Business as usual?

The Iranian regime, the holy war against Israel and the West and the German reaction

International Conference in Berlin, May 2 - 3, 2008

Schedule

For a printable PDF-version please click here. A PDF-file in Farsi is available here, a kurdish version can be found here.

Friday, May 2nd 2008

11 a.m.

Press conference

7 p.m.

Introduction and greetings

7.30 p.m. 

Opening panel

Islamism, Antisemitism, Nuclear Programme: The Iranian threat

• Religious and ideological motivation in Iranian domestic and international policies
  Menashe Amir
  Former Director of the Persian program of Radio Kol Israel (Voice of Israel), Israel

• A second Holocaust? The threat to Israel
  Prof. Benny Morris
  Professor of History, Ben-Gurion University, Middle East Studies Dept., Israel

• “Strategic partner”? The special German-Iranian relationship
  Dr. Matthias Küntzel 
  Political Scientist, Board Member Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Germany

• The EU, Iran and the effectiveness of sanctions
  MEP Paulo Casaca
  Partido Socialista Portugal, Socialist Group in the European Parliament, Portugal

Saturday, May 3^rd 2008

10.15 a.m. - 12.00 p.m.

Theocracy and Human Rights: The character of the Iranian Regime

• Anatomy of Terror in the Iranian theocracy
  Javad Asadian
  Writer and Poet, member and former head of the exil-Iranian PEN, Germany

• Women under theocracy
  Nasrin Amirsedghi
  Publicist and Cultural Scientist, Germany

• The situation of the Kurds in Iran
  Dr. Miro Aliyar
  Representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Austria

12.45 p.m.  - 2.30 p.m.

The Holy war against Israel and the West

• The roadmap to the bomb
  Yossi Melman 
  Publicist and Journalist Haaretz, Israel

• Terror and ideology-export: The Islamic Republic's war against the West
  Dr. Patrick Clawson 
  Deputy Director for Research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, USA

• Iran and the Islamist network in Germany
  Alexander Ritzmann 
  Political Scientist, European Foundation for Democracy, Germany

• Chair: Dr. Sylke Tempel
  Historian and Publicist, Germany
  

4.00 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.

Iran and Europe: Dialogue or confrontation?

• Is Europe pressing Israel towards war? EU, UN and the possible effectiveness of draconian sanctions
  Saul Singer
  Journalist and Publicist, Editorial Page Editor Jerusalem Post, Israel
  

• Business as usual? German-Iranian trade relations
  Dr. Matthias Küntzel 
  Political Scientist, Board Member Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Germany

• Know nothing, hear nothing, see nothing - Germany's policy toward Islamism: Calculation or anticipatory obedience?
  Bruno Schirra
  Journalist and Publicist, Germany

6.15 p.m. - 8.15 p.m.

Final panel

The need for a new antifascism

• International cooperation against the Mullah-Regime
  Kayvan Kaboli
  Spokesperson of the Green Party of Iran, USA

• Where are the anti-fascists? Iran and the meaning of "Coming to terms with the Nazi past" in 2008
  Prof. Jeffrey Herf 
  Historian, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

• Freedom, secularization, democracy – for a new Middle East
  Thomas von der Osten-Sacken
  Publicist and Director of relief and human rights organization Wadi e.V., Germany