Khatami in a dilemma as tenure nears end

By Kesava Menon

MANAMA (BAHRAIN) DEC. 9. Iran's President, Mr. Hojatolesslam Syed Mohammed Khatami, is certainly sounding more combative these days. But as he nears the end of his first four-year term in office, Mr. Khatami is still stymied by conservatives who want to block his reform programme and also under pressure from those who want more radical changes. Mr. Khatami is at a crossroads and it looks like Iran is headed for a chaotic period no matter which direction the President chooses to move in.

The other day, Mr. Khatami criticised a power structure, and the conservatives who keep it in place, for not providing him with the capacity to bring about meaningful changes. Addressing a huge student rally in Teheran, Mr. Khatami said, ``I am responsible for the Constitution and must have the necessary resources to meet this responsibility. When I see the law is broken I should be able to stop it immediately and send it for investigation. But I don't have this prerogative. I should have it to do the job correctly.'' When Mr. Khatami talks about enforcing the Constitution, he means those provisions of it that provide for basic rights and the rule of law.

While the Constitution does contain these democratic provisions, the clerical establishment that has ruled Iran since the revolution uses parallel constitutional schemes and provisions to keep them in abeyance. Mr. Khatami's promise to energise those parts of the Constitution that gave people their basic civil rights was one of the main reasons behind his landslide victory in the Presidential elections held three and a half years ago. At the end of this period, all that he has to show in this respect is the realisation that the Constitution also contains many mechanisms to block the people from acquiring these rights and that there are people entrenched within the system who are prepared to use those mechanisms.

Mr. Khatami also spoke out more openly against those who have been using parts of the Constitution to block other parts of the basic law. ``The minority that was defeated in elections resort to all means to maintain power. This shows our experience in democracy is undeveloped. We have not yet learned to tolerate each other, to concede in practice to what the majority wants''. The Presidential election was the first of three major polls in the last three years in which the conservatives were resoundingly defeated. But they have managed to retain much of the actual power by using constitutional provisions that provide the unelected clergy with more power than the elected government.

The conservatives have used their control over the judiciary blatantly and the implicit threat inherent in their control over the armed forces to keep the reform movement in check.

Other pro-reform politicians and intellectuals have been willing to openly defy the judiciary as well as run the risk of a military intervention on behalf of the conservatives. (Pro- reformers point out that 70 per cent of the troops in the regular armed forces and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps have voted for change just like the rest of their countrymen). Unlike them, however, Mr. Khatami bears the constitutional responsibility to ensure that his country does not slide into chaos. Also being a cleric himself, albeit a liberal one, Mr. Khatami is not able to shake himself off from his roots and go along with the will of the lay majority.

That he continues to be caught up in this dilemma was revealed in another comment yesterday. ``We want religion and democracy together. It is fine to criticise the system but not to seek to overthrow it. Those who speak of changing the system are betraying the nation.'' There is a danger here that Mr. Khatami may have already slipped behind the mood of the lay majority. Three and a half years ago, he had understood that the system had to reform itself if it was to survive. In letting him win and initiate his reforms, the conservatives appeared to have realised that there was a need to vent some of the pressure from the base of society.

But the conservatives have, in the ultimate analysis, refused to heed the call for reform and the ensuing frustration amongst the public will probably harden into a desire for drastic change. If Mr. Khatami decides to throw in his lot with the majority of his people it would lead to an open confrontation with the conservatives. If he tries to continue with his policy of containing public expectations he might soon find that he lacks the means to do so.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Palestinians seek U.N. vote on draft
Next     : Labour seeks to shed 'arrogant' image