Reformists in Iran, Despite Pressure, Speak Out More
Boldly
The New York Times
August 4, 2000,
It was a Rip van Winkle moment.
Mohsen Kadivar, a mid-ranking cleric, had just been released after serving
18 months in jail for "disturbing public opinion" because he
had branded Iran a religious despotism. As some 1,000 students gathered
to honor him, Mr. Kadivar could not believe his ears.
"Religion has performed badly when it has gone along with power,"
said Hashem Aghajeri, a Tehran University professor, in an emotional speech
in which he effectively called for an end to religious control that has
dominated social and political life for two decades.
Mr. Aghajeri, speaking in a university auditorium last Sunday, even
touched upon one of the most sacrosanct tenets of the Islamic government
and insisted that Iranians must be able to choose the supreme leader, whose
word here is law.
"Those who believe Islamic jurisprudence is a kind of divinity
on earth, that it cannot be criticized, or judged by the law, must enter
debates with Islamic thinkers and let voters choose," he said. The
audience applauded vigorously.
"Governments that suppress thinking under the name of religion
are not only not religious governments but are not even humane governments,"
he added. "It is time for the institution of religion to become separated
from the institution of government."
The meeting that shocked Mr. Kadivar is illustrative of how much more
boldly Iranians are expressing their political discontent in public, even
though conservatives led by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
have shut down 20 newspapers and magazines and jailed 7 journalists since
April.
On Sunday, the reformist-dominated Parliament elected in February is
scheduled to give the new boldness a public face by debating what is described
as its first measure challenging the hard-liners: to amend the repressive
press law.
The former Parliament, dominated by hard-liners who opposed reform,
passed a law in March that imposed new restrictions on the press. It requires
newspaper publishers to submit a list of their staff members to the judiciary,
which is dominated by hard-liners, and allows the judiciary to jail journalists
and close newspapers without a court verdict. The press court can also
overrule its jury.
Ayatollah Khamenei, who favors a strict religious society, appoints
the head of the judiciary, the chief of the security forces and the director
of state-run television -- all hard-liners who seek to stifle liberal papers.
Now, Parliament is challenging the right to crack down on the independent
newspapers that emerged after the election of President Mohammad Khatami
in 1997.
Parliament's decisions have to be vetted by the Council of Guardians,
a generally hard-line body that could strike down any new legislation.
But Hamidreza Jalaipour, publisher of five newspapers that were successively
banned in the last three years, said the debate on the press law is "a
good start."
"The Parliament itself is under enormous pressure," Mr. Jalaipour
said. "The new changes would allow the closed newspapers to publish
again, and that is very positive for the reform movement."
The head of the new Parliament, Mehdi Karoubi, told a meeting of the
Association of Newspapers this week that the way the media have been treated
is worrisome. "I hope that by eliminating obstacles we create an opportunity
for intellectuals and journalists to pave the way for more democratic participation,"
he said.
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