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Washington plays into Iranian clerics'
hands
By Hooman Peimani
Increasing American pressure on Iran, as evident
in the propaganda campaign on its alleged harboring of
al-Qaeda members and its alleged nuclear weapons
program, for which no evidence has been produced, will
unlikely help the Americans with their regime change
program. As a logical component of the seemingly
irrational American government's design on Iran, its
counterproductive policy towards the ongoing Iranian
student pro-democracy movement, which is striving for
democracy as envisaged by the Iranians, will only help
Iran's ruling elite to suppress that indigenous movement
as a Washington-inspired riot.
American
allegations on Tehran's pursuit of a nuclear weapons
program are not something new. In fact they have been
around since the early 1980s. Nor are the accusations of
Tehran backing terrorists. What is new about them is
Washington's trying so hard to create an unfounded sense
of urgency to justify its regime change in Iran, just as
it did in the months preceding its March attack on Iraq.
This is notwithstanding the fact that factors such as
Iran's social, economic and political developments as
well as its strong military force benefiting from a
home-grown military industry make any
foreign-orchestrated plan for regime change unrealistic.
Washington's policy towards the new wave of
student protests in Iran has been equally unrealistic.
Although they began last Tuesday as a move against the
Iranian government's plan to privatize universities, the
Tehran University student's protests turned political
immediately. They have since expanded to other
universities in Tehran and elsewhere in the country,
such as in Shiraz, Isfahan and Ahwaz, the capitals of
three major provinces, Fars, Isfahan and Khuzestan,
respectively. Not only have there been efforts by
ordinary citizens to support the students through
various means, such as honking car horns, there are
reports on the outbreak of non-student anti-government
demonstrations in at least one city, Gohardasht, a
Tehran suburb, in which a few hundred teenagers took
part.
There is not yet any strong evidence to
suggest that this wave of protests - which have run for
six days - could lead to a popular pro-democracy
movement capable of replacing the existing theocracy
with a democracy. In fact, the handling by the Iranian
government of these demonstrations has suggested that
the authorities are trying to contain them not through
the use of force only, but also by eliminating factors,
which could add fuel to fire. For instance, after a few
attacks by pro-government vigilantes against student
dormitories of at least two Tehran universities
(Tarbiat-e Modarass and Tehran) in which many students
were wounded while others kidnapped, the Tehran police
announced the arrest of some of the assailants.
By no means was that move enough to address the
deep-rooted grievances of the Tehran students, such as
those of Amirkabir and Alameh Tabatababie, who have
refused to take exams in protest. Nevertheless, it
indicated at least a government effort to appease some
students in a bid to prevent the expansion of an
anti-government movement. Given the depth of social
discontent, student demonstrations will likely continue
in any case, although it is a little early to suggest
their ability to turn into something more than a student
expression of discontent.
The approach of the
Bush administration towards these developments has
raised questions about its objectives. Against a
background of two years of anti-Iranian propaganda and a
few months of talks of a regime change in Iran,
Washington's clear expression of support for the Iranian
students has only provided grounds for Tehran's
suppression of their protests under the pretext of
neutralizing an American plan to destabilize Iran.
Last Thursday, US State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher reacted to the Tehran demonstrations to
say Washington "fully support [ed] their aspirations to
live in freedom". He added, "We applaud the Iranian
people for calling attention to the destructive policies
of the Iranian government, that do such a disservice to
its population. It's our hope that the voice of the
Iranian people and their call for democracy and the rule
of law will be heard." While the Iranian regime denies
any domestic ground for the ongoing student protests and
attributes them to the American government's
provocations, such American statements will only serve
to confirm that attribution and to dissuade people from
joining the protests for fear of being labelled as
foreign agents.
White House spokesman Ari
Fleischer's Saturday remarks on the Iranian government's
suppression of the protestors were equally destructive.
"The United States," held Fleischer, "views with great
concern the use of violence against Iranian students
peacefully expressing their political views. We are
alarmed at reports of arrests and provocative actions
taken against students by regime forces, and call upon
the regime to protect the human rights of the students
and to release those who have been arrested." He then
urged the conservative faction of the Iranian regime to
listen to "the voice of the Iranian people and their
aspirations for democracy and the rule of law".
Reacting to such remarks, on Thursday, Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, pointed his finger
to Washington as the force behind Tehran's student
protests. Addressing a group of Iranians in a town near
Tehran, Varamin, he stated that the United States
"openly declares that 'our strategy in confronting Iran
is not a war and we have to create unrest in Iran'. The
enemies openly support those adventurers who can become
their mercenaries by disturbing people's security."
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Hamid Reza Asefi condemned the American government's
blatant backing of the demonstrators in Tehran on the
ground that they contradicted "international norms".
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi protested at the
American intervention in Iran's domestic affairs a day
earlier.
Since last Tuesday when the student
protests began, without any exception, the leading
figures of Iran's "conservative" and "reformist"
factions have condemned them as the phase one of an
American-orchestrated plan for a regime change. In such
a situation, the persistence of Washington to level
unfounded charges against Tehran, as it did prior to its
war against Iraq, will provide a heaven-sent excuse for
the Iranian ruling theocracy to suppress any
pro-democracy activity, while prolonging its life.
Despite what the American government claims, its policy
towards Iran has not and will not likely help foster
democracy in that country. However, as an external
factor, it will certainly damage the Iranian people's
bid for democracy and for a domestically-planned regime
change.
On Monday, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported
that at least 30 more protestors had been detained In
Tehran after a sixth night of protests against the
country's rulers. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency
quotes Tehran police chief General Morteza Talaie as
saying the 30 people were detained for "hooliganism".
The latest detentions bring the total number of
those taken into custody since the protests began to at
least 140, according to official reports. In Sunday
night's demonstrations, cars were reported to have
clogged the streets near the University of Tehran.
Protestors called for the release of political prisoners
and the resignation of President Mohammad Khatami.
The student news agency ISNA also reported that
hundreds of people participated in antigovernment
rallies in Mashhad in eastern Iran. US President George
W Bush on Sunday called the protests a positive
development. "This is the beginnings of people
expressing themselves for a free Iran, which I think is
positive," Bush said. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has
accused the US of "flagrant interference in Iran's
internal affairs" and said US officials are overstating
the significance of the events.
Dr Hooman
Peimani works as an independent consultant with
international organizations in Geneva and does research
in international relations.
(Copyright 2003
Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
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