it. They added that if the governments are to respond to any barking dog, they won’t have time for serious matters.