One of Iranâs most prominent dissidents, jailed academic Hashem Aghajari, has warned his country that the reformist movement has now reached a dead end and passive resistance was now the only option. His open letter, published by the student news agency ISNA, comes just days before parliamentary elections overshadowed by the mass disqualification of pro-reform candidates by the Islamic republicâs powerful religious hardliners. âOrganising an unfree election is an end point for reforms within the regime,â wrote Aghajari, who was condemned to death for blasphemy in 2002 after he questioned the Shiite clergyâs right to rule. âWe are witnessing a comical repetition of history: in a very short period of time, the democratic face of the Iranian constitution is going to be turned into an autocratic face.â
| Theocrats by their very nature need to rule, rather than to govern. It's the divine right thing... |
âThe current generation should be given the right to choose their own structure of government and constitution,â said the academic. âThe Iranian people should..., with passive resistance, tell the totalitarians: Noâ.
| At which point the totalitarians will kill large numbers of them... |
But Aghajari also hit out at embattled pro-reform President Mohammad Karensky Khatami, who faces seeing his allies in parliament ousted by conservatives on Friday and holding office as a lame-duck leader until his second and final term ends in 2005. âAlongside this comical repetition of history we are also witnessing a tragedy: the tragedy of Khatami,â he wrote. âDuring the six years that have elapsed for the reformist government and the four years of the reformist parliament, because of a lack of will and courage great opportunities were missed.â
| That's what happens to Mensheviks. Their intentions are good, their execution's lousy... |
Khatami, the dissident wrote, âhas reached a point where people are disappointed in him. People have discovered that, after six years of this experience, the preservation of the status quo will bring no developments or reforms.â |