Apr 17, 2004- Apr 22, 2004

Cabinet reshuffle happened finally; Minister of Economy was substituted by ex-minister of Labor. In his weekly interview Khatami announced that the head of the Organization of Planning and Management would be dismissed too.

The news was a shock for the conservatives who expected the dismissal of the ministers whom THEY disliked. Khatami announced evidently that during the remaining one year and half of his presidency, he demands a better coordination between the organizations working under his supervision. When Kayhan daily reporter, the loudest megaphone of extreme right, asked him sarcastically that of the dismissed men's economical logics, which one he liked better, he replied:" I prefer my own."

The other news coming to the first title of the reformist dailies on Apr 18, was the health condition of Siamak Poorzand one of the opponents in custody. Husband of one of the most famous lawyers of the country- Mehrangiz Kar- Poorzand has been facing many accusations from espionage and links with western countries to having affairs with young girls at the age of his own daughter. Sharq quoted his sister, Mahin Poorzand, on Wed 21:" Last Sunday I went to meet my brother in prison. It lasted half an hour. He was not well at all. He couldn't walk and the guards had to help him to walk. ….. I was told later that he was taken to a hospital close to Evin prison. Nobody of the officials contacted me in that regard. I just had a call from an unknown recourse telling me about my brother being hospitalized in the emergency." There were worries about Mr Poorzand's critical situation. Later it was told that he had passed the crisis but has to go under heart surgery.

At the end of the Iranian week, the most surprising news popped up not in dailies but on the Internet. It was an open letter the Iranian Syndicate of Journalists wrote to the Leadership on Thu, 22. They dared to speak frankly to Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader and call him to account for his direct responsibility of shutting more than 100 reformist dailies down in less than four years. Referring to the letter the Syndicate had written to him more than two years ago, they have accused Khamenei to be the person giving orders for closing down the dailies: "We believe that the role of the Leadership in illegal restraints against the press, has been the main role and has been materialized through assigned institutions working under his supervision such as judiciary power, Guardian Council, Expediency Council, the Higher Council of National Security, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting…….."