THE CABINET IS SERIOUS ABOUT RESIGNATION
TEHRAN 21 Jan. (IPS) Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Ali Abtahi said Wednesday that entire government of the beleaguered Mohammad Khatami is ready to resign if the Council of the Guardians did not review its decision to stop reformist candidates to enter the next elections for the Majles.
"Many ministers, vice-presidents and governors have already handed in their resignations, Mr. Abtahi, a vice-president for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs told reporters at the end of a cabinet meeting.
Asked whether Khatami would join them in walking out, he said: "If it is
supposed to go, then we shall go all together", implying that the decision
would also comprise the President himself.
However, Mr. Khatami, now in Switzerland where he is addressing the World Economic Forum at the posh mountain resort of Davos, has ruled out the government mass resignation, saying he (still) hope that a solution would be find with the Council of the Guardians.
Though Mr. Abtahi did not say which one of the officials have resigned, but according to some reports, at least six ministers have submitted their resignation, in the expectation that in case the next Majles is controlled again by the conservatives, Khatami would be forced to reshuffle his government, introducing new ministers acceptable to new lawmakers.
"All those who have tendered resignation are very serious", Abtahi told journalists, but considering numerous similar threats by reformists in recent years, including Mr. Khatami, few Iranians take the resignation warnings seriously.
Khatami has largely struck a conciliatory stance over the election row, saying he hopes negotiations will yield a satisfactory compromise.
He said a political crisis could still be averted if the Council of the Guardians (CG) followed the advice of the leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i who has urged a thorough revision of the disqualifications.
"The framework set by the leader is very good and can save the country from the crisis", he told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting, adding that however, until now, we have seen no action from the Guardians".
The 12 members CG, that is controlled by the conservatives, has barred almost half the 8,200 candidates to the next Legislative elections due on 20 February, including 80 incumbent reformist lawmakers, some of them outspoken critics of the ruling conservatives.
According to the CG’s spokesman, the Guardians have so far studied the case of only 200 of the disqualified candidate.
"These methods (of the Guardian Council) can harm the principles of the (Islamic) revolution and democracy and turn the election into a sure thing", Abtahi, a close aide to Khatami, said.
But many Iranian analysts say even if the reformists, both lawmakers and government officials resign, nothing drastic would be changed.
"Not only it is too late for resigning, but it would also be wrong to think that such dramatic action could reconcile the people with the reformists", Mr. Ali Keshtgar, a veteran analyst and Editor of the monthly "Mihan" (Homeland) told Iran Press Service.
In an open letter published Wednesday in the Iran-Emrooz (www.iran-emrooz.de) internet newspaper, the human rights activist Hoseyn Baqerzadeh called on the reformists to "join the people by demanding national referendum for changing the present Constitution.
"The 20 February elections would not be very different from other elections held in Iran. It would be unjust and unfair. The majority of the candidates would have no right to stand and the great majority of Iranians denied the right to elect their candidates freely. Seen from a human rights angle, such elections are condemned in advance and taking part in them is equivalent to confirm violation of human rights principles", he wrote.
"By conciliation and compromises with the ruling power, you (reformists) have lost your political credibility and are no more able to attract the people’s confidence. So, forget the next elections and join the bulk of the people demanding radical changes in the regime’s political structures", Mr. Baqerzadeh added. ENDS DISQUALIFICATIONS 21104