E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.2 page 9 minority teachers (national education teachers or persons paid by the minorities) on the basis of textbooks prepared and funded by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the minorities. The textbooks relate to the teaching of the religion of the minority in question and also contain information on other religions and their common principles. The Assyro-Chaldeans said that they would like to be more involved in the preparation of textbooks containing information common to all religions. (iii) Religious publications 33. The minority representatives explained that all publications, no matter who the authors were, were submitted to the authorities for verification and authorization. While recognizing that this procedure did not apply only to them, they expressed regret about its cost, which resulted from the need to translate publications originally written in their minority language into Persian and the amount of time required to obtain official approval. The Government representatives said that this procedure applies to all Iranian citizens and was intended primarily to guarantee respect for religions and to prevent any attempts to undermine religious values. The authorities also recalled that the Government could contribute financially to the publication of religious books. (iv) Places of worship 34. The minority representatives said that they had enough places of worship and that they could renovate them and build new ones. Places of worship are financed by the communities concerned. However, when these places of worship were classified as historical monuments, the State provided financial assistance for their maintenance or renovation, as in the case of the Vank Armenian Church in Isfahan and the Zoroastrian temples of fire in Yazd. 35. The minorities said that places of worship had been closed not as a result of pressure from the authorities, but because there were not enough worshippers in some villages or regions owing to the departure of minorities. With regard to access to the places of worship of converted Muslims, the minorities reaffirmed their position on proselytism and conversion ("Religious practice and conduct of religious affairs", paras. 29 to 31 above). (b) In the political field 36. The minority representatives confirmed that they had representatives in Parliament in accordance with article 64 of the Constitution. The Minister for Foreign Affairs pointed out that these minorities had representatives, even though they did not all comply with the requirement laid down by the Constitution, namely, one representative for every 150,000 persons. In this connection, the authorities consider that the rights of non-Muslims in Iran are greater than those of Muslims in other countries, particularly European countries. The Armenian minority said that it was able to carry out community political activities such as the commemoration of the 1915 Armenian genocide, which is celebrated on 24 April every year by authorized street demonstrations involving 50,000 persons or more.