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Reformers ready showdown with military over 'warning'
Iran's beleaguered reformist administration was set for a showdown with the military Monday over an outspoken weekend attack on its policies by the high command of the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps. The main reformist party, which commands a majority in parliament, said it had decided to call Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani to appear before MPs to explain the Guards Corps' "unacceptable interference in political life."Will this be the spark that sets it off? The summons, signed by 95 reformist MPs, would challenge the legality of the Guards commanders' attack, which accused the reformers of working to turn Iran into a secular state and build ties with arch-enemy Israel, the Islamic Iran Participation Front said in a statement. "We doubt the legality of this communique which deals with political questions, the policies of different parties and foreign ministry issues which are entirely outside the Revolutionary Guards' field of responsibility," the party's statement said. Yup. First you have to tell the Revolutionary Guards they're not in charge. That's the easy part. Then you have to convince them... The party's leader, Mohammed-Reza Khatami — brother of moderate President Mohammad Khatami — was blunter in his criticism, charging that a hardline "minority" of Guards commanders was undermining the Corps' military effectiveness by turning it into a political party. "For a long time, the Guards have refrained from interfering in political affairs, as they are explicitly barred from doing by law," said Khatami junior, who is also deputy speaker of parliament. "So why are now they taking this retrograde step? This statement is weakening the Guards Corps by relegating it to little more than a political party when it ought to be defending the nation." He's talking about the way things should be, rather than the way they are... But conservative MPs made clear they intended to rally to the Guards commanders' defence in the parliamentary showdown and accused the majority reformers of playing politics at a time when President George W. Bush was stepping up US efforts to undermine the Islamic Republic. "Today, we are confronted by a real threat from the United States with oppressive forces everywhere in the region around Iran," said conservative MP Mohammad Shai-Arablu. "The Guards, who know the reality, are simply telling people about it and warning them in good time about the shameful plans of the United States." And threatening to kill people if they can't have their way. That's a bad thing for a military to do. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-07-22 |
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