Khatami camp spoiling for a fight

By Kesava Menon

MANAMA (BAHRAIN), FEB. 12. An unusually strong criticism of his conservative opponents by Iran's President, Mr. Mohammed Khatami, and an unprecedented public protest against the Islamic regime indicate that unrest in the country is growing furiously. It seems likely that the unrest will grow rather than subside ahead of the Presidential election scheduled for early June.

In a speech marking the 22nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Mr. Khatami unleashed the sort of attack on conservatives that his reform supporters have been waiting for. ``Those who claim a monopoly on Islam and the Revolution, those with narrow views, are setting themselves against the people'', Mr. Khatami has been quoted by the agencies as saying. Though he did not specify the conservatives, he seemed to have let no doubt remain about whom he was referring to when he said, ``They are putting religious values against the wishes of the people, religion against freedom and disregarding the rights of the people. They seek to suppress views that are not in agreement with their narrow views''.

Mr. Khatami said the banning of publications and the jailing of reformers portrayed an ugly image of democratic system before the international community and disappointed the people at home. ``Let us have faith in our people and acknowledge their central role in running their political affairs. Let us pave the way for them to express their views in a free and safe atmosphere''.

The President also tried to re-assert that the reform movement he has symbolised sprang from the basic values of the Revolution and was not deviant from it. ``In the Islamic Republic, people should have the right to rule over their destiny and experience individual and political freedom after a long history of oppression. The Islamic Republic means an end to the era where bullying leaders imposed their wishes on the people and answered criticism with torture and jail. It means that the country revolves around the people, that elections determine who should govern. It means that rulers must be open to criticism''.

These statements make for the kind of fighting talk that Mr. Khatami's supporters have been waiting for him to make. However, it is not clear from the reports whether these statements were buried under platitudes intended to soothe conservative ears as has often been the case.

By inclination, Mr. Khatami is not a confrontationist and he has never taken an unequivocal position even when the conservatives have launched unfair attacks on the reformers. It is also possible that the agency reports could be dubbed as misleading as has also happened in the past. Incidentally, the agency reports that appear on an Iranian website are substantially more equivocal.

What was more surprising, even shocking, than this speech was the fact that Iranian dissidents actually carried out a public protest in the streets of Teheran carrying banners in which they proclaimed that they were opposed to the Islamic regime. They were reportedly set upon by the police and a conservative- controlled militia.

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Section  : International
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