Forward To The Crisis

Rooz Online:

President Ahmadinejad’s cabinet will start its work next week. All evidence suggests that Majlis (Iranian Parliament) will cast a strong vote for a cabinet that has been labeled the “conflict cabinet” by a religious-national activist, as Ahmadinejad had requested. In fact the president has emerged as such an effective person that Mahdavi Kani a veteran politician who has continuously held many of the highest offices of the Islamic Republic had a heart attack after speaking with him on the phone, with doctors calling his condition serious.

Ahmadinejad is reportedly the first and only president who chose his cabinet without consulting even the leader of the republic. It is now clear that in his selection process, the president not only stayed away from the leader, but also kept his independence from the various Majlis parties and factions, reserving his consultations with just a few of his closest friends and aides, which include ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, himself an ultra conservative cleric. READ MORE

This clever approach to selecting his team puts him in the center of his cabinet and their loyalty. The thought behind this approach has been to form a team that will act in unison in dealing with future crises. This by itself suggests that the presidential team expects that the country will soon be facing serious national crises. So a team has been put in place to be ready to deal with whatever issues may come up, genuine or cocked up. In the words of Mohammad Salamati, this is such an extremist cabinet that even right wing elements are not happy with its composition. Five of the cabinet members have long records in the Ministry of Intelligence before Khatami’s presidency while another five have roots in the military establishment. The cultural and political ministries including those of Guidance and the Interior fall within these ten.

Observers have pointed out that the composition is a clear sign of the narrow field and atmosphere into which all aspects of life in this country is rapidly moving into. This drive to tighten the screws is also apparent in the announcements made by these to-be-ministers which talk of “Islamization” and “Revolutionizing” of the field while forming an Islamic front to confront and challenge the infidels abroad. As editor Mohammad Abtahi has said, “General Safar Herandi, a Revolutionary Guard Passdar commander and former editor of ultra conservative Kayhan newspaper who has been presented as the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance wants to impose his world view onto the whole country.

Herandi himself has said that his immediate focus is on publishing, newspapers, and cinema where he wants to correct the “damage” these fields have suffered.

Not surprisingly, the Majlis has sent the bill to control computers it received from the judiciary to the relevant commission to start its work. Commander Talayi, the chief law enforcement officer has now changed his tune too and says “women are not alone in wearing inappropriate Islamic attire.” Ali Afshari, leader of the Office for Fostering Unity between students and society, the largest student reform group who had been detained, imprisoned and tortured, writes an open letter to the chief of the Judiciary describing his arrest, torture and confessions. Acts that were exercised by those who are now officially in charge of the security functions of the Islamic Republic.

The Majlis continues its debate on reducing the number of holidays in the country. The two days that have become the subject of heated discussions are 15 Khordad and 12 Farvardin, both religious-political days that were so declared by the founder of the Islamic system, ayatollah Khomeini himself. On the issue of the debate on modifying the constitution, the drive is to further reduce the principles of a republic by eliminating the office of the presidency, and by removing the Expediency Council currently lead by Rafsanjani, thus removing him from his official power base as well and streamlining all power in the current non-elected bodies. What is clear is that the maneuvers to implement both of these wishes will create tension, conflict, political battles and even national crises, impacting other major national issues such as the nuclear policy, relations with the West, human rights, the Middle East conflict etc.

In another first for Iran, in addition to burning the American and the British flags, the French joined that club as their flag too was put on fire by a demonstrating group in protest to the positions that that country has taken regarding Iran’s nuclear policy. Germany will most likely be the next beneficiary of this humanism and dialogue.

On the subject of human rights, Akbar Ganji’s situation continues to lead the stories. By marking the 68th day of his hunger strike in protest to not being released after serving his prison term, his health continues to deteriorate. His wife has stated that Tehran’s State Prosecutor (Mortezavi) does not wish Ganji to end his strike.

Ganji’s mother responds to Mortezavi’s claim that she could visit her son any time that she wished and calls him the greatest liar. Another political activist prisoner Manoutchehr Mohammadi who has deepened his hunger strike to now include liquids, according to his sister. In response to his strike, Alizadeh Gazi, a prison supervisor, has threatened that Mohammadi would be sent to a criminal (as opposed to a political) prison downtown if he continues his strike. The case of Amir Batebi, another politicial prisoner who found his way into Evin prison after raising a bloodied T-short and made it to the cover of the Economist magazine during the student revolts, has now gone to the Supreme Court for an appeal.

Finally, one good news for the Iranian people is that the to-be-confirmed Minister of Oil has repeated Ahmadinejad’s promise of giving the country’s oil money directly to the people! His reasoning: “That is what the popular president has promised.”