IndyBlogs: Tehranologist: Kofi Annan in Iran

IndyBlogs: Tehranologist: Kofi Annan in Iran: "Tehranologist: Kofi Annan in Iran

By Ali Sheikholeslami

Kofi Annan, Romano Prodi, Kjell Magne Bondevik (President of the Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights and former Norwegian Prime Minster), and Federico Mayor (former UNECO Director-General) are currently among the guests of Mohammad Khatami, the former reformist Iranian president who introduced the idea of 'Dialogue among Civilisations'. Other guests include former presidents of Ireland, Switzerland, Bosnia, and former prime ministers of France and Sudan. They have travelled to Tehran to attend a two-day conference: 'Religion and the New World'.

Such high profile events do not happen on a regular weekly basis. And not everybody has the capability to gather so many former heads of state and chairmen under one roof to talk about peace (particularly if it is through faith and is based in Iran). Khatami's idea was initiated nearly ten years ago and turned out to be so popular that the United Nations called 2001 the year of 'Dialogue among Civilisations'.

Yet there is always a story. Mr Annan wasn't granted a visa till the last minute. Some claimed that the foreign ministry was under pressure by Ahmadinejad, as he thought Kofi wasn't running the world anymore, so why did he bother to come to Iran after all? Just imagine Kofi, queuing in the rain, behin"