Persian Realm

VPK

That's a pretty respectable and reliable polling outfit.

Using the analysis drawn from that data, I'm invoking a scientific method to ascertain the popular will of Iranians inside Iran. That is to say, there's nothing personal about it.

There's nothing neocon about it, either. Please read up on this polling organization and its funding, before making unsubstantiated assertions.

Just admit it: you don't like the results. You're not alone; it's outraged many an exile, turning upside down their hopes and desires upon a land that no longer recognizes them as indigenous Iranian. And even though I'm not an exile, the same applies to me as it applies to you, VPK. 

Dr. Mossadegh was in FACT the democratically Elected PM of Iran

VPK jaan,

Dr. Mossadegh was not a dictator. Simorgh writes non-sense.

1. Dr. Mossadegh was democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran. Under the 1906 Constitution, we were supposed to have a parliamentary system (modeled after Belgium and British systems). In such parliamentary systems, the people vote for their members of parliament. The party that gets the majority of the seats, or the person with the majority of the votes of parliament, becomes Prime Minister. To say that Dr. Mossadegh was not democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran is like saying Tony Blair was not the democratically elected PM of Britain.

2. The elections in much of Iran were not fair and clean. Tehran and a few other large cities were probably the only places that clean, fair elections were held. In the rural areas, the big land owners with or without the help of rural police force would bring their peasants to vote for them. Many others who wanted to be members of Majles would go to the British embassy and ask for money and help.

3. Tehran did have clean elections. And Dr. Mossadegh and JM members were elected from the Tehran electoral district. If I remember correctly, there were 11 seats for Tehran, and all the seats were won by JM members (I might be mistaken on this).

4. Therefore, Dr. Mossadegh was democratically elected by the people of Tehran to his seat. He got the highest votes in Iran freely and democratically. Majles voted for him to be Prime Minister. This makes Dr. Mossadegh the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran.

5. One may or may not regard Mohammad Reza Pahlavi the legitimate king of Iran.

6. Much of Majles deputies were corrupt and unrepresentative. Literally the British would pay cash for the votes of some deputies. This FACT exists side by side with the FACT that Dr. Mossadegh was decent, honest, and non-corrupted.

7. Whom did Dr. Mossadegh arrested??????????  What the fascist wing of monarchists say are arrests are those who were responsible for the kidnaping, torture, and murder of Gen. Afshartoos. In what country in the world, it is wrong to arrest those who commit such crimes??????? And yes, Ashraf who was engaged in prostitution and drug selling was sent to exile. If in Britain the sister of the monarch engages in crimes, is she immune from the laws of the land?????

What is bizarre is Shahollahis who committed such crimes such as burning of human beings, torturing, assassinating, raping Iranian men and women have the utter shamelessness to even talk about people being arrested by Dr. Mossadegh.

Dr. Mossadegh demanded and received emergency powers. And in the referendum, the people voted freely. And it was not 99%. Dr. Mossadegh used the referendum to close that session of Majles. Referendum is the highest form of democracy; it is the people directly saying what they want. It is not by itself dictatorial under emergencies. Dr. Mossadegh did not execute anyone, torture anyone. There were many many papers that were publishing the lies paid by the CIA on a daily basis. Dr. Mossadegh did not close down political parties. He used a DEMOCRATIC procedure to close that particular session of the Majles.

The U.S. Constitution grants the President to adjourn the Congress if there are disputes between them. This has never been used. But it is a constitutional procedure.

The more significant question is whether when the Majles is closed, could the monarch dismiss the Prime Minister. Dr. Mossadegh argued that if the Majles is closed the Shah lacks the right to dismiss the PM. By using the democratic procedure of referendum, Dr. Mossadegh was attempting the PREVENT a terribly dictatorial Shah in collusion with Britain (which was the colonial master in Iran) to destroy Iran’s independence and democracy. In fact, with the coup, Iran lost its independence and infant democracy courtesy of the Shah, Ayatollah Kashani, Grand Ayatollah Brujerdi, Fadaian Islam, CIA, and the MI6.

Here is Mohammad Amini’s excellent discussion on this issue (the Shah does not have the constitutional right to dismiss the PM if the Majles is not in session):

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjQ_0ebaN4M

In other words, the Majles votes for a person to be PM and then the Shah signs it and makes the official decree (as is done in Britain). And the Majles votes for the dismissal of the PM and then the Shah signs and makes the official decree (as is done in Britain).

If the opposite interpretation is true (the one by the monarchists that the Shah can at will appoint and dismiss any and all Prime Ministers at will), then why the hell have a Majles and Majles votes???? In Britain does the monarch has the power to appoint and dismiss anyone as PM he or she so desires at will???? Or the parliament votes for the PM and the monarch simply signs it and declares it as his/her decree?

Indeed the difference between a constitutional monarchy and an absolutist monarchy is who actually GOVERNS? The monarch or the PM?

My 2 cents.

Masoud

Dariush

Dariush jaan,

Thank you for posting this. Do you know the exact date of this interview?

I recall RP saying something along this line once or twice around 1986-88. At the time, the only group that would cooperate with RP was Dr. Bakhtiar’s NAMIR.

In addition, two of JM colleagues (Kambiz Ghaemmagham, and Abuturabi) personally met with RP in LA in that time period.

If the tape just posted on YouTube is simply the old interview from 1986-1988, then it is not politically significant. RP was silent while the shahollahis were viciously attacking JM and Dr. Mossadegh since 1989. But if this is new, then it shows that RP is taking some positive steps (including his criticism on the torture during his father’s rule, that you posted earlier).

Masoud

To "Zero"morgh, and Veil!

The reason that Mossadegh is important is the fact that he was an Honorable, Honest Patriotic Iranian, sacrificing himself for his country…. in contrast Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was a Traitor, THIEF, a blood thirsty dictator and a HUGE embezzler.

Mossadegh was and will always be an ICON of democratic values…his struggle for Iran’s independence and sovereignty will live for ever, like Satar Khan, Bagher Khan and Amir Kabir to name a few in Iran’s history of the recent past…or our contemporary history.  He was the absolute opposite of a dictator, benevolent or otherwise.  This may not sit well for those shaholahi/hezblolahis who would like nothing greater than REWRITING history, i.e. zeromorgh and veil.

 Knowing ones history is of outmost importance, and should have no bearing on the age, ethnicity or anything else…unless we want to make same mistakes over and over again.  

We read about Great Achamanied, Sassanied and Ashkanied and other great Iranian dynasties, and without consideration of age…this terrible history of betrayal happened less than sixty years ago, and resulted or culminated in coronation of other monsters like Khomeini, Khamenei and the great embarrassment Mr. Ahmadinejad!   Why you might ask?!   Because, we ignored our HISTORY, rather than learning from it!

PS: As for RP... he is not SMART enough, and it is just TOO LATE in the game!      

I agree with Semorgh555

We need to put the Mossadegh Shah thing into perspective. Iranian leaders have generally been dictators. Some benevolent like Mossadegh and Shah. While others evil like Khomeini and other IRI leaders. But they have mostly been dictators.

I also agree that this is the past. We need to focus on the future. It makes great history but we cannot go on living based on a CIA coup over 56 years ago. One thing to SP: Please do not speak for "Iranians". You are not qualified. You are not a representative of Iranians in Iran. Nor do you know any more  than others. Those polls you keep quoting are worthless. Make by the same NeoCons you so much hate. Made to make Iranian people look bad. And you are falling right for their ploy.

Khar

Oh... okay. You were speaking figuratively, in semi-jest.

Yeah, it's Friday, so why be so serious.

I'm off on a motorcycle ride. See y'all. 

Tahgord, you still don't get it ;-)

"Not in your DNA" is an expression which refers to ones inability to comprehend and understand complex matters.

Khar

Exactly how does one's DNA make "foreign" the comprehension of the English words "accountability" and "reconciliation"?

Biology somehow meets linguistics in this matter? Please explain...

Tahgord (aka firouz) you are not getting it as usual...;-)

Because accountability and reconciliation is not in your (and others like you) DNA and these words are foreign to you, as you are to us.

Simorgh

For once, I agree.

This monarchy/mossadegh "issue" is only relevant to a small section of the "over 50" diaspora. But for that very insignificant few, this might be noteworthy.

Certainly no one under 30 is anywhere near interested in this kind of stuff, particularly in Iran.

Very important step toward reconciliation and unity...

within the Iranian democratic & secular movement. Hopefully this long overdue and historical announcement will be followed by genuine steps in practice toward freedom for Iran and Iranians from dictatorship and repression. 

Thanks Dariush Jaan for posting this blog.

MM

I was not addressing the topic whether Mossadegh was a patriot or not. I was questioning why Mossadegh is given so much importance.

we just had several blogs on Mosaddegh - go read them

Or, may be you have made up your mind and nothing else matters.

Listen to RP again.  May be something will light up!

Simorgh5555

Are you Iranian? Can you read and write in Persian?

My heart is true as steel.

re-writing history again?

.

Let's not get carried away

The myth about the 'democratic' Mossadegh should be debunked. Fristly, his supporters argue he was 'democratically' elected by an Iranian parliament which they accuse of being corrupt and unrepresentative of its citizens in the first place. When he obained power he did what any other dictator did: dissolve parliament, carried out arrests and demanded emergency powers to pass any laws he wanted. The justification for all of this: The dubious results of a plebicit with 99% public approval.

Mossadegh realised - just like the Shah - that the only way to implement reform and progress in Iran during that time was to have complete control over all affairs of state. 

As a supporter of the Pahlavi dynasty, I have no quarrel with the Shah being labelled as a dictator - but he was a benevolent one. Given the cold war; the threat from the Soviet Union; the perpetual obstructive forces of the clergy; progression and modernity outweighed democratic liberties. 

What I resent the most is the hypocricy in terms of the way Mossadegh is incorrectly hailed as a 'democrat' and the Shah as a despot. There is a clear need to re-approach this point in history and treat it with objectivity. 

Thanks DK

I am saving this video for times when the likes of ........... attack Mosaddegh.

PS, RP looks fine.  Some people just need new glasses.

A Good Start :) - !

..

Date?

Do you know when he made the comment?

Wow, in that photo he

Wow, in that photo he really looks old and out of shape. 

In terms of physical bearing, he's no match for his grandfather or even the more diminutive father. 

I guess that old, soggy appearance was inherited from the mother's side of the family.