Monday, February 02, 2004
As the Snowball Turns
Iran's Reformist Party to Boycott Elections: "Iran's main reformist party will boycott the country's parliamentary elections this month, the head of the party, Mohammad Reza Khatami, said today.
The statement by Mr. Khatami to reporters, which was carried by the Islamic Republic News Agency, was the latest development in what appears to be a deepening political crisis in Iran after more than one-third of the members of Parliament resigned on Sunday over a sweeping exclusion of candidates by religious conservatives."
I don't know, maybe Janet Jackson's breast is more important than this, but I at least disagree with such a sentiment. As I discussed earlier today, I think that this should be getting a lot more coverage by the national media and by the blogosphere.
"The council ignored an announcement by the Interior Ministry, which is under the president's supervision, that it intended to postpone the election, and even an order by the supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to reinstate the candidacies of the current members of Parliament.
...
Many of the allies of Ayatollah Khomeini during the 1979 revolution are reformist politicians today, and they contend that today's hard-liners have gone against the tenets of Ayatollah Khomeini."
Both of these points are very notable. The clerics of the council are ignoring the orders of the supreme religious leader. Political legitimacy is already in question; the clerics are challenging the supremacy of the so-called supreme religious leader.
The second point reminds me of early Soviet Russia, when each side in a political squabble would question the political orthodoxy of the other, and declare that they had strayed from the tenants of Lenin. By declaring such views publicly, I really don't see how each side can be reconciled without many figures losing their face to such an extent that they will be pushed out of politics.
Also, if the moderates really believe what they claim, that the clerics are not following Khomeini's tenants, than they will never give in to the clerics. If the clerics don't in turn budge, which seems unlikely since they are challenging their supreme leader, things will certainly get messy.
UPDATE: This cry for more coverage support of the efforts for Iranian democracy is heard.
The statement by Mr. Khatami to reporters, which was carried by the Islamic Republic News Agency, was the latest development in what appears to be a deepening political crisis in Iran after more than one-third of the members of Parliament resigned on Sunday over a sweeping exclusion of candidates by religious conservatives."
I don't know, maybe Janet Jackson's breast is more important than this, but I at least disagree with such a sentiment. As I discussed earlier today, I think that this should be getting a lot more coverage by the national media and by the blogosphere.
"The council ignored an announcement by the Interior Ministry, which is under the president's supervision, that it intended to postpone the election, and even an order by the supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to reinstate the candidacies of the current members of Parliament.
...
Many of the allies of Ayatollah Khomeini during the 1979 revolution are reformist politicians today, and they contend that today's hard-liners have gone against the tenets of Ayatollah Khomeini."
Both of these points are very notable. The clerics of the council are ignoring the orders of the supreme religious leader. Political legitimacy is already in question; the clerics are challenging the supremacy of the so-called supreme religious leader.
The second point reminds me of early Soviet Russia, when each side in a political squabble would question the political orthodoxy of the other, and declare that they had strayed from the tenants of Lenin. By declaring such views publicly, I really don't see how each side can be reconciled without many figures losing their face to such an extent that they will be pushed out of politics.
Also, if the moderates really believe what they claim, that the clerics are not following Khomeini's tenants, than they will never give in to the clerics. If the clerics don't in turn budge, which seems unlikely since they are challenging their supreme leader, things will certainly get messy.
UPDATE: This cry for more coverage support of the efforts for Iranian democracy is heard.
Comments:
Post a Comment
