Iran's new vision under Khatami,
By Abu Shams
The Independent
August 14, 2000
In a land known for violent politics, one man is tackling the situation
of volatile extremism. Even in the
face of blood, he remains patient. That is how some analysts describe
President Mohammed Khatami as Iran's new revolutionary. Khatami's struggle
to reform Iran is proving a dangerous task. He speaks of moderate change
that has made him a hero to many -- and terrifying to the hard-liners who
have dominated Iran's politics since the death of Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini
in 1989.
That Khatmi's task to reform has proved dangerous has been evidenced
from a recent incident in which one of the President's closest friends
was nearly assassinated by a hard-liner from whom a gunshot wound to the
head could have been fatal. Dozens of other supporters were put in jail.
Iran's hard- liners have sent a chilling message that they won't go without
a fight. Through all this, Khatami has been conspicuously quiet, hoping
his silence would be seen as a thundering determination. Yet the silence
risks spreading disillusionment.
This is a nation desperate for change, starving for leadership. And
Khatami's difficult task is to rework Iran's system from within. Analysts
feel that it's an excruciatingly difficult way to be a reformer, fighting
battles by not fighting battles. About two months ago, the most freely
elected parliament in Iranian history took up its duties.
In the biggest boost for reform since Khatami's victory in 1997 Iranians
in February ousted conservatives and handed Khatami control of the 290-seat
parliament. The conservative count in this new, moderate House is down
from 53 to 33.Few personify the possibilities and dangers - of this new
revolution better than Khatami, 57. He was never a man who lusted for power.
Friends recalled his fury when a group of liberal clerics suggested he
run for President.
But when moderates convinced him that his credibility with hard-liners
meant he was the only man who could change Iran, he plunged into the 1997
campaign. Khatami hardly rejects the notion of an Islamic republic. His
most cherished aim is to serve the Islamic government by giving people
the right to choose it, a concept that is dangerously revolutionary to
hard-liners who believe in imposing diktat. Outside Iran, especially in
Washington, diplomats speculate that Khatami may be unable to convince
the hard-liners that reform is really necessary.
How badly do Iran's hard-liners want to stay in power? Evidently they're
willing to reach for extreme tactics, including roving hit squads that
have been stalking Iranian moderates and kangaroo courts that have been
sending them to jail. Khatami's supporters are being bullied one by one.Iran's
conservatives are starting to recognize that they need something new in
the changed situation. Even old-line radicals are pushing for a new vision
of Iranian democracy.
To make that happen, it seems Iran's conservative are loosening up a
bit. Islamic courts are allowing limited coverage of proceedings -- most
notably in the trial of 13 Jewish Iranians accused of spying for Israel.
Despite sanctioning the press crackdown, spiritual leader Ayatullah Ali
Khameini -- successor to Khomeini -- has warned religious militants against
thuggery and publicly praises Khatami -- as if cautioning security forces
against a coup. People have high expectations. They expect serious changes,
particularly because of the vital questions who will lead the country towards
the economic and social reforms it so badly needs. Crushed by inflation
and 16 per cent unemployment, Iranians are losing patience.
If anything, the convening of a reform parliament puts more pressure
on Khatami to satisfy the yearning for change. It remains to be seen if
Khatami will be the Mikhail Gorbachev of Iran. But he has already begun
to lead the nation down a path that seems inevitable. His occasional silence
in the face of monstrous challenges isn't the quiet of a man who has no
passion or no ideas. Instead, it's the quiet determination of a man who
will not give up.In pursuance of a policy of slow change in the direction
of reform, Khatami has lately taken steps to widen the horizon of Iran
in the international area, particularly in the field of trade relations.
Last month President Khatami started a visit to Germany that was intended
to bolster his drive to revive political and business ties with western
Europe. The 3-day visit was meant to signal that both countries want to
look ahead after years of strained or frozen relations over a German businessman's
jailing in Teheran and a German court ruling that in effect branded Iran
a terrorist state. Observers said that the Berlin administration now "wants
a new beginning and after a difficult time."
Germany is already Iran's biggest European trade partner. German officials
were anxious to avoid embarrassing confrontations for Khatami that could
undercut his standing back home. Khatami's German visit was followed afterwards
by a visit to China including Hong Kong. His prime interests lay in improving
and extending trade relations in a big way with that powerful country.
In this context, it may be noted that Iran's relations with China are viewed
with suspicion on account of China's alleged role in transferring nuclear
and missile technology to that country, thereby, in Washington's eyes,
enhancing Iran's potentiality for destabilising the overall strategic situation
in the Middle East.
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