These Suicides Have Messages

The newspaper Etemad, in its Tuesday issue, published the results of a survey of 30 political activists regarding the "polarization" of the upcoming 10th Majlis (Parliament) elections and the "possible composition" of the 10th Majlis. According to this newspaper, the outcome of the predictions from the 30 political activists regarding the "polarization of the elections" indicates that "50 percent" of the participants in this survey predict the upcoming elections will be "bipolar" and "43.87 percent" predict it will be "tripolar." The participants in the Etemad survey have predicted that the possible composition of the next parliament will consist of "45.86 percent reformists, 43.81 percent principlists, and 11.33 percent independents." The newspaper Vatan-e-Emruz dedicated its front page photo and headline to the "Hafez protest" and the gathering on Tuesday of "stockholders in response to the index drop and lack of transparency in the capital market hall." Etemad reported that on Tuesday, coinciding with a press conference held by the head of the Stock Exchange Organization, "the protest of stockholders shook the windows of the Hafez Hall." Etemad wrote: "Protesting stockholders, holding placards, demanded an end to organized corruption in the stock market," and "this gathering took place while stockholders had also protested against the intensification of market drops last February." The newspaper Arman reported on the "arrest of three members of the board of directors of the financial and credit institution Meyzan" on Sunday evening. Kambeiz Nourouzi, a lawyer, in an article titled "Iranian Journalist, Iranian Foreign Minister" in the Shargh newspaper, while referring to the "unspeakable hardships, job instability, professional insecurity, deprivation of the right to professional organization, and many other things" that Iranian journalists face, defended the recent statements of Mohammad Javad Zarif denying the existence of imprisoned journalists and political prisoners, stating: "No foreign minister can say anything or take any action in international relations that would put his government and country in a position of responsibility for accusations of violating international regulations or provide grounds for decisions against his government." The newspaper Qanoon, while publishing the news of a student girl's suicide in Shiraz in public view, discussed the increase in suicides with the secretary of the Social Workers Association and quoted him as saying: "These suicides have messages." The newspaper Iran reported on the holding of a "press conference by Yemeni Mujahideen at the Iran Institute" and wrote that on Tuesday, the office of this newspaper "hosted a group of activists and political elites from Yemen," including "Mohammad al-Qubaili, a political member of Ansarullah." This newspaper, in a report titled "Revealing Saudi Crimes in Yemen," quoted "Yemeni speakers" participating in this media meeting as saying: "Since the beginning of the airstrikes of Operation Decisive Storm, 1,750 people have been killed in Yemen, and 6,500 others have been injured, of whom 70 percent are women and children. The continuation of this trend, alongside the shortage of medical and health services, has led to a humanitarian disaster. Currently, 25 million Yemeni citizens are under the fire of air and artillery attacks by the Al Saud. Of these, about 9 million Yemeni children are living in fear and terror from the sound of bombs. About 5 million students have been deprived of education, and as a result of these attacks, more than 35 schools, 12 universities, 25 mosques, and 35 food warehouses have been completely destroyed." The predictions of 30 political figures regarding the possible composition of the 10th Majlis were published by Etemad. According to this newspaper, the outcome of the predictions from the 30 political activists regarding the "polarization of the elections" indicates that "50 percent" of the participants in this survey predict the upcoming elections will be "bipolar" and "43.87 percent" predict it will be "tripolar," while "3.3 percent" predict it will be "unipolar" and "3.3 percent" predict it will be "four-polar." The outcome of the predictions from the 30 political figures regarding the composition of the 10th Majlis is that the seats in the next parliament will consist of "45.86 percent reformists, 43.81 percent principlists, and 11.33 percent independents." Etemad introduced Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Khomeini, and Mohammad Reza Aref as influential figures of reform in the upcoming Majlis elections and noted in the images and descriptions published for this section that there was no mention of "Mohammad Khatami," the president during the reform period. The publication of Khatami's photo, name, and statements in Iranian media has been banned by the judiciary for several months. This newspaper also named Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, Ali Larijani, and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri as "influential principlists in the Majlis elections" and wrote: "Ahmadinejad's supporters have identified all the rifts among principlists and are continuing their political life exactly at those points." Etemad wrote: "The outcome of this survey indicates a change in the composition of the 10th Majlis with the return of reformists. The total predictions of principlists show that they know better than anyone that their era of dominance in the political sphere of Iran has come to an end, and for this reason, unlike previous years, they are acknowledging the social power of reformists and stating that reformists, along with supporters of the moderate government, will be a main pole in the 10th Majlis elections." According to this newspaper, "Reformists, who had adopted a strategy of voluntary isolation in the 9th Majlis elections, know that the way back to the political arena and management of the country passes through the ballot box, and with a correct understanding of their current position and with the strategy of 'all together,' they want to change the composition of the Majlis, as if it is time for reformists to become tenants of the house of politics and power and emerge from forced suspension." Nasser Imani, a principlist figure in the Etemad survey, stated: "Reformists will occupy less than 20 percent of the seats, and the remaining seats will be almost equally divided between principlists and supporters of the government," while Ahmad Shirzad, a reformist figure, stated: "Reformists will occupy 55 to 60 percent, traditional principlists 20 percent, and radical principlists 20 percent" of the seats in the next Majlis. The Hafez protest; the gathering of stockholders shook the glass of the stock hall. The newspaper Vatan-e-Emruz also dedicated its front page photo and headline to the "Hafez protest" and the gathering on Tuesday of "stockholders in response to the index drop and lack of transparency in the capital market hall." This newspaper wrote: "At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, stockholders gathered in front of the building of the stock exchange hall on Hafez Street and protested against extensive losses due to the negative trend of the indices and the lack of government support for the capital market." Vatan-e-Emruz emphasized that "stockholders are protesting against the management of the capital market and claim that the management of this market has been effective in exacerbating the losses of stockholders," writing: "Some of the protesters said that the value of their investments in the market has halved in the past one or two years, and they are facing serious problems." Vatan-e-Emruz reported that "the value of the capital market has decreased from 314 trillion tomans in recent months to 283 trillion tomans, and the stock index has dropped from about 75,000 units to 63,000 units." The newspaper Etemad also reported that on Tuesday, coinciding with the press conference of the head of the Stock Exchange Organization, "the protest of stockholders shook the windows of the Hafez Hall." Shahin Yasemi in a report for Etemad wrote: "The first press conference of the head of the Stock Exchange in 2015 was held yesterday while a pre-planned gathering by market activists protesting the crisis of the past month of the Tehran stock market was taking place in front of the Hafez Hall." According to this newspaper, "the market's positive performance on the day of the spokesperson's press conference, controversial initial offerings, daily changes in the trading volume of the newly arrived symbol 'Mobin,' special codes in the stock market, and allegations of corruption in the shares of refining and petrochemical industries, etc., indicate a murky atmosphere that led to the gathering of some members of the capital market in front of the glass hall next to the Hafez Bridge on Tuesday." Etemad wrote: "Protesting stockholders, holding placards, demanded an end to organized corruption in the stock market," and "this gathering took place while stockholders had also protested against the intensification of market drops last February." This newspaper emphasized that "in the market on Tuesday, however, the manipulation of prices and indices and the positive adjustment of symbols were clear and obvious, reinforcing the suspicion of organized corruption in the stock market, and despite the shallow growth, concerns about the state of the capital market continue." The free fall of the stock market, alongside the controversies surrounding the newly offered symbol Mobin, led to the protests of market activists against the performance of capital market managers, which recently resulted in some market activists writing to the Parliamentary Commission on Article 90. This issue has progressed to the point where in recent days, the head of the Article 90 Commission and some members of Parliament have reacted to the critical state of the stock market, believing that the Stock Exchange Organization should be held accountable. The newspaper Etemad reported that Mohammad Fattant-Fard, the head of the Stock Exchange Organization, on Tuesday, coinciding with the gathering of protesting stockholders in a meeting to which this newspaper was not invited, announced the "suspension of initial offerings until June, a one percent increase in the fluctuation range of transactions, and direct publication of information from the beginning of June," and criticized the monetary policies of the Central Bank for their impact on the capital market. This newspaper noted the increase in "criticisms of the performance of the Stock Exchange Organization, especially regarding initial offerings and violations in transactions," writing: "For nearly a month, the stock market has been in free fall. Just one week after the Lausanne agreement, the positive excitement that had led to the market boom changed, and the market entered an unprecedented recession; a recession that even the implementation of all the solutions proposed by stock managers could not change, resulting only in three unsuccessful initial offerings and the free fall of indices and prices during this period." According to Etemad, "the crisis has progressed to the point where even a two percent reduction in bank deposit interest rates and raising the prices of some products produced by stock companies could not heal the market. Meanwhile, 'legal entities' in the market have become reclusive in the past month and are contributing to the market's decline with a policy of inaction, while real stockholders are suffering more every day than the previous day." This newspaper recalled that "some technical analysts had predicted the current market crisis in the last days of 2014," and "this group of experts believes that the decline of indices and prices will continue in the market for now, and the recent fall of the stock market is a natural occurrence resulting from the heavy bubble formed in the market. Meanwhile, stock officials periodically deny these accusations." The arrest of three members of the board of directors of the financial and credit institution 'Meyzan.' The newspaper Arman reported on the "arrest of three members of the board of directors of the financial and credit institution Meyzan" on Sunday evening. This newspaper did not disclose the names of those arrested but noted that "the case of this institution has been open for months," writing: "The arrest of several board members may be the key to solving this puzzle." The financial and credit institution Meyzan introduces itself as an institution that "was established in February 2001 with the efforts of three thousand employees and judges of the judiciary of Greater Khorasan under the name 'credit cooperative' and began operations with one branch in Mashhad" and subsequently expanded to "107 branches in the provinces of Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, and South Khorasan, and Tehran." The newspaper Arman, in its report, noted that "the first suspicion that this institution created in the minds of the public was so widespread that on February 9 of last year, the Attorney General in Mashhad stated: This institution has no connection or affiliation with the judiciary, and this has been repeatedly stated by officials." According to this newspaper, it was several months ago that "the problem of the Meyzan institution began in Gonabad when depositors' requests to withdraw money from this institution's branch in that city led to a crowd and ultimately rumors of the institution's inability to repay. This rumor spread to other cities in southern Razavi Khorasan until all branches of this reputable institution, which was in the final stages of becoming a bank, faced a multitude of depositors demanding their money and withdrawing their deposits from their accounts. In this situation, although the Meyzan institution failed to respond to this large crowd and the heavy volume of their sudden demands, the chairman of the board of Meyzan announced that no rights of shareholders and depositors would be violated and efforts would be made to alleviate the problem with necessary liquidity, but no action was taken." The newspaper Arman recalled that in early May, the prosecutor of Mashhad, Gholamali Sadeghi, referred to the commitment of the managers and officials of the Meyzan financial and credit institution "to solve the problems of depositors, urging citizens to refrain from any illegal gatherings" and even "recommended to those who received loans from this institution to pay their loan installments on time, as otherwise, they would be prosecuted for breach of trust, and the Mashhad prosecutor's office would handle the cases without any delay and take decisive action against violators." The Mashhad prosecutor at that time urged depositors who had invested long-term or large amounts in this institution or who currently do not urgently need it to be patient.