WILL KHATAMI FOLLOW IN MOSSADEQ’S FOOTSTEPS?

By Dr. Ali Noorizadeh

LONDON, 9 Oct. Things have not been the same in Iran since 24 September. At 8am that day, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, President Mohammad Khatami’s adviser for legal and parliamentary affairs, left his office and drove to the Majlis (Parliament), where he handed Deputy Speaker Mohammad Reza Khatami a draft for new powers Khatami wanted to assume.

In his followers’ eyes, Khatami instantly turned into a leader who refuses to acknowledge defeat one prepared to challenge the authority of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i and the centres of power that still exercise control over the judiciary, the Revolutionary Guards, Radio and TV and the apparatus of state security.

But while Khatami loyalists lauded the president’s brave step in trying to stamp his authority, the conservatives were indignant. Hossein Shariatmadari, Khameneh’i’s representative and chairman of the "Kayhan" publishing group, described the draft as a "dangerous document" designed to restore monarchic dictatorship in Iran. Shariatmadari went as far as comparing Khatami with Mohammad Ali Shah, who rebelled against constitutional rule in Iran in the early 20th century and ordered the abolition of Parliament.

But does Khatami really want to declare himself an absolute ruler (like the presidents of neighbouring states, who always seem to win 99 percent of the vote)? To those who know Khatami’s nature and aspirations and that includes the millions of Iranians who voted for him in two elections, Shariatmadari’s assertions are ludicrous. How, they ask, can Khatami harbour such ambitions when he will be leaving office in three years’ time? And what about the vali-e-faqih Khameneh’i who has more powers than even the most authoritarian of shahs? Isn’t the un-elected Khameneh’i a ruler for life?

A glance at the recent bill on presidential prerogatives and another bill for election reforms the President referred to the Majles last month reveals that the future of the entire reform movement will be determined by what happens to these two pieces of legislation.

To become law, the two bills must not only be passed by the Majles, but must also win the approval of the powerful vetting Council of Guardians. Deputy Speaker Mohammad Reza Khatami, Secretary-General of the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), the largest reformist bloc in Parliament, says that if the CG rejects the bills, this will spell the end of democracy in Iran. The IIPF, Deputy Speaker Khatami said, will not hesitate to make good on its promises to the people i.e. resignation en masse.

The election reform bill before the Majles abolishes the comprehensive supervisory power now exercised by the Guardians on all phases of the election process in Iran. Despite the fact that the Constitution gives limited powers to the Council of Guardians to ensure that no fraud takes place and to guarantee the rights of candidates who fail to secure the support of the Interior Ministry (on various legal and security grounds), but under the conservatives, the Councilmn began exercising more powers over elections. This was especially the case after the death of Imam Roohollah Khomeini and the assumption of power by the Khameneh’i-Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani tandem.

Thanks to an interpretation of the Constitution by Ayatollah Ahmad Janati (who chairs the Council of Guardians), that supervision includes the vetting of candidates, whereby hundreds are prevented from contesting parliamentary and presidential elections on the pretext that they do not fully believe in the concept of velayet-e-faqih. Yet under the Constitution, any Iranian who recognises the concept is eligible to run for office.

The constitution also says that the Interior Ministry is the sole authority empowered to bar candidates from running if they are shown to have criminal records.

Reformists know that the Council of Guardians is going to bar them from contesting the next election on the pretext that they question the legitimacy of the powers exercised by Khameneh’i, and that they reject the idea that the vali is appointed by divine will.

Among the most important articles included in Khatami’s bill on presidential prerogatives are these:

-- Article 13 states that the president shall be authorised to supervise, and obtain information about the manner in which the Constitution is applied and/or violated through a committee of legal and government experts.

-- Article 14 states that the president is authorised to block any measure or decree that violates the Constitution, and to enquire from the highest authorities about the validity of such measures. The president is also empowered, based on recommendations from a committee entrusted with overseeing the implementation of the constitution, to demand the blocking of judicial decisions deemed to violate the constitution. The president is sanctioned to compensate citizens for damages incurred because of denial of their constitutional rights.

According to Mr. Shari’atmadari, the bill was nothing less than an attempt by the IIPF to subject the country to a tyrannical dictatorship similar to that which the Iranian people succeeded in overthrowing through the Islamic revolution.

In an editorial in his newspaper "Kayhan", Shariatmadari said: "The excuses cited by the IIPF, which played a direct part in preparing the bill, were ludicrous. Mohammad Reza Khatami says the President is unable to exercise his powers without this bill; but all previous presidents managed to steer the ship of state successfully without enjoying the powers introduced in the new bill".

Moreover, the responsibility of guarding the constitution is the supreme leader’s alone. It is he who is supposed to warn government officials against violating the constitution

In less than two months’ time, we will know whether Khatami is going to complete his term as President, or whether he will follow in the footsteps of Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq, (the popular nationalist Prime Minister). Mossadegh resigned in April 1952 and the Shah appointed Ahmad Qavam as-Saltaneh as Prime Minister on 17 July 1952. But Qavam failed to form a cabinet and fled Tehran after violent demonstrations. On 22 July, the Shah was forced to yield to Mossadeq’s demands and returned him to power. ENDS KHATAMI AT CROSSROAD 91002

Editor’s note: Mr. Alireza Noorizadeh is an independent Iranian journalist, specialising in Iranian and Arab affairs at the London-based Centre for Arab-Iranian Studies and the editor of its Arabic-language newsletter Al-Mujes an-Iran.

He wrote this commentary for the Lebanese daily "The Daily Star" that published it on its 9 October issue.

Highlights and phonetisations are from IPS