Iranian reformists allied to President Muhammad Khatami have accused conservatives of making the country look despotic by barring thousands of liberal-minded candidates from a national election.
| "It only looks that way, of course. Actually we're quite nice..." |
"(The conservatives) are paving the way for enemies who want to show the Islamic Republic is a despotic state," said a statement from Khatami's pro-reform League of Combatant Clerics, carried by the official IRNA news agency on Monday. But senior officials said a compromise was possible over the bans by the Guardian Council, an unelected constitutional watchdog, as Washington demanded the Iranian government should ensure the 20 February parliamentary poll was free and fair.
| That's why nobody pays attention to the reformists. Compromise is always possible to the League of Combatant Clerics... |
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters, said he would intervene only if the conservatives and reformists reached an impasse. "If the issue goes beyond legal methods and gets to a sensitive point which demands Il Duce's the leader's decision, we will act based on our responsibility," Khamenei said on state radio. Reformists, who won control of parliament in a 2000 election for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution, are fighting for survival after the Guardian Council blocked thousands of Khatami's allies from running in next month's poll. All of Iran's provincial governors have joined senior parliamentarians and government members threatening to resign over the bans. About 100 reformist deputies spent a second night sleeping on carpets in parliament in a sit-in protest. "We will not let the desires of a few turn the will of the nation," said one demonstrating deputy, Ali Shakourirad.
| Why not? You've been doing it this long... |
The election is considered by many Iranians as a test of popular patience with what they see as a toothless reform movement. Many young people say they will abstain in protest at the lack of social and economic reforms. Leading reformists called on students, often in the vanguard of Iran's political struggles, to join the fight. "Forget it," said one young woman in Tehran. "They just care about their salaries."
| When change finally does come, it won't be the Mensheviks that bring it about... |
Only about half of the 8,200 aspiring candidates were approved to stand. Those disqualified include 80 members of the 290-seat parliament. Khatami and Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi are taking the case direct to the 12-member Guardian Council. Karroubi said he thought a deal could be struck and urged deputies to trust in the law. "Be careful not to foment tension," he said. |