EXPERTS CRITICIZED FOR FAILING TO CONTROL LEADERSHIP
PARIS-LONDON 6 Sept. (IPS) The Iranian Assembly of Experts of the Leadership (AEL) came under a volley of criticism Thursday for dealing with matters outside its constitutional duties while abandoning its task of controlling the actions of the leader.
In a statement issued Wednesday at the end of its three days session that was held behind closed doors, the 86-members AEL confirmed once again the "wise" leadership of Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i, made a series of political observations and went as far as expressing support for the Palestinian intifada or the proposal to equate Zionism with racism.
According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, the AEL has only one task, and that is to supervise the actions of the leader, to make sure that he has all the necessary conditions for leadership and in case they reach the conclusion that the leader do not possess the stipulated conditions, they should immediately remove him.
But as expected, in their final communiqué, the Experts lauded the "wise leadership of Supreme leader (Ayatollah Khameneh’i) in the past 12 years that has helped Iran reinforce stability within the country".
Elsewhere, they confirmed the "religious democratic nature" of the Islamic Republic and at the same time warned that one must not assume that the religious democracy meant in Iran is an amalgamated version of the western and the Islamic school.
The Assembly also underlined the "need" to promote Islamic propagation to neutralise the cultural inroad of the West, emphasised on the "religious democratic nature" of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the need to "stick" to the rules of Islamic justice and piety, IRNA quoted the declaration as indicating.
The declaration finally stresses the need for the whole nation, particularly the political authorities, to harmonize all their deeds and words, with Imam Ali's conduct "in this year that is dubbed after hat exalted Islamic leader's name."
On international political issues, the Experts termed as "blessed" the ongoing international conference on Racism which is held in Durban, South Africa, denouncing all types of racism, "including, and particularly, Zionism" according to the communiqué.
United States and Israel walked out of the UN-sponsored meeting, protesting the identification of Zionism with racism and the 15-members European Union also warned that it might leave the conference if the motion is withheld.
The Assembly also expressed its "full support" for the Palestinian cause, the liberation movement of that deprived Palestinian nation and the "the brave uprising of the Palestinians against the global arrogance, led by the US imperialism."
Members of the Assembly are elected by popular vote for eight years and must be vet by the Council of Guardians, itself controlled by the leader.
The last election for this Assembly was held in 1998.
Officially, the experts holds formal meetings twice a year to study matters related to the actions and of the leader and review his undertakings, but the only thing they have so far done is the confirm the leadership, to whom they are tributaries.
Invited by the Persian service of Radio France Internationale (RFI), Mr. Qasem Sho’leh Sa’di, a former deputy from his hometown of Shiraz said dealing with such matters are not of the responsibilities of the AEL, which, according to the Constitution, has only one duty and that is to control the actions of the leader and to check if the leader has all the prerequisite conditions for that job.
"The statement issued at the end of their sixth session is a kind of political manifesto that is issued by a political party", Mr. Sho’leh Sa’di said, observing that in the past, the Experts have never reviewed the actions of the leader.
In his view, this is "quite understandable" since most of the members of the Assembly are also members of the Council of Guardians, Friday imams of main towns or leaders representatives in various military of governmental offices, all nominated by the leader and as such, are his tributaries.
"Every thing in the present Iranian political system in like a circle, where the Council of Guardians approves the candidates for the Experts Assembly – as well as for any other elections – who in turn elect the leader, who, according to the Constitution, has extra-constitutional powers and also names the members of the Council of Guardians", explains the Berlin-based Parviz Dastmalchi, a respected expert on the political structure of the Islamic Republic.
"For this reason, the Experts are not in a position to exercise any control over the leader and his actions. Being unable to perform their constitutional duties, the Experts prefers to deal with issues that has nothing to do with their responsibilities", he pointed out.
He was joined by Hojjatoleslam Ahmad Qabel, who told the Persian service of the BBC that dealing with issues outside their domain was "less dangerous and hazardous" for the Experts than concentrating on questions related to the leader, "even if this is their only duty", he noted.
In his interview with the RFI, Mr. Sho’leh Sa’di, now a lawyer and a professor at Shiraz University confirmed that the AEL urging the authorities to "eliminate seditious elements", could herald a new wave of repression and clampdown.
"We have experience from the past that such warnings always preludes to new waves of clampdown", he said.
Both Mr. Sho’leh Sa’di and Mr. Qabel agreed that by touching matters that are out of their competence, like local political or international issues, the Experts in fact "make act of presence without jeopardising their position and privileges". ENDS EXPERTS ASSEMBLY CRITICISM 6901