Monday, December 06, 2004

Broken Dreams

I almost don't believe it: Khatami: Iran's Democratic Reforms Failed.
I was in Iran in 1997 between Khatami's first presidential election and his inauguration. It was such an exciting time. Everyone was so hopeful of the future. They saw Khatami as a panacea for all their troubles, a chance to retrieve at least a modicum of the freedom and dignity of Iran's past. They were so sure that with Khatami in power everything would be all right. Instead, he was held back by a fundamentally flawed political system. In Iran, the power is not in the hands of the elected parliament or president, but in the appointed mullahs. The people don't have any say in who these religious officials will be or in the policies that they implement. You can see the problem: the system is not designed to represent the people and is a republic in name only (like how England is really a monarchy because the queen has little power, but the PM has lots more control). Khatami was an intellectual who thought he could make a difference in the country that he loves, but he couldn't. He was chained by the regime. What I'm surprised about is that he has the guts to admit it. But I guess he can now that he's out of power. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if he "disappeared" soon after leaving office. The government has little tolerance for the kind of things he said in his farewell address. I really wonder what the next president is going to be like, but unless they change the system it won't matter.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

E makes me want to laugh
The Facts: The granddaughter of HIH Princess Shams of the Pahlavi Dynasty, Princess Ann Claire is the eldest of three daughters raised in London.

http://www.eonline.com/On/Love/HeirHeads/

Anonymous said...

Who are you to criticize the government? Are you even an Iranian citizen? How can you attack 'mullahs' and not realize that Khatami is himself educated in Dar ul Ilm Hawzah of Qom? Yes. He studied in Qom, then got a degree in philosophy from Daneshgah-e Esfahan, then went back to Qom to finish his senior studies of theology for 8 years. He graduated with a Masters from Daneshgah-e Tehran, then received another masters from Qom in philosophical thinking. How do you attack the 'mullahs' and say that all of the power belongs to the mullahs, when in Khatami's speech when clearly : Speaking to students at Tehran university, Mr Khatami said Mr Khamenei had reacted "positively" to his view that widespread disqualifications would make the elections unfair.

JUMHURI-YE ISLAMI E IRAN ZINDABAD

prettydoc said...

I'm not attacking anyone, just expressing my point of view. I was an Iranian citizen for 18 years. Now that I'm an American citizen (for 2 years), I'm exercising my constitutional right to free speech. I will not be silenced by anyone, and certainly not by you.

prettydoc said...

Wow, I had no idea the girl on that show was Persian. Looks like a stupid show to me. (Yet I feel the slight urge to watch out of curiosity...oh no, I'm being sucked into the reality TV vortex!)