AP photo by Enric Marti
He's history
Hashemi Rafsanjani has lost respect
By Maryam Farahvashi in Tehran
February 23, 2000
The Iranian
Much has already been said regarding the "demise" of Mr Hashemi
Rafsanjani. What has happened, of course, was no surprise to me at all.
I had predicted it exactly as it happened. The only unknown premise was
the amount of success he might have in influencing the vote in his favor
through his old connections.
As things stand right now, Rafsanjani is still trying. He may eventually
succeed because he has had twenty years of experience. So he may still
get a seat in parliament and could even become its speaker. What is important
here, however, is the fact that he has lost the little respect this nation
still had for him due to the role he played in the revolution and his being
close to the leader of the revolution.
Politically, he has always been very close to ultra-conservatives such
as the Islamic Motalefeh group. He worked closely with them when he was
president and practically helped them gain control of parliament, the judiciary,
and most other institutions of power.
But by 1996 the Motalefeh became so strong and conceited that they decided
to get rid of him as well, thinking that his role had been played out .
They decided to put their own man in the presidential office and this was
the only time Rafsanjani put up some resistance by helping to lower the
amount of cheating in the last presidential elections. That was how the
new president was elected, and we all owe this much to Rafsanjani, to be
fair.
After the elections, however, he gradually drifted towards the Motalefeh
and other rightist groups again; and when they felt the need for his services
shortly before the present elections. This our people cannot forgive. This
is especially so because most everybody believes that he was behind Abdollah
Nouri's imprisonment -- a man who would most probably have received the
highest votes and became parliament speaker had he been permitted to participate
in the elections.
Economically, Rafsanjani is the man who brought Iran under heavy foreign
debt, something many believe to be a national humiliation. He argued that
he was going to use the money to rapidly industrialize the country and
make it economically self-sufficient. In practice, however, all it did
was to enrich this self-proclaimed "Master of Reconstruction"
and his friends and relatives.
Rafsanjani became a specialist in quietly suppressing the opposition.
There were practically no free newspapers during his presidency and no
political parties . Many dissident intellectuals were assassinated by his
chief of secret police at the Ministry of Intelligence and his terrorist
groups inside and outside of the county. The list can go on and on. There
are enough untold stories for a thick volume.
What seems to have fired the final shot at Rafsanjani's political career
is his extremely godfather-like attitude toward the people. He is the self-appointed
guardian of a proud people who hate bossy behavior more than anything else.
Knowing him full and well by now, the older revolutionary generation is
no longer willing to bear his arrogant behavior , and the new generation
is not willing to put up with such conceit on anybody's part -- no matter
who that person is!
So when Rafsanjani started to accuse his critics of every vice imaginable,
many intellectuals came to the conclusion that he should respectfully be
handed over to history. What we have observed in the Majlis elections is
only the first step in that direction.There will certainly be more to come
if he does not step down and disappear quietly on his own.
Dethroning
Akbar Shah
The genie is out of the bottle -- almost
By Mehdi Ardalan
January 26, 2000
The
road to victory
It won't be smooth
By Rasool Nafisi
February 22, 2000
The
ballot box
Majlis elections mark new era
Written and Photographed by Dokhi Fassihian
February 21, 2000
So
alike
Us and the Americans
By Laleh Khalili
February 22, 2000
