Bani-Sadr disowns new Cabinet

Press, 2 September 1980, Page 9

Bani-Sadr disowns new Cabinet

: ‘ NZPA-Reuter 'Teheran ' Iran’s Government crisis -appears to be far from resolved despite toe fact that ' •the- Prime Minister (Mr Mo- ; natmnad Ali ;Rajai) "has finally. presented a Cabinet for parlrame -buy approval .after . weeks.-. of bickering : over . Ministerial ' '/'? When toe names of the 20 ' Ministers were read in the

Majlis (Parliament) yester- )’ day, it .was thought. -that • toey had ’the jprior approval J of . President Abolhassari ••Bani-Sadr .'tin accordance ■ With the -Constitution. ■But within hours the President told a newspaper sup- .. porting him that he had not approved -the list' -and an aide told 34ZPA-Reuter that President Bani-Sadr was not , Optimistic about the Cabinet’s future. i . Political observers were

more surprised that •Mr . Rajai presented his team to Parliament without formal ; ■ 1 presidential approval than i - • by its composition. : . Many saw it as a further > ■ set-back for President BaniSadr in his efforts to pre- >- vent hard-line Islamic revof . 'lutionaries from dominating the Government with the help of the dergy-led Islamic Republican Party. The President suffered his • > first serious defeat when the 1.R.P.-dominated Majlis pressurised him into accepting Mr Rajai, a 1 former school teacher with little admmis- { . trative experience, as Prime ~'Minister. Mr Rajai’s team,, little ■•< ’.known even within Iran, fear tured a string of youthful revolutionaries, but also in- - eluded . some academics,

apparently to placate lhe President who had called -for a Government of qualified, competent people. ; > The Foreign Ministry went to Hossein Moussavi, editor of the fundamentalist “Islamic Republic” newspaper, and the key Interior Ministry was retained by the only clergyman an the Cabinet, Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani. Sadeq Qotbzadeh, who formerly held the foreign Ministry, had said that he did not want to be part of the Cabinet ’ The National Guidance (Information) portfolio was given io Abas Douzdouzani, who spent five years dn jail rm a -charge of trying to assassinate the Shah in 1967. j

One of two proposed Commerce Ministers, Seyyed AssadoHah Lajvardi, helped blow up. the Teheran -office of Israel’s airlii e, El Al, during the Shah’s reign, the official Pars news agency reported. ' •. .

He -was tortured by the Savak security service and has damaged eyesight as a result, Pars added. Majlis deputies are to deride in their vote whether to accept

Mr Lajvardi or the present incumbent Reza Sadr.

The crucial n ii Ministiy went to Asghan Ibrahimi, a 27-year-old American-edu-cated petroleum engineer. ’ Mr Rajai said in a television broadcast yesterday that he had left the defence portfolio open as the President wanted to name a professional soldier to the post. .He also said that there was no need for the President to approve each Minister but added that President

Bani-Sadr had given him. a letter promising- work with his Cabinet and help' it succeed. . '•<<'•/

t The-Majlis is .expected to : debate and complete voting .on the. Cabinet'this week ( and few Ministers are -sx.~ .perted to face any serious , problem as Mr Rajai -has the ( full'backing of the Islamic t Republican Party.'•> ; -However, the lengthy process of forming: the coun-. . try’s first regular Tgovem--i ment since the revolution 18 ■, months: ago has left aarieiKf ; doubts about 'the ’ the IsJamic.iGopstituticri and the division of’ power b&> ’ tween ’ the ? -1.R.P.-dominated legislature lhe ■ Cabinet- and the Pjfi&deht' Meanwhile, .'Xwo, foreign correspondents-, ■ ’detained: by revolutionary - authorities ‘for 17 days,, have- been freed on, condition- that- they do not ieave-Iran. •.:■_ t :■ Tony ’ Alla Way of *The Times” said he and a Raids? tani journalist, Ralph' Joseph, were released by the office of the Central .Revolutionary Prosecutor, where they have been held for the last few days. Their passports were withdrawn and they were told not to work until investigations were concluded, he said. Mr Alloway, who is 30,. said they were in good health but had not been told Why they were arrested, “We were interrogated for the first time today,” Mr Alloway 'added. The two journalists run news translation services of the Per* sian press which are widely distributed to embassies and the foreign community.