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News & Views Forouhar: Serious setback for Khatami
From the BBC Persian Service The murder of Dariush Forouhar has shocked Iranian people and especially opposition activists. Forouhar was one of the most outspoken critics of the religious leadership in Iran and was among very few well-known opposition leaders who had not gone into exile and dared to condemn openly violations of human rights in his country. Foruhar, who was 70, joined Iran Nation Party, a small nationalist party, in 1951. He later was elected as party's leader. His party supported prime minister Mossadeq's move to nationalize Iran's oil industries in early fifties. He was an outspoken critic of the shah's regime and imprisoned for many years. He had a colorful personality and spoke pure Persian and wore a distinct moustache. His wife Parvaneh, a student leader at Tehran university was also known, in her own right, for her anti-Shah activities. Foruhar with former prime minister Bakhtiar was one of the signatories of the first open letter written to the Shah in 1976 demanding political liberalisation. He was active in the course of the revolution who joined the first post-revolutionary cabinet as labor minister. Being from a the Kurdish areas of Iran, he acted as government representative to negotiate a deal to settle unrest in the Kurdish areas. He finally fell out with the clerical rulers and began campaigning for more freedom and a more secular administration. His Iran Nation Party published a newsletter which regularly carried reports about human rights violations. Although the party was tolerated by the government, Islamic militants on several occasions over the past few years attacked him. They have also threatned to eliminate anybody who dared to challenge the Islamic regime. All of these strengthen the claims by Foruhar's associates and other opposition figures that his murder was politically motivated. Assassination of Iranian opposition leaders has become commonplace since 1979. The Iranian opposition has repeatedly accused the Islamic government of being responsible for the killings. But Tehran has denied involvement, blaming the murders on infighting among dissidents. Friends of Dariush Forouhar dismiss suggestions made by some official Iranian media that the killers could have been common criminals. They accuse the Islamic regime of wanting to silence one of its courageous critics and to send messages to other opposition figures. The killing is particularly embarrassing for President Khatami. It's the first time an opposition leader has been killed in Iran since he came to power last year. Unless his government can bring to justice the perpetrators of this crime, it will seriously damage his claims of being a reformist leader. Links * Iran News
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