21 - 27 December 2000
Issue No.513
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 21 - 27 December 2000 Issue No.513 |
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Radicals tip the scales
By Azadeh MoaveniWhen Iranian President Mohamed Khatami last week accepted the resignation of his key ally, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ataollah Mohajerani, few believed the president had any choice in the matter. After Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in April that the independent press had become "bases for the enemy," the fate of the man who had presided over its inception was sealed. In Mohajerani, Khamenei's reluctance to permit free-wheeling debate, and the unwillingness of extremist conservatives to permit any criticism of their influence, converged. His resignation, which has been in the wind for months, could have come at any time.
Mohajerani never imposed a master agenda of permissiveness in cultural spheres upon the ministry; indeed, the broad granting of press permits that eventually gave rise to the independent press began largely as a quiet effort in the press section of the ministry. But as the independent press gained influence and audience, and its political challenge extended into the daily lives of Iranians, Mohajerani became the symbol of a reform movement out of control. In his resignation letter, Mohajerani said, "The conditions and requirements that have taken shape in the realms of art, culture and the intellect have made it impossible for me to continue my duties." His personal efforts, mainly in support of the film industry and of publishers in their challenge to censorship, had not targeted press freedom directly.
Reformists have long sought to convince their conservative rivals that cooperation in areas like press freedom are in the long-term interests of the establishment, from which both political factions derive their power and legitimacy. As Tabriz MP Akbar Alami put it following the resignation, "The more restrictive cultural policies we imposed, the vaster the field for underground, destructive activities."
While for the reform-minded majority of Iranian politicians Mohajerani's resignation was always a setback of grand proportions, the conservatives behind the campaign are already demanding more. For the conservative Tehran Times, Mohajerani's "long-delayed resignation is insufficient." It said he brought the country to the "verge of cultural crisis" and President Khatami must further rein in the "extremist" elements of his reform movement, who have not moderated their challenge to the establishment since the hard-line crackdown that began in April. "Those ministers and officials in the government who are acting contrary to those promises Khatami made during his election campaign in 1997, should be dealt with accordingly," said the paper.
The Mohajerani resignation has been the inevitable cloud hanging over the reform movement since the earliest days. He formally handed over the resignation, in a dramatic 50-page letter, earlier this year, but President Khatami put off its acceptance to just last week. A long-time power politician, Mohajerani will most likely stay a player on the political scene, either in his new post as the chairman of the International Centre for Dialogue Among Civilisations, or perhaps even as a dark-horse candidate for president in the May elections next year. His replacement as Minister, former deputy to the post Ahmad Majed Jamei, will have few opportunities to repeat his predecessor's mistakes.
Mohajerani's resignation is a more profound political blow than the loss of a key Khatami ally. A magnificent orator with unparalleled command of the Persian language, his stepping down illustrates what most Iranians know and despise: that the best their country has to offer is not welcome in their government.
"We have not achieved any success worthy of our nation, artists and writers," he said in the letter. The Islamic Iran Participation Front, the political party closest to Khatami, said in its statement that "undoubtedly any person replacing him would stick to the pledge with the people and insist on the continuation of his plans." Whether that pledge becomes relevant, and those plans a priority, remains to be seen.
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