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| Iran |
| Reformists Warn Khamenei Over Political Deadlock |
| 2003-05-24 |
| A group of 127 Iranian reformist MPs yesterday launched a blistering attack on their powerful hard-line rivals, warning supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the political deadlock was threatening the very survival of the Islamic republic. In an openly-distributed letter addressed to the all-powerful leader, the reformist members of the 290-seat Majlis blasted the conservative-controlled institutions for violently stalling reforms and denying the will of Iranâs voters. âPerhaps there has been no period in the recent history of Iran that was as sensitive as this one,â warned the strongly-worded letter, citing âpolitical and social gaps coupled with a clear US plan to change the geopolitical map of the region.â They noticed âIf this is a glass of poison, it should be drunk before our countryâs independence and territorial integrity are put in danger,â the letter said in its call for âfundamental changes in methods, attitudes and figuresâ. The letter charged that since President Mohammad Khatami won his first term in office six years ago, his camp had been undermined by an orchestrated campaign including serial murders, arrests and crackdowns targeted at reformists, students, journalists and dissidents. S.O.P. for the religion of peace crowdâThis was to show Iranians and the world that nothing has changed and nothing will change in Iran, and to prove that the vote of the people whose major demand is change ... has no effect,â stated the letter. âNot much time is left,â Khamenei was told. âMost people are dissatisfied and disappointed. Most of the intellectuals are either silent or leaving (and) foreign forces have surrounded the country from all sides,â it added in a reference to the menacing presence of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Menacing? Little ole us? âThe destiny of our country can either be dictatorship, or a return to the constitution and the respect of democratic rules,â the MPs said, calling on âregime officialsâ to âapologize to the people over their shortcomings and mismanagement.â Right after hell freezes over Singled out for attack were the Guardians Council, a conservative-controlled oversight body that vets all legislation in line with Islamic law and the constitution. The letter said the council - key barrier to Khatamiâs reformist policies - was âresorting to strange and bizarre interpretationsâ to block laws and had thereby âdiscredited religion and the constitutionâ. Also attacked was state media and the judiciary â a bastion of the religious right whose âillegal pressures have reached an intolerable level.â Referring to the rejection of reformist calls for a referendum on boosting the powers of the embattled president, the MPs complained that âwe cannot proscribe a referendum for the Iraqi people and call for free elections in Iraq and then deprive our own people from this lawful right.â Common sense rears its head The MPs concluded by calling on the all-powerful Khamenei â who has been openly critical of the reformist camp â to steer the Islamic republicâs hierarchy toward ârespecting real democracy and introducing a method which is compatible with freedom and dignityâ. A whole lot of turbans will need to be shot first Iranâs political crisis has reached a head in recent months, with Khatamiâs allies pushing through parliament twin bills that would strip the Guardians Council of its right to vet candidates for public office and enable the embattled president to challenge the judiciary. You can push through all the bills you want, the Guardian Council will either veto, or just ignore them. |
| Posted by:Steve |