 This chap aint no champion
I am angry that Iranians are so naïve as to fall fo
Reza Pahlavi
By Ali Ezzatyar
June 27, 2003
The Iranian
As a logical being, I prefer not even
calling him Reza Pahlavi. I am forced to; I don’t know what
else to call him. His grandfather Reza Khan arbitrarily bestowed
upon himself the name
Pahlavi, as well as the title Shah less than a century ago. As
an extension of this reality, any rational person would assume
that by maintaining this capricious title, he wishes to carry on
the
legacy of his father and grandfather.
His grandfather has been called a maniac. His father
is the man who the CIA brought in (after he fled Iran) to replace
Mohammad
Mossadegh, our first true democratically elected leader. His father
was also the man whose decades of shame and tyranny brought about
our revolution. Now, Reza Pahlavi is not his father or grandfather,
and no one should assume he is awful as a result of his family
tree. But assumption is not necessary in the case of Reza; his
agenda is quite clear.
Reza, matter of factly dubbed the Crown Prince by
Fox News, was on Hannity and Colmes interviewing last week about
the current unrest
in Iran. Simply put, his testimony was riddled with inconsistency
and betrayal. In case some of you missed it, let me underline a
few interesting segments: (Listen to the June 17 interview on Reza
Pahlavi's site)
Mr. Colmes began by asking Mr. Pahlavi
about whether or not he had given up the idea of monarchy, because
as Mr. Colmes pointed
out, a monarchy is not a democracy. Mr. Pahlavi appeared nervous,
stating that he believes a monarchy can be democratic per the example
of Europe. He then quickly changed the subject. Hmm…
The conservative
Mr. Hannity decided it was time for his two cents. He said that
he hopes the U.S. has CIA on the ground in Iran, and that they
are fomenting unrest in Iran and meddling in Iran’s affairs.
I was shocked. How could Mr. Hannity make such a blunder? How could
he be so naive to the reality of what happened in 1953, and the
effect it had on Iran.
How could he not know that it is widely
believed in academic circles that this was the first precursor
to the 1979 revolution? No one bothered to tell him that this was
the root of anti-Americanism in Iran? The CIA’s first successful
regime change took place in Iran, and its victim was an Iranian
hero. Get him for that Crowned Prince of Iran!
Reza responded by laughing and nodding. He didn’t take that
opportunity to express the Iranian people’s sentiment with
regard to our ongoing subjection to the will of others.
No one
asked him to spit in Sean Hannity’s face (which arguably
would have been in order), but merely educate the man in front
of millions of uninformed Americans. Instead, he approved of these
cynical plans. What, does he miss his dad too much? Is he mad at
what Mossadegh did to daddy?
I am being sarcastic, but
behind it is pure anger. I am angry that Iranians are
so naïve as to
recognize this chap as their champion. In fact, I am surprised
that this man is not despised by all Iranians with this sort of
behavior. There must be two reasons for this travesty.
1) You are simply incompetent and unversed in your
nation’s
history. You saw pictures of Tehran before the revolution and liked
what you saw, so you assume Reza Pahlavi is the man for the job
(I once had a friend tell me “Tehran looked like Vegas”,
with pure excitement). My response to you is that you would do
well to pick up a book, because future change in Iran will not
be lead by incompetent men and women. Educate yourself.
2) You are driven by ulterior motives. Maybe you
were patronized by the Shah and you can neither return to Iran,
nor bask in your
riches of old. In addition, you would love to see these Mullahs
fall as revenge for your failure (cough, cough, satellite channels).
In other words, you do not want the best for the Iranian people;
you want the best for the Iranian people provided that your fantasies
are realized. In this case, you are not only my enemy, but an enemy
of the Iranian people and Iran. As a friend of mine from Tehran
said this week, “Nafasishoon az jaayeh garm meeyaad”.
Reza went on to say that Iran should be accountable
to the U.S. due to its nuclear program. His father began with a
nuclear program
in the 1970’s; he forgot to mention that on Fox News. “Mr.
Pahlavi” also parted with a warm, friendly handshake for
Sean Hannity, a man who has been quoted as saying Iran should attacked
militarily.
A tad more conversation took place which would have
any true Iran-loving individual fuming that I can’t mention
in the space allotted. He claims Iran should have a referendum. News
to him, Iran did have a referendum after the revolution, but the
system
the Iranian
people chose left little room for change. Some approve of this
arbitrariness.
How, though, will a referendum ushering in another
monarchy be any different with regard to despotism? It will be
no different,
except as Reza hopes, he will have replaced the clergy as Iran’s
dominant force. He rejects arbitrary rule, yet in the same breath
approves of it. To top it all off, he has no relevant credentials
or unique vision for Iran’s future.
Reza, your chances are slim to none, but who knows
what an expatriate community in the U.S. could do to bolster your
chances. After all,
it was an equally non-authentic force that ousted our beloved Mossadegh. Author
Ali Ezzatyar is a student at the
School of International and Public Affairs,
Columbia University, New York.
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This chap aint no champion
