Ideological Purges of Government Employees

Meysam Tavab, Rooz Online:

President Ahmadinejad has ordered a review of all the appointments in government agencies that took place during the last 8 years, and at the same time the return of those who had been relieved of their duties during the same period.

According to official sources, the president’s directive calls for more rigorous ideological screening of applicants to government positions, specifically their positions and convictions on issues such as support for Velayate Faghih (the Supreme Leader) or any kind of association with non-fundamentalist associations. The directive to review the employments that took place during the last 8 years relate to those in the Ministries of Education, the universities, and other sensitive government agencies. READ MORE

The special presidential directive also requires all government agencies and companies to suspend all decisions to dismiss any personnel that were decided on the basis of the Third Development Plan, and even return some of those laid off back to work. Political analysts have interpreted this measure to be in response to public criticism of the government over its new screening policy for new hires.

The Third Development plan called on government agencies to reduce their size by discharging many of their employees, especially non-professional staff, with the purpose of diminishing the large bureaucracy. The plan also provided for the government to contract out some of its functions to the private sector, particularly those that had employed formerly discharged government employees.

With the new directive, it appears that in addition to the changes that have come about at the senior levels of the government machinery, lower ranks too will now be directly affected.

This is just like what happened back in early 1980s when the interim government of the Islamic Revolution purged thousands of employees and civil servants in government offices and armed services.