Thursday
March 15, 2001
Monarchy no answer
I am a young Iranian-American. My family left Iran when I was very
young, in the midst of a war that seemed like it was never going to end,
and came to the U.S. for a better life.
My memories of Iran are not ver clear. My knowledge of Iran is incomplete.
But I do know this: a return to monarchy is not the answer for Iran.
I think it is unfortunate that so many Iranians regard the Shah's regime
with such nostalgic affection.
Iran doesn't need a secular dictatorship to take the place of the current
theocratic dictatroship. Iran also doesn't need a constitutional monarchy
filled with symbolic figureheads and royal families that do nothing but
attend charity dinners.
We need a democratic environment that will allow all viewpoints to be
expressed -- be they secular, Islamicist, or socialist.
On a separate note, I have to question the following sentence from the
article "My
Friend": "After almost twenty-two years nobody has come forward
with a shred of documented evidence that Reza, his father or mother, have
any substantial wealth."
I unfortunately have not had the privelege of knowing any members of
Iran's exiled nobility, being the commoner that I am. But I highly doubt
that the royal family didn't flee with at least a modest fortune in their
pockets. Otherwise, I think His Highness Reza Pahlavi would be a bit more
concerned with paying his bills and saving up for his childrens' college
education than reviving the noble and glorious realm of the shahs.
Sina Yousefi
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