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Reforms in Iran: uphill battles
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Liu Guoyuan/Xinhua
CONTRARY to the expectations of many, Iranian reformists have done little remarkable almost one year after they swept the board in the parliament elections. The political camp led by President Mohammad Khatami has been successfully contained by the conservatives in fulfilling their promises on reforms.
More and more voters are getting impatient and even frustrated — all the reform programmes, if not stillborn, have not been delivered because of the blockade by the conservatives, and reformists are actually in a tougher situation as a result of frequent warnings and crackdowns.
It is true that the reformists now control the administrative and legislative branches, but they have been virtually rendered powerless by the conservative establishment, which still dominates the judiciary, the military and TV and radio broadcasting.
More importantly, the conservatives have the backing of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose power is almost unlimited according to the constitution.
While the reformist ideas appeal to the general populace, especially the younger generation, they are abominated by the conservatives, who fear their cherished principles and values of the 1979 Islamic revolution are being threatened by those “pro-Western reforms.”
The conservatives and the reformers differ in their visions about this country two decades after the revolution. Since they lost the parliamentary election on February 18, 2000, the conservatives have stepped up suppression of the reformist movement.
Their measures included cancelling election results in a number of constituencies, delaying the approval of voting results in Tehran, closing reformist publications, arresting pro-reform journalists and blocking the new parliament from amending, among others, the restrictive press law.
Moreover, Khamenei, the supreme leader, has once warned that the Islamic regime could use “legal violence” to defend its values and principles.
The elite Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, directly controlled by Khamenei, echoed his warning by vowing to defend the Islamic system against any threats.
There have been recurring violence and riots in the country's major cities, as well as assassination attempts against leading reformist figures. Saeed Hajjarian, one of the architects of the reformist movements, was shot in March and now partially paralyzed.
In face of the difficult situation, the president and his allies seemed unable to do anything to ease the tension and make a change. Khatami, for his part, has been repeatedly calling for calmness, restraint and tolerance.
He has also complained twice in public that he lacks the necessary power to enforce the constitution and prevent its violations.
Khatami has indicated that he will seek a second term in the June 2001 presidential election and many people hope he could keep the post to ensure the continuation of his policy.
Yet he is blamed by many others for achieving little in reviving the country's economy and solving such problems as high inflation and unemployment rate during his first four-year term.
But even if Khatami and his reformist allies win another victory in the coming election, Iran's reform process will surely not go smoothly with regard to the formidable resistance of the conservative camp.
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