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United Nations

Secretary General Khatami
Well let's give the men the benefit of doubt

Mohammad Kazerouni
September 20, 2004
iranian.com

The news agency IRNA reported Friday that Iran plans to propose President Mohammad Khatami as their candidate for secretary general of the United Nations to succeed current Kofi Annan. The issue was first raised during a political forum in China and it has been said to be welcome by most of the Asian officials at the meeting.

This Islamic Republic of Iran never seizes to amaze. Secretary General Khatami! It does have a nice ring to it I suppose, and Khatami would be a perfect fit- he's already accustomed to being in positions where he really doesn't have any power.

Why would anyone in their right mind want Khatami as Secretary General of the UN you ask? Well let's give the men the benefit of doubt.

Let's see... This is a man who was popularly elected by a land slide majority for his first presidency term. Khatami in turn repaid his debt to his supporters by turning his back to his supporters in their greatest time of need. Some of those youth who were supporting him and his " reforms" are still in prison today, paying their debt to society for peacefully protesting for more human rights in Iran

This is a man who charmed the nation and, more importantly, the world with his "Dialogue between Civilizations," yet to this date has not held any substantial dialogue regarding the surreal human rights situation in Iran. A dialogue amongst civilization needs to be open and free for it to have any substantial value. What's the point if the dialogue being undertaken does not address the real issues that need to be addressed?

This is a man who to this date has refused to admit that the reform movement has been a failure in that it was not be able, nor from the beginning in a position, to bring about real change in Iran. His hands where tied you say and what could he have done in a system such as the Islamic Republic you ask?

Given the great responsibility with which he was entrusted by the masses in Iran, his allegiance should have been to them, not the Islamic Republic of Iran and the statues quo. If his commitment really was to the Iranian people then he would have surely resigned in the face of the injustices imposed upon his people.

So why didn't he resign? Could it be that he was in support of the status-quo? Could it be that he was merely "chosen" only weeks before the elections, before which he was virtually unknown, to quench the thirst of change demanded by the restless people of Iran? Whether these are truths or just this author's conspiracy theory is up to the reader to determine!

Regardless of where you end up on the spectrum, Khatami as Secretary General is still an amusing notion, yet the Islamic Republic could have done one just a bit better- why not nominate Shirin Ebadi while they at it.

About
Mohammad Kazerouni graduated from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 2002 with a B.A. in Political Science. He is currently a Candidate for J.D. at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California. He is also a Founding Member of the National Union For Democracy in Iran, www.nufdi.org.

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