Ebrahim Nabavi (left) and Akbar Ganji
Defiance vs. regret
Reformists on trial
By Mehdi Ardalan
November 16, 2000
The Iranian
Prison affects people in different ways. Lengthy incarcerations have
produced a range of sentiments among pro-reform activists: defiance, regret,
even both. Akbar Ganji's dramatic appearance in his long-awaited trial,
charging prison officials with torture, was in stark contrast to Ebrahim
Nabavi's sarcastic self-criticism before the notorious Judge Mortazavi.
Renowned as the country's best political satirist, Nabavi turned the
court into a stage for a stand-up comedy routine. "I suggest prison
officials give inmates a pair of prison uniforms to take home so that by
looking at them, they would remember to be careful," joked Nabavi
. He thanked "his excellency, the prosecutor" for a lenient indictment
-- the kind of leniency he said he had failed to notice in the actions
of the judiciary.
Dazed and confused, Nabavi's conservative critics have been unable or
unwilling to read between the lines of his carefully chosen sentences.
Nevertheless they feel like they should be pleased. That seems to be why
Nabavi is expected to be freed on bail soon. That also seems to be why
the anti-reform daily, Kayhan, set aside a large space to publish
the full report of Nabavi's court session. His pro-reform associates in
the press had a field day, albeit privately, in the interest of their colleague's
freedom.
Yet the heavy use of sarcasm, irony and double-talk has even baffled
the public as to how much they should take Nabavi seriously. Just a week
before his scheduled trail, Nabavi, for the first time, described his previous
writings as radical. "I don't want to be a hero," he declared
in an open letter sent from Evin prison to the press.
"After years of writing, I have come to learn that reflecting on
one's past deeds is painfully harder than insisting on a script that has
been written in anger and haste. Looking back on a not too distant past,
I see, on the part of myself and others, expressions of stubbornness, pigheadedness
and radicalism in spite of our claims of flexibility and passivity".
More serious and somber, however, are the confessions of the much younger
Mohammad Quchani, another writer/journalist who is a talented product of
President Khatami's heralded era of openness. Winner of the "Political
Commentator" award and praised for his penmanship, Quchani speaks
out on lessons he says he has learned early in his young life.
Lack of professionalism, proper information dissemination and sensitivity
to national security and identity, political partisanship and populism
were Quchani's characterizations of newspapers which he used to write for
in remarkable style. "In the face of truth and the dire need for reform,"
he said, "moderation must strip its garb."
Quchani's definition of moderation now seems to have changed. "The
atmosphere of prison is akin to notions of solitude and pondering,"
Quchani explains while proclaiming to "distance" himself from
his articles.
Solitude and pondering has not left the same mark on the experiences
of all jailed activists. In fact, solitary confinement created enough rage
in Akbar Ganji to leave a lasting impression on the prison system as well
as the court and judge who are trying him on charges much more serious
than those laid against Nabavi or Quchani.
Ganji's spirit of defiance after the alleged 108 days of solitary confinement
ran consistent with the courage he displayed in publishing shocking revelations
about state involvement in the mysterious murders of Iranian dissidents.
Taking off his prison jacket and showing signs of bruises on his head and
arm which he said he got from repeated beatings and torture, Ganji lashed
out at the judge who had once before convicted him to a one-year jail sentence
for delivering a speech against Fascism.
Ganji's steadfastness on one hand, and Quchani's apologetic retractions
on the other, represent divisions plaguing the reform camp over tactics
and strategies. Some reformers are lamenting their past "extremist"
approach which they now believe was disproportionate to their real ability
to bring about change. The unprecedented press freedoms during the "Tehran
Spring" which followed the stunning election of Mohammad Khatami,
did not make everyone oblivious to the prospect that the newly-found bravery
to challenge and criticize is ephemeral..
The fragmented reform movement is now led by forces of caution and compromise
as manifested in the mood prevailing over the reformist daily, Hayat-e-No.
Borne from the ashes of two dozen banned newspapers, Hayat-e-No
moves forward in what it calls "low beams." Recently, Hayat-e-No
offered an olive branch to Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the powerful
Expediency Council, hitherto sharply criticized by reformers, particularly
Ganji. Hayat-e-No called on Rafsanjani to show graciousness by adjudicating
in favor of a more liberal interpretation of the existing press law in
a dispute that has left the Expediency Council as the final arbitrator.
On one hand, Ganji knows his counter indictment of the conservative-dominated
judiciary could not have been publicized were it not for moderate efforts
to make the court proceedings public. On the other hand, Quchani also realizes
that conservative appraisal of his turn-around will not go down well with
the majority of the public whose desire for change was sparked long ago
by himself as well as Ganji.
Hayat-e-No recently asserted that real reform does not need victims,
echoing Nabavi's more somber insistence that the country does not need
heroes either. Whether victims/heroes of reform inject this movement with
a spirit of moderation and reflection or defiance and assertion will prove
important to Iran's future
