Not so pivotal shift in Iranian politics

September 12, 2007 at 6:14 pm | Posted in democracy, Iran, Khatami, Rafsanjani | Leave a comment

The election of Ayatullah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as chairman of the Majles-e-Khobregan (Assembly of experts), is as ever overplayed in the Western media. The late Ayatullah Meshkini – the previous chairman – was neither a household name in the West or Iran. His significance in Iranian politics was minimal.  Hashemi in his own right is bigger than the position of chairman of the Khobregan, which carries no special powers.

Constitutionally, the Khobregan is significant, since under article 107,  it elects the Velayat-e faqih, and in principle could remove him under Article 111, should he be derelict in his duties. Yet in practice the body meets twice yearly and does not involve itself in Iranian politics. Any decision requires a majority vote and this is where the election is significant. Hashemi was expected to win by a large margin; he did not. The vote was 41 for Hashemi, 34 Ayatullah Ahmad Janati, with 11 absentee votes. Ayatullah Momen was elected first deputy chairman, and Ayatullah Ahmad Khatami, second deputy chairman. Both are conservatives closer to Ayatullah al-Uzma Khamenei.  

The significance of this is that Hashemi lacks the support to extend his remit beyond his constitutional authority. If this was not Hashemi, I would suggest that such an appointment, is tantamount to retiring from politics. However, it seems an unlikely place upon which to make a bid for the presidency.

Teachers protest against Hashemi Rafsanjani

March 3, 2007 at 1:37 pm | Posted in Ahmadinejad, Basij, democracy, economy, Iran, Khatami, Media, Pasdaran, Rafsanjani | 4 Comments

Hundreds of teachers staged a sit-in demonstration in front of Majlis building today, in protest of the Assembly of Experts failure to address their demand for a pay increase. The teachers hold the Assembly of Experts Chairman, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, personally responsible.

It has been reported in the Western media that Hashemi Rafsanjani is in ascendancy and that President Ahmadinejad has become increasingly unpopular. In fact, the reverse is true, Ahmadinejad is more popular on the Street now, than he was when he gained 17 million votes in the 2005 presidential election, defeating Hashemi Rafsanjani. It is in the Majlis that Ahmadinejad is deeply unpopular – he always was – he represents neither the Conservative nor Reformist wings. He is Iran’s political outsider.

In the Western media, Iranian politics is reduced to Conservatism versus Reformism -or “Mullahs” versus “secularists”. Yet the reality is both are from the clerical classes and both support the Islamic revolution and the current Iranian model of Islamic democracy. Where Ahmadinejad differs to the Iranian political elite is that he is of the people and for the people. This in itself antagonises the clerical elite, however his rejection of oligarchy and his avocation of the redistribution of wealth, egalitarianism and ethical trade is an intolerable affront to that elite, which is represented by Hashemi Rafsanjani and Sayyed Mohammad Khatami. The alliance between the two is certainly a threat to Ahmadinejad and Iranian democracy.

However, it is utter nonsense that Iran’s current diplomatic confrontations with the West have been instigated or exacerbated by Ahmadinejad; it was Britain, under directions from the United States, that sabotaged the EU troika negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme, which incidentally the West believes to be a peaceful nuclear programme. The West willfully tried to torpedo the reformists and advance the presidential hopes of Hashemi Rafsanjani in the the belief that Hashemi Rafsanjani was a “pragmatist” (i.e. corruptible) and therefore was more susceptible to Western bribery.

This strategy failed as anyone with an once of intelligence and the slightest knowledge of Iranian politics ought to have foreseen. President Ahmadinejad was elected on domestic issues – the nuclear dispute was not a feature of the 2005 presidential elections. The current confrontation with the West plays to Ahmadinejad’s advantage. Iranians have seen a war with the United States and its clients states on the horizon since the invasion of Iraq: it does not unsettle them. To report the ascendancy of Hashemi Rafsanjani or forecast that he will succeed Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyed Khamenei, as Supreme Leader, as many Western media outlets are doing, is once again, to misread Iranian politics. It is most improbable that the Assembly of Experts would entertain the idea of electing him Supreme Leader, since he does not have the support of the Street and could not command the loyalty of the Basij or Pasdaran.

President Ahmadinejad in the Lion’s Den

December 12, 2006 at 6:16 pm | Posted in Ahmadinejad, Basij, Iran, Khatami, Reformist | 1 Comment

When President Ahmadinejad gave a speech in Amir Kabir University, he was standing on what should have been hostile ground. The Amir Kabir University student’s association is heavily linked with the reformist movement, yet the reformist President Khatami received a hostile reception during his last speech there. His movement, would therefore have expected president Ahmadinejad to receive an even more hostile reception.

However this was not to be, much to the consternation of the reformist movement, there were only a few dozen protestors, with placards saying “Down with Dictators”, to which President Ahmadinejad responded, “Given the scars inflicted on the Iranian nation by agents of the US and British dictatorship, no one will ever dare to initiate the rise of a dictator.”

And when some students burned his photo he stated, “Everyone should know that Ahmadinejad is prepared to be burned in the path of defending freedom and truth.”

Commenting on the Western funding of anti-Iranian terrorist groups, president Ahmadinejad said:

“My response to the opponents of our ruling system is that the nation is aware of their tricks and will not be deceived by them. Iranians will never give up their ideals”.

His speech received a rapturous reception from most of the students, who began chanting his name.

The implications for the reformist movement cannot be overstated. Their hatred of Ahmadinejad is greater than their hatred of Rafsanjani. Yet even in Amir Kabir – what was their ideological heartland – there much touted demonstration amounted to less than 50 protestors. During the presidential elections the reformist had the bloggers; Ahmadinejad had the street. They underestimated then and they underestimated him now – the Basij Student Organisation is by far the most prominent student organisation in Iran. The reformist movement is dead.

Manufacturing Dissent

November 1, 2006 at 11:53 am | Posted in Iran, Khatami, Propaganda, Terrorism | 12 Comments

Despite serving two terms as President, Khatami is a forlorn figure in Iranian politics, his policy of engagement with the West and economic reforms failed. It was due to this policy of appeasing the West that former President of Iran, was presented with an honorary doctorate in law from the University of St Andrews. In support of the award, the University of St Andrews Students’ Association said,

“While it would be easy to oppose Khatami’s award on the basis of tensions which existed in Iran during his presidency, we believe Khatami himself predominantly adopted a brave stand to promote liberal values. This personal courage, combined with his subsequent work in building inter-faith dialogue and communication, coupled with his notable achievements as a scholar, make him a very suitable candidate for such an award.”

The BBC reports a dozen or so demonstrators turned up to protest the conferment of the honorary degree, which the BBC, rather disingenuously, described as a mixed reaction. There are an estimated 130,000 Iranians living in the UK, and at least 20,000 who are declared opponents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, nearly all of whom left Iran whilst Khatami was president. So the protests, could be best described as notably insignificant. Hardly a mixed reception.

However this conferment has been pilloried in the British press; the Guardian goes so far as to publish the spurious allegations and anti-Iranian drivel of notorious xenophobe, Islamophobe and proven liar Peter Tatchell, who is incidentally, a known supporter of the genocidal religious cult Mujaheddin-e Khaliq (a proscribed terrorist organisation).

Tatchell quotes the claims made by Safa Einollahi and Ali Ebrahimi of rape and torture in Iran under Khatami by agents of the state. This unsustained claims have been dismissed by the Met Police, “we consider there are insufficient grounds to make an arrest and there is not sufficient basis for a criminal investigation”, the latter part of the statement means that there is no evidence that the crime took place.

Tatchell also tellingly refers to Khuzei Arabs as “Ahwazis”, anyone who uses this term either is ignorant or supports British imperialism, for it is a British term and not common amongst Khuzei, whether Arab or otherwise. Tatchell of course would not know this as he has never been to Iran nor dopes he have any contacts within Iran. He suggests that the “Ahwazis” were ethnically cleansed under Khatami, which is nonsense. Most of the Khuzeis who were forcibly displaced in Iran are not of Arab descent, in any event they were not ethnically cleansed, they were forcibly displaced due environmental necessity.

Tatchell has a proven track record of lying about Iran. He claimed that Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni were executed for homosexuality citing ISNA as a source when they said no such thing. In fact, the two men were executed for a series of rapes of young boys in Mashad, the oldest victim, a 13 years old, gave evidence during their trial. When it was revealed that this was the case and Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the European Union and the United Nations all dismissed these false claims, Tatchell continued to maintain them and suggested on the OutRage Website, that the 13 year old victim had probably consented to have sex. The website was pulled off line shortly afterwards.

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