World

Paris: Khatami Urges Dialogue

October 27, 1999 / 10:12 AM EDT / AP

In a much-anticipated speech Friday, Iran's moderate president called for dialogue to replace the sword in the next century if the world is to avert catastrophe.

Security was extremely tight as Mohammad Khatami addressed the General Conference of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, with roads blocked and dozens of security vehicles, hundreds of policemen and some sniffer dogs in evidence.

"If the axis of the 20th century was the force of the sword ... We must understand that the main axis of the coming century must be that of dialogue," Khatami said. "Otherwise, the steely sword will turn into double-edged blade which will spare no one."

Khatami got hearty applause and a standing ovation at the close of his speech.

The UNESCO speech was seen as an opportunity for the Iranian leader to publicly define where his nation was headed, and hint at how far he could go in implementing his goal of dialogue rather than confrontation with the West.

Khatami is in a power struggle with hard-liners, forced to tread carefully on a trip to the West. The stakes have been raised with Iranian legislative elections set for February and growing repression in Iran against intellectuals and journalists.

Khatami has spent most of his time at France's tightly guarded official guest residence around the corner from the Elysee Palace.

France has stepped up security for the visit that ends Friday, carrying out raids Wednesday on residences housing members of Iran's largest opposition group and reinstating border controls done away with in Europe's Schengen accords.

As Khatami was leaving after his speech, a woman wearing a required badge began screaming, "Khatami is a terrorist." According to eyewitnesses, she threw a small object and was dragged away by security.

It was not immediately clear who the woman was, but the exiled People's Mujahedeen of Iran opposition group has carried out a protest campaign since Khatami's arrival Wednesday.

Khatami is the first Iranian leader to visit France since the 1979 Islamic revolution. His speech was much awaited, and many attending the UNESCO General Conference had their own expectations for what Khatami might say.

In the speech, Khatami outlined his 1998 proposal for dialogue among cultures and civilizations.

He suggested that the "powerful warmongers may be the first victims" and he blamed the situation on globalization. He had singled out globalization for harsh criticism Thursday in a speech at the Pantheon, where France's greatest figures are buried.

His proposal for a dialogue among civilizations was passed in a Nov. 1998 U.N. resolution for the year 2000. It helped open the door to new links between the Islamic Republic and the West.

Khatami did not address widespread calls for the freeing of 13 Iranian Jews imprisoned there since March as alleged spies.

On Thursday, Israel's education minister asked for the group's freedom, saying he spying charges are "totally baseless." And on Wednesday, French President Jacques Chirac met at length with Khatami, asking him for an "equitable examination" of the case, French officials said.