World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (June 1, 2011)

Hurriyet Daily has published an article headlined “ 'PM Erdoğan is the biggest separatist' says Turkish opposition chief”, dealing with a speech delivered by the head of the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, on Tuesday, May 31, at his election rally in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. He didn’t make the expected announcement about new efforts aimed at solving the long-standing Kurdish issue. The opposition leader's claim was caused by Erdoğan’s criticism that Kılıçdaroğlu did not have Turkish flags on display during his election rallies, with the CHP chief saying: “It is wrong to conduct politics over flags. That is separatist. Erdoğan is thus the biggest separatist.”

The Los Angeles Times has published an article headlined  “Iran  parliament: Ahmadinejad ministry move illegal”, referring to Reuters. The article notes the declaration by the Iranian parliament on Wednesday, June 1, that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had acted illegally by declaring himself caretaker oil minister. The parliament referred the case to the judiciary, increasing pressure on him to quit the post.

The article notes that the legislature, which has repeatedly clashed with Ahmadinejad over key policy issues, voted to approve a report by its energy committee, which found Ahmadinejad's move a "clear violation of the law," the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. The news article reminds its readers that last month Ahmadinejad sacked Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi as part of a plan to merge several ministries to cut their number to 17 from 21, alarming his rivals within the conservative ruling elite. 

The New York Times has published a more detailed account of the events. The article is headlined “Iran Parliament: Ahmadinejad Ministry Move Illegal”. Besides some information identical to the LA Times article, the NY Times notes that the president has the power to remove ministers and put caretakers in place for up to three months before having to consult parliament, and he says nobody should be surprised by the reshuffle, which has been on the cards for some time.

But taking personal control of the ministry that exploits Iran's vast oil resources was seen by some as a power grab, in order to gain tighter control over the Islamic Republic's petro-dollars and a challenge to other arms of government. The parliamentary report is cited in the article: "This illegal and hasty action will undermine the Islamic Republic of Iran's interests on the international level".

The Washington Post has published an article dealing with the same issue, headlined “Iran’s parliament votes to send President Ahmadinejad to court for violating constitution”, based on Associated press data.

The article notes that, although it’s unclear whether there will be a lawsuit against Ahmadinejad, Wednesday’s vote in parliament shows the majority of Iranian lawmakers are siding with the Guardian Council — the country’s constitutional watchdog body — in an ongoing controversy with the president. The legislators voted 165-1 in favor of legal action against Ahmadinejad over his move last month to declare himself caretaker oil minister after he sacked Masoud Mirkazemi under a cabinet reshuffle plan. the remaining lawmakers in the 290-member assembly were either absent or abstained.