REPRESENTATIVES OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF IRAN MEET WITH CANDIDATES FOR IRI PRESIDENT

TEHERAN, JUNE 16, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On the eve of
the 9th president’s elections of Iran, on the initiatuve of the
Iranian Armenian national authorities, eight candidates for the IRI
President were addressed applications for meetings at which demands
of the Iranian Armenians and information about their difficulties
and unsolved issues are to be presented. Meeting the invitation,
Tajzade, the representative of Doctor Moini, a candidate for
President, visited the Armenian National Primacy of Teheran on June
14. He presented the candidates’ programs and approaches concerning
religious minorities and other issues. He was presented demands of
the Iranian Armenians. According to the “Alik” daily of Teheran,
in the same evening, the representatives of the Armenian community
of Iran had meetings with ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, a candidate
for presidency, who was also presented issues and demands the Iranian
Armenians were interested in. Early on June 15, representatives of
national authorities had a meeting with candidate Mohsen Mehralizade,
and later with candidate Kearubi. A letter signed by the Chief
of Doctor Ghalibaf’s electoral center was received, according to
which the candidate is out of Teheran and asks Armenian compatriots’
pardon. The other two candidates, Rezayi and Ahmadinezhad have not
answered the applications. On the eve of the president’s election,
Iranian Armenian youth and students addressed questions concerning
issues touching the Armenians in general, and the Iranian Armenians,
in particular, to the candidates’ electoral centers. Candidates Moin,
Rafsanjani and Kearubi answered questions of the “Hunan Davtian”
Students Union. On June 16, on the initiative of the same union, a
“roundtable” will be organized at the hall of “Alik” on the theme of
the president’s elections.