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Wednesday
June 13, 2001

Rethink and rebuild

Oh yes, the boycott talk ["Boycott or perish"]. The large Iranian-exile community can't take a hint, can they? They invited us to boycott the 1997 elections, reasoning that our vote will only bring legitimacy for the "tormenting hell called the Islamic Republic". didn't work. Khatami got 20 Million votes! But these opposition groups, much like the hard-liners, know how to interpret a high turn out to their favor even when they lose, specially when they lose. They told us that our vote wasn't really a "YES" to Khatami but rather a "NO" for Nategh-Nouri! They invited us to boycott the sixth parliamentary election in 1999 as well. That election didn't work out the way they wanted it either.

They again shouted "Tahrim" on 18 Khordad this year. They again lost to the majority, who voted for one of them mullahs! Am I the only one that sees a pattern in all this?

My suggestion to Mr. Sheibany (va amsalohom) is to take a step back and rethink and rebuilt your standpoints, so that it would fit contemporary Iran. I would give the same suggestion to the hard-liners, who've by the way have lost as many battles as you! And by answering your comments I would like to contribute as much as I can to this rebuilding task you have ahead of you.

1) A very low turnout would be an active vote against a clerical government and a tacit vote in favor of democratic elections. First of all let me just point out that, fortunately, Iranians today don't see others strictly as "mullahs" or "non-mullah" anymore or at least not as much as they used to. They judge people by the content of their character. The love people have for figures such as Khatami, Abdollah Nouri, Mohsen Kadivar and other religious-nationalists goes to prove that point.

To the majority of the population, who are under 30 and have not seen the so-called "pre-revolutionary glory" being against the government means nothing. Its like telling us: "the earth is too polluted, lets just leave", where do we go? How do we go? What would it be like after the fall of this regime? No body is telling us anything! 'Cause nobody knows. We all know the correct spelling of democracy in Farsi (baa sin shin), and we know what it means on paper.

But we haven't totally figured out how it would work for us, Iranians. Would it be like the American democracy along with capitalism? The European kind, where nothings sacred? Or something like what they practice in India, where they worship cows as well? It cant be either one of those, for we have a different culture, thus we are a different people.

It will take a lot of time and experience for us to realize what where looking for exactly, before we start a movement against this clerical government. Khatami and the reformists are providing us with both. They are also introducing, and slowly explaining, a new kind of democracy that might suite us better than any, and that is "religious democracy".

Sorry Mr. Sheibany, the word "secular democracy" is too vague and general. It just doesn't cut it. And a referendum questioning the philosophy of this government at this point and time, when we are still soul searching, will only achieve confusion and chaos rather than our freedom. 2) Voting legitimizes and thus strengthens the hardliners.

A friend once asked my "why do you think that Khatami and Khamenei are at war, when all they do is kiss and hug every time they meet?" My answer was that I don't actually have to see them fight and call each other names. I know how both think, and they have opposite views. This is a philosophical war we're talking about, not a face-to-face personal confrontation. Read my lips opposition, there is a war between the hard-liners and the reformists. People know it. And voting for Khatami, by no means would it ever be mean vote for the hard-liners. It's a laugh out riot when the opposition, and the hard-liners, interpret it any other way!

3) By not voting in this selection, you are actively strengthening the Khatami programs also. A free election would legitimize his authority, and remove opposition to reforms. Of course Im a nobody; but I've heard of a term in the political world they like to call a "mandate", authorization given by a political electorate to its representative. How can not voting for Khatami strengthen his mandate and thus strengthening his programs?

And a free election would require a referendum, which is alittle harder to achieve than simply not voting and sitting at home. Note that despite the national TVs constant adds and promotions in 1998 for the election of the Assembly of Experts (Majlese Khobregan, who monitors the supreme leader), the turn out was very low. Less than 50% actually showed up, the rest just didn't care.

Did anything change then? If not voting for the Assembly of Experts doesn't do anything, what would a boycott of Khatami do? No Mr. Sheibany, the 18 Khordad election should be enough to "legitimize Khatami and remove opposition to reforms". In essense this election was only a simply "yes or no" to the reform movement and the path that Khatami represents, and nothing else. The hardliners didn't give us a chance to legitimize or delegitimize them either way, because they refused to introduce a strong, worthy candidate. The results of this election alone should be enough to remove opposition by itself.

4) Voting YES to referendum by not participating in IRI elections, is a peaceful way of saying you want peaceful change in government.

C'mon, you must be mistaking the IRI with some other system! You must know these bullies better than that. Would simply sitting at home result in a referendum? Sitting at home and not voting, would only give the hardliners a chance to say "look Mr. Khatami, people don't want your reforms anymore Valee Faghih for them is more than enough for them." And Khatami would lose his mandate and we'll just be where we were 5 years ago. Referendum chmeferendum.

5) By voting in this election, you are legitimizing the taking of power by force of guns and violence. Implementing Islamic democracy under terror and torture, without FREE elections is hardly Islamic or democratic. Say what?! Against you miss the point of separating the reformists from the hardliners. Since when has Khatami or any other reformist supported any act of terror or torture?

And since when have hard-liners been supporting democracy? And no wonder, they have lost in every electoral process.

7) Today, 23 years later, whilst South Korea and Malaysia have per capita income of over $20,000, Iran's is down to $500. And I suppose a FREE election would restore our wealth? Have any one of the opposition groups outside proposed any economical plans of their own? Or are they just too busy collecting money from the US courts, out of Iran's frozen assets and demanding further sanctions?

8) If I don't vote, I'll loose my financial subsidies, government post, or access to public education. This has only been a rumor than was spread during the Assembly of Experts election in 1998, and as you saw and I mentioned, not many people were intimidated then, not many would be intimidated now or ever. And yes of course, if they were actually scared and if they didn't want to vote, its obvious that they could simply write Bugs Bunny on the paper.

9) By not voting you are making the first, albeit small, step towards national unity and a better future. I have to refer back to #1, that the phrase "national unity and a better future" just doesn't cut it. Being far away from the IRI doesn't cut it either.

Here is an example of a reformist's strategy for things to be accomplished at minimum:

-- On high political level: Reinforcing the power of the president, when it regards his duty to point out and block breaks against the constitution. (Cooperation between the elected parliament, the elected government, the Guardian council, the council expediency and the leader)

-- On the high economical level: Defining and Organizing a progressive tax system, so that everyone in the country should pay taxes in relation to his/her income. The taxes should be progressive, amounting with higher income. (cooperation between the elected government and the elected parliament)

-- On high juridical level: Majless and the government should try to make themselves heard in juridical levels. The responsibility of the juridical duties must get divided between the high chief of judiciary, chief of the High Court and the minister of justice. (cooperation between the elected government, high religious leadership and the body of judiciary itself)

-- On low political level: Bigger autonomy to municipalities so that they can build up their own institutions and economy independent of that of ministry of the interior. Majless should define the concrete preconditions of the municipal authority and autonomy. (Cooperation between the elected parliament and the elected government)

-- On low economical level: To use a part of oil income to finance a special bank for supporting small productive business. (cooperation between the elected government, the elected parliament and the highest religious leadership) And you want us to move away from at least some working system to reform and move toward a phrase?

10) When 70% of the electorate, and maybe 99% of the opposition abroad are backing reform (under Khatami for now) who is putting pressure on who with an election boycott? Since when, is 99% of the opposition abroad backing Khatami? I've live abroad, and the only things I've heard were "his just another mullah", "he hasn't accomplished a damn thing in his term", "he contradicts himself with religious democracy", and of course my favorite "his distracting Iranians to prolong the life of the IRI"!

I've seen them throw paint and rotten eggs at him and his foreign minister; I've seen them shout "death to Khatami" while marching down the streets of LA; maybe its just me but I have never quite seen their support! Velayat-e Faghih permits Khatami to run, blocks his reforms, and four years from now Khatami will be gone, yet Velayat-e Faghih will still be there. The hard-liners don't permit him to run, they are stuck with Khatami.

They never thought Khatami would be a threat to Nategh Nouri. In fact Nategh was even making plans for moving to the presidential palace 2-3 month before 2 Khordad!! And as people like have said before, Its not Khatami that really counts. It's the path that he represents. If we lose him, we would not lose the path. And besides, the last 4 years were nothing but surprises and unpredictable events, hopefully we would use all those experiences to jumpstart a new term.

Reza Ahmadi, 19
From NY

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