  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Iran: The End Of The Reform Illusion
Abdulwahab Badrakhan Al-Hayat 2004/02/21
The head of the Iranian Guardians Council was amusing enough when yesterday, during the Friday sermon, he said that voting in the elections, which his own Council worked against, represents "shooting a bullet in Bush's heart." However, humor is not a characteristic of Mr. Ahmad Janati, for he is serious about what he is saying, especially that he considered those who boycotted the elections as "traitors of Islam and their country." Hence, after Janati worked hard to exclude 2,500 "traitors" from candidacy, here, he is accusing them of treason. It is not unlikely that some of them would be tried based on that accusation; considering that the Iranian judiciary takes "death to America" as pillar of justice. Hence, sentencing the traitors to death becomes normal.
Yesterday, the Conservatives were betting on large voter turnout to prove two things; reform and reformists were an illusion, and voting is not for the Conservatives but is particularly against America. It would be valuable to know to what extent is enmity to America still able of attracting the voters, and whether they are really guided by it to vote for the extremists. The fact is that voting twice for the Reformists, specifically for President Mohamad Khatami, did not happen under the banner of "long live America" but under that of "long live Iran." It is feared that the bullet, which Janati sees in the heart of the American president is heading directly to Iran's; the elections were settled before they were held, and it was not necessary for the voters to bother to act, since the game passed right under their noses, behind their backs and in spite of them. The gang of extremists chose in advance who could be a candidate, and hence, who can win. Furthermore, it had the blessing of the Republic's "Leader." It is true that with the Reformists, Iranians did not have many illusions but they had some hope. On the other hand, with the Conservatives, there are no illusions or hopes; but it is more of the same -tried, tested and rejected.
Alas, these elections did not raise question marks with respect to their results as much as they raised doubts about previous voting. What did the previous elections mean? What did their slogan, "reform" - should it happen - mean? Was it a lie sold to the Iranians, and marketed to the outside, which desired to believe it as a form of help to Khatami? What does this reform mean if the "pre-reform" practices remain, and even increased their pressures on freedom, silencing the press, suppressing the opponents and the elected people's representatives? One should admit a virtue for these non-elections: they removed the mist, dust, and makeup from the regime's real face. This means that it stayed as it is despite Khatami's charisma, his lenient rhetoric, his adorable smile, honest character and pure intentions. One should also admit that the Guardians Council does not commit mistakes in correcting the situation: the regime in Iran is not democratic, and its elections are nothing more than decorations.
These elections are falsified by an official legal governmental decision. Its first goal is to overthrow Khatami and his method. The first step was forbidding the Reformists from participating in excluding most of its candidates. The second step obliges Khatami to "coexist" with a parliament, which is against his reform method; hence the ministers and the conservative ministers will have more power and efficiency than the President. However, the "coexistence" experiences barely work in truly democratic regimes, so how about a regime like the one which is dominating over Iran. Undoubtedly, Khatami knows that Guardians Council decisions were messages directed to him, but he preferred not to confront with anyone, and acted as a president who considers protecting the state as his main mission. He might not be wrong in directing the current crisis, however, his mistake might be doubled: in his view to this country which he graduated from, and because he thinks that reform is possible in the light of the biased Leader.
No doubt that Khatami's presence in the republic's presidency, his choice of playing the game in which the conservatives planned against him and against his supporters, and his willingness to accept the regime's "overthrowing" him and "coexisting" with his enemies, left the reformats with little choices, except for the choice of political death. The regime besieged and excluded them. Khatami continued and did not leave for them even the possibility of clear and strong boycott of the elections. The reform's illusion ended, even if temporarily and Iran came back to the dark tunnel. This is one of the results of the American occupation to Iraq.
 |