Disaster for IRI
It is obvious from the latest decree by President Khatami in Iran, that
he will crush further protests, that the members of administration of this
government, liberals and hardliners alike, do not care about the people
and their needs, once they feel that they are in danger themselves.
Mr. Khatami knows very well that many of these student protestors are
supportive of his promised (and yet to be seen) reforms. He also recognizes
the power that the students hold in the society, based on their past performance
in 1979 as well as the events of the past week.
Therefore, he is not willing to allow this movement to continue. He
knows that by supporting the students and allowing them to continue to
demand their rights from the government, and the government's inability
and unwillingness to provide such freedoms for the people, these protest
may very well turn into an anti-government movement.
Of course, they have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the
basis of the I.R. in such solgans as "down with dictator" referring
to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and demanding changes in his authoritarian
rule, a concept imbedded in the I.R. constitution.
This of course would mean disaster for the government officials, Khatami
included, who have continuously failed to provide the Iranian people with
a satisfactory economic, social, and political freedom that they deserve;
and let us not forget, this is the freedom that they were promised in the
1979 revolution (by Khomeini and his clerical and intellectual supporters)
and caused the uprooting of a 2500 year old monarchy in Iran.
However, from day one Khomeini and his clerical staff did their utmost
to bring about more limitations instead of freedom, and to ensure their
success created an environment of fear to rule the country, arresting those
tied to the previous government and the intellectual faction of the revolutionary
force, carrying out thousands of executions, and causing the self-imposed
exile of millions of Iranians in the past 20 years.
Mr. Khatami is smart enough to know that the students, being the voice
of the citizens of Iran, are demanding a thorough and definite change of
governance, and therefore he is not going to risk his position to give
in to the peoples' needs, even though he promised it to them and they elected
him to his position.
It is this fact, that the Iranian governments' officials are there to
serve their own needs and establish power, that makes the current Iranian
government, liberal and hardliner alike, undesirable and corrupt to rule
Iran and the Iranian people.
Yek Irani
