Dispatch from Tehran

Night is falling again on Tehran, and like each night for the last week, hundreds of people are gathering in the streets of the city in a sort of election fervor. Presidential elections are to take place in a week, with the first round of voting set for next Friday, June 12. From my apartment, I can hear the crowd forming in my neighborhood; we are located just one block away from the national television headquarters, which has become a sort of symbolic hub for these growing demonstrations. Sitting here right now and trying to write is almost surreal, as I can hear the chanting, yelling and sirens below while I try to concentrate and gather my thoughts. I can't help but imagine how tonight's action might build on last night's energy and move further away from these elections and towards something else, something bigger... but what?>>>

Back from the cold

President Obama has spoken with conviction of the US’s reformed thinking on ‘democracy promotion’. Turkey, Morocco and Indonesia are Muslim states where democracy has yielded significant fruit in the form of moderation to political behaviour and the consolidation of democracy. In today's Iran in contrast, the right to freedom of expression is curtailed; thus no one can engage directly with critical political issues. In addition, general disillusionment with politics means political literature is now largely unfashionable in Iran. Iranians are trapped in a spiral of political alienation. Having said that, our attention should remain fixed not on the identities of the protagonists, but on the part they play in strengthening or weakening democracy in Iran>>>

رشوه و رستگاری

در اداره ای که کار میکنم همه به خوبی می دانند که من اهل رشوه و حق و حساب گرفتن هستم. راستش تا حالا کلی مقاله و پژوهش های میدانی و خیابانی و میلانی در خصوص غیر قابل اجتناب بودن رشوه گیری انجام داده و حقانیت آن را به همه آدم و عالم ثابت کرده ام. رساله معروف بنده به نام " رشوه و ادبیات ایران" به چندین زبان زنده و مرده و نیمه جان دنیا ترجمه شده و هر روز از طریق تلفن و ایمیل سئوالات فراوانی در این خصوص به ویژه از هم میهنان مقیم خارج دریافت می کنم که خواستار توضیح این فن ظریف و تعمیم آن به همه ممالکی هستند که در حال حاضر به حضور رعایای ممالک محروسه ایران مزین شده است. سایتی نیز دراین مورد راه انداخته ام با عنوان : زیرمیزی.پول چایی دات کام که در خدمت همه علاقمندان است>>>

Secret of the River

Every day we go along the river
And your body
Takes on the smell of the water.
Seeing us, the wild geese
Tune up their battle horns,
And a cat behind its green hideout
Lifts its tail in triumph. >>>

Tragic choices

The word tragedy, derived from the ancient Greek words for goat (tragos) and song (aedien), invokes the creature’s plaintive cries. The cacophony of confused voices – on the streets, in the media and in campaign debates and jingles – surrounding Iran’s upcoming Presidential elections bring to mind the term’s origins. Iran’s post revolutionary regime, described by such paradoxical terms as “theocratic democracy” and “dual government” is the cause of the Iranian voters’ vows. The country’s electoral process, while working well in the middle, featuring hard-fought contests and hard-won votes, is rigged on both ends: candidates have to be vetted by unelected bodies before they can run for office and, once elected, they are kept from setting defense and foreign policy>>>

Hanging president

The sharp rise in the number of death penalties in Iran must be viewed in the context of other radical efforts of the last four years, all of which have been articulated an d justified as calls for “decisiveness in treating criminals”, “no retreat to satisfy the West”, or, adopting “revolutionary measures inside the country.” Responsible for this hard-line approach have of course been no other than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his administration. This uncompromising stand has not been confined to the executive branch. Over the last four years, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has publicly supported this line>>>

بدون آزادی، انتخابات آزاد نیست

می گویند: درست است که این انتخابات آزاد نیست، اما در این مقطع و بلافاصله کلمه ی "حساس" و "تاریخی" را نیز بر آن می افزایند، و ادامه می دهند: شرکت یا عدم شرکت به سرنوشت ایران گره خورده و برای نجات ایران باید احمدی نژاد را به عقب راند تا کسی، و تاکیدشان بر موسوی است ، به صحنه بیاید . آنچه در نظر دارند سیاست خارجی به غایت فاجعه بار دولت احمدی نژاد است و منظورشان استفاده از فرصتی است که بقدرت رسیدن اوباما برای نزدیکی به غرب ایجاد کرده است. می گویم: آنچه مسکوت می گذارید این واقعیت مهم است که تصمیمات اصلی در مورد سیاست خارجی ایران نه در دفتر ریاست جمهوری که در بیت رهبری گرفته می شود. حتی اگر موسوی دمکرات ترین امکان موجود این نظام هم باشد، با دادن آدرس اشتباه نه تنها این سرزمین را از سقوط نمی رهانید بلکه با توهم سازی، در مهندسی این سقوط سهیم می شوید>>>

بحث «انتخاب» منتفی است

در یک دمکراسی، نیروهای اجتماعی از آزادی برخوردارند تا تشکل ها و شخصیت های سیاسی نمایانگر خویش را شکل داده، گسترش داده و تقویت کنند. به همین دلیل نیز صحنه ی سیاسی تا حدی باز است که نیروهای جدید به صورت تشکیلاتی یا انفرادی وارد رقابت های انتخاباتی برای کسب اهرم های قدرت شوند. اما در نظام سیاسی ایران فضا به روی غیر خودی ها بسته است و نیروهای اجتماعی از فعالیت سیاسی آزاد محروم هستند؛ به همین دلیل نمی توانند نه تشکل های خود را داشته باشند و نه شخصیت های مطلوب خویش را به صحنه ی سیاسی بفرستند. به همین دلیل نیز صحنه ی سیاسی فقط در اختیار طبقه ی حاکم است. هر که را بخواهند می آورند، مطرح می کنند، به هر مقامی بخواهند می رسانند و در صورت عدم نیاز از صحنه حذف می کنند>>>

Rudi

It was just another Sunday afternoon. Hot, quiet and weary. Father was sitting in a comfortable chair on the balcony in the sun, cleaning one of his many rifles. It was his only pleasure in life, taking out of his collection of empty antique rifles, one that pleased him the most, then spending many hours on the balcony caressing and shining it. Below the balcony and beside the vast green lawn, was standing the driver, dressed in his usual blue-dark uniform, shining father’s Mercedes. Rudi began looking at both men, as she relaxed in her tall tree house, snuggling her dolly in her arms>>>

بی نام و لبخند

آمدی
 مثل خوابی که به دیدن آن ناگزیریم
رفتی و شعر جای تو را گرفت
دیگر به خواب نرفتیم
 نمی آیی
>>>

House of the Leader

On June 3, Iran marked the twentieth anniversary of Ali Khamenei's appointment as the leader of Iran. While international attention is focused on the June 12 presidential elections, the winner of that contest will remain subordinate to Khamenei in power and importance, despite the latter's low profile. Lacking the charisma and religious credentials of his predecessor, Khamenei has managed to attain his powerful position by taking control of key government agencies and building a robust bureaucracy under his direction. Understanding Khamenei's role in Iran's complicated governmental system and how he wields his understated power will be key for the United States as it undertakes a new strategy for dealing with Tehran>>>