SPEAKING FREELY Iranian past holds lessons for Iraq's
future By Fariborz S Fatemi
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online
feature that allows guest writers to have their say.
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The
controversy raging over Iran and the pending election in
Iraq will be better understood if these events are seen
through the historical prism of what happened in Iran
some 50 years ago. That was a time when state and
religion had great coherence in Iran and when, sadly,
the United States helped the British overthrow a freely
elected constitutional government. The implications of
that heinous act have echoed across half a century of
Middle East history and present real lessons for the US
role in Iraq, in its relations with Iran and the future
of democratic rule in the region.
This can be
best illustrated through the life and times of a
national hero of Iran, Dr Hussein Fatemi. He was the
leader of a generation of pious Muslims who brought
coherence, constitutional government, free elections and
the rule of law back to the people of Iran. He was a
founder of the National Front Party that brought Dr
Mohammed Mossadegh to power in 1951, and he was the
inspiration for nationalizing Iran's oil so that its
revenues could be used to benefit the people of Iran.
Not since the short-lived constitutional
revolution of the early 1900s had the people of Iran
been so in control of their own destiny as when Dr
Fatemi lived. The freely elected constitutional
government he was part of, led by Mossadegh, governed in
harmony with nationalism and democratic values enshrined
in the Holy Koran.
For believers, the Holy Koran
is a blueprint for conducting one's life. For governing,
it points out, govern with the consent of the governed.
These values are as old as Islam itself, and that is how
Mossadegh governed. That government was overthrown by a
coup and was replaced by the hated regime of Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi, which ended with the Islamic Revolution of
1979. November 10 marked 50 years since Dr Fatemi was
murdered by the Pahlavi regime. Yet today he is alive,
as part of every Iranian striving for a better life.
As with Iran some 50 years ago, the depressing
truth is that everything this US administration has done
in Iraq has turned out to be either wrong or woefully
mismanaged. Because of this, more than 1,200 brave
American servicemen have died and countless others have
been grievously wounded.
As the teeth-gnashing
goes on about holding free elections in Iraq, as
imperfect as that may be, it would serve US policymakers
well to recollect that government of Iran some 50 years
ago. The issues for the people of Iraq have always been
sovereignty, legitimacy, occupation and promises
unfulfilled. Remembering US actions in Iran, Iraqis
desperately need to believe that the United States does
not have any long-term designs on their country.
The interim governments fashioned by the United
States lack credibility and legitimacy, and Americans
are seen as occupiers. No government can claim
legitimacy unless it is freely elected. That is why it
is important to stick with the January date for the
election. Delay only means more death and destruction.
The Iraqi people ask: "Where are the jobs, the
promised electricity, water, sewers and reconstruction?"
More of the same policies only mean that those who want
to kill Americans will continue to do so with impunity.
And the United States in turn will destroy Iraq in order
to save it.
When the election takes place and
majority rule, which may have religious ties, is
established, it would be well to remember the Iranian
model. That model was a powerful, irrefutable case,
proving that democracy in harmony with Islam can work.
The United States must allow the Iraqis to
develop that model to govern themselves. Only such a
government will be seen as credible and legitimate by
the Iraqi people, and only such a government will be
able to end the insurgency and occupation. All along,
this is what Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has always
advocated.
Clearly, when the US administration
talks about transforming the Middle East by bringing
democracy to the area, people remember Iran. And as long
as no lessons are learned from the consequences of
destroying a freely elected constitutional government
and how that has affected generations of Iranians, any
US initiative for the area will lack credibility,
legitimacy and will remain what it is, just talk.
So deep is the animosity about that overthrow of
some 50 years ago, that there is hardly a large
gathering in Iran today where you do not see the
portraits of Dr Mossadegh and Dr Fatemi held aloft by
people who are at least a generation removed since they
lived. They are reminding the world of an era that was
filled with so much promise.
In the past 25
years, hundreds of books and articles have been written
and numerous Internet sites have been established about
these heroes of Iran. Their names adorn buildings and
highways all over that country.
In the years
before his death at the age of 32, Dr Fatemi was Iran's
youngest prime minister, foreign minister and member of
parliament. During this time, he was awarded the highest
civilian medal declaring him "a patriotic son of Iran".
But his proudest achievement was as editor and publisher
of the daily newspaper Baktar Emrouz, which was the
voice and conscience of a generation. By his pen and his
speech, he could move people to action and challenge the
many domestic and foreign intrigues that had become
daily occurrences.
If that freely elected
constitutional government, in harmony with Islam, had
been allowed to flourish, surely the Middle East would
not have been dominated by armed societies masquerading
as democracies and client states governed by
authoritarian dictators.
Democracy is that form
of government which a free people elect freely, as Iran
did some 50 years ago. When policymakers in the United
States are willing to accept that as the gold standard,
and promote it by their deeds, only then will their
initiatives in Iraq and the region gain credibility and
legitimacy.
Fariborz S Fatemi is a former
professional staff member with the House Foreign Affairs
Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
(Copyright 2004 Fariborz S Fatemi.)
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times
Online feature that allows guest writers to have their
say. Please click hereif you
are interested in contributing.
