The Words of 1979

Rooz Online: “Ahmadinejad’s promises are the messages of 1979.”

These are the words of admiral Ali Shamkhani in his farewell address as he leaves the Department of Defense. “The words of 1979 put the priority on the deprived while its foreign manifestation is the challenging the bullies”, he explains. Even when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called to ask President Ahmadinejad to be patient regarding Iran’s nuclear program, the President had the same message and words.

Perhaps this is the beginning of the establishment of the “Islamic Government” in the world which he heralds is approaching in a meeting with arch conservative cleric Mesbah Yazdi, who is a teacher at Qom’s seminary and who supported Ahmadinejad for the presidency. READ MORE

Ansare Hizbollah group, the paramilitary vigilante gang that became famous for its attack on Tehran University dorm and its students in July of 1999, requests from the new president to stop the corrupt book, film and theater situation in the country. One of its leaders and a thug Masoud Deh Namaki, is beating the war drum while Jomhuri Islami newspaper, the spokesmedia for the conservatists and hardliners, claims that Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortezavi has received a threat on his life. The latter may be a way to prepare for his exit from the political scene. The spokesman for the Judiciary announces the existence of a secret underground armed group belonging to the Cherikhaye Fadaiye Khalgh, while a website claims it belongs to the secret organization. Whatever the truth, the fact that emerges is that the atmosphere and policies that ruled those days of the revolution, i.e. violence and terrorism, are back in vogue.

It was that violence and terror that eventually forced the politicians of the regime to modify the constitution in 1990, through which freedoms were curtailed while authority and totalitarianism was strengthened. It is in a similar atmosphere where force and suppression rule that there are greater calls by the Majlis deputies to further modify the constitution. The goals seems to be to rid the constitution of the few remaining clauses that permit different viewpoints, even a “democratic” interpretation of the text.

While the political climate gradually returns to the days of 1979, the recently released report by the Committee to Oversee the Constitution and its Implementation throws light on how groundwork was prepared for this encroachment. The report categorically states that the temporary closure of all the newspapers was a clear violation of the law.

On the issues of human rights, more violations are reported as Ismael Kazemi, a worker activist, is arrested in Sanandaj, Arash Sigarchi is subpoenaed again by a court while the charges against him are the usual: insulting officials, including the former president, the president of the Expediency Council, and ownership of a satellite dish. Ganji passed the 61st day of his hunger strike, while his wife continues is so disillusioned in trying to convince the authorities to release her ailing husband to the point that she now appears on international radios imploring her husband to end his hunger strike. In this regard the words of Milad hospital public relations spokesman are revealing when contrary to prison officials he says that Ganji is not eating and that if he continues this, his life will be seriously threatened.

The international scene continue to deteriorate to Iran’s detriment. The German Foreign Minister warns Iran of serious consequences, while France states that Iran’s decision to resume the processing work at Isfahan is a deliberate attempt by Iran to create major crises. These two countries along with Britain warn that such a resumption would violate the Paris accord, while UN’s Kofi Annan calls on Iran to show restraint. The US too called Iran’s decision to resume processing defiant. While Iranian officials seem to differ in their messages, Cyrus Nasseri, a member of the negotiations team privately says that Iran is ready for more talks with Europeans.

So while the options for the International Atomic Energy Agency that is meeting to review the latest development in Iran’s case are either to condemn Iran or refer the issue to the UN Security Council, the outgoing Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani calms everyone by saying that there is really no need for Iran’s case to go to the UN Security Council and that there is really no threat of economic sanctions, adding that the US will not attack Iran or any other country. He concludes that even if it did, Iran has effective air defense capabilities.

Mehrdad Sheibani is a seasoned journalist and commentator living in exile.