[Marxism] The Militant on Iran

[David Walsh <davidrail68@xxxxxxxxx>]

Broad political debate opens
in Iran presidential electionsÂ
(front page)
Â
BY CINDY JAQUITHÂÂ
A wide-ranging political debate has opened up on the eve of the June 12 
presidential elections in Iran over the countryâs nuclear program, foreign 
policy, the economy, womenâs rights, and freedom of speech.In an 
unprecedented move, state television is broadcasting six debates between the 
four candidates on the ballot. Running are Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent 
president; Mir Hossein Mousavi, who was prime minister from 1981 to 1989; 
Mohsen Rezaei, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards from 1981 until 
the mid-1990s; and Mehdi Karroubi, former speaker of parliament.A June 3 debate 
between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi, watched by millions, captured the sharpness of 
the disagreements within the Iranian capitalist class, as it seeks to defend 
its interests in the face of hostile imperialist powers and a deep economic 
crisis that is devastating workers, small farmers, and sections of the middle 
class.Mousavi assailed Ahmadinejad for his frequent
 anti-Semitic outbursts and his assertion that the Holocaust never happened.. 
âAIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee], the biggest Zionist 
institution in the U.S., sees this policy as a blessing,â Mousavi said in the 
debate. The presidentâs overall foreign policy suffers from âadventurism, 
instability, unlawfulness, and radicalism,â he added.Mousavi promises to join 
direct talks with Washington and other imperialist governments on Iranâs 
nuclear program if elected, while Ahmadinejad has refused, demanding instead 
that President Barack Obama debate him at the United Nations.Ahmadinejad hit 
back, charging that under Mousaviâs reign, and that of presidents after him, 
âthe U.S. was seeking to topple the Islamic Republic. Today the U.S. has 
declared officially that it is not seeking to overthrow us.â He asked, 
âWhich foreign policy has reinforced the countryâs independence? Should we 
seek to satisfy the world powers? Is it
 possible to be soft in the face of oppression?âMousavi also criticized the 
fact that Iranâs censors have tightened requirements for publishing licenses 
since Ahmadinejad took office, although he has said no book âcontrary to 
religion and the constitutionâ should be allowed. Ahmadinejad countered that 
presidents who came before him censored more books than he has.Mousavi took 
office as prime minister shortly after a massive, popular social revolution 
shook Iran and overturned the Pahlavi dynasty, a close ally of Washington. The 
capitalist regime that came to power sought to tame the rebellion of workers, 
peasants, oppressed nationalities, and women through a government dominated by 
Islamic clerics. Over the next decade they imposed strict censorship and other 
curbs on free speech, used military force to suppress the Kurdish oppressed 
national minority, and persecuted leftist and communist organizations.Like some 
other bourgeois political figures
 who took part in this counterrevolution, Mousavi has since concluded that too 
tight restrictions on democratic rights may backfire. He also speaks for the 
substantial layer of capitalists who look forward to an end to trade and 
financial sanctions and a rapprochement with the United States. Â
Â
Ahmadinejad attacks âcorruptionâÂ
Ahmadinejad accused Mousavi of being bankrolled by Ali Akbar Hashemi 
Rafsanjani, the former president of Iran and currently head of the Expediency 
Council, the liaison body between Iranâs ruling clerics and the parliament. 
Rafsanjani has earned widespread contempt from working people for having 
enriched himself and his family while in office.âWhich of my ministers has 
become a billionaire, or taken rents or usurped properties?â Ahmadinejad 
asked during the debate.Discussion of womenâs rights has been a feature of 
this race. Mousavi has declared that if elected he will disband the âmorality 
police,â which harass women for not adhering to the strict dress code. His 
wife Zahra Rahnavard frequently speaks in public. At a recent Tehran campaign 
rally that drew thousands, mostly young people, she said, âLet us hope that 
removing discrimination against women will not remain just a wish.âFatemah 
Karroubi is also campaigning for her husband,
 stressing womenâs rights. She has criticized the Guardian Council for not 
granting ballot status to any of the 42 women who filed papers to run for 
president.Both Mousavi and Karroubi have aimed their campaigns particularly at 
young people on the campuses. Mousavi says jobs need to be created for the many 
university students who graduate with no prospect of finding work in their 
field. Karroubi says no students will be imprisoned for their political views 
if he wins.Ahmadinejad also has support on the campuses; however, mostly among 
students in theÂbasij, a volunteer militia force led by the Revolutionary 
Guards that frequently confronts demonstrations calling for more democratic 
rights. Former Guard commander Rezaei also has a base there.All of 
Ahmadinejadâs opponents point to the nationâs high inflation, estimated at 
25 percent, and persistent unemployment as reasons to oppose his reelection. 
Ahmadinejad won a landslide victory in 2005 in large
 part on populist promises to use the countryâs oil profits to benefit the 
poor. He has frequently visited the countryside, extended loans to peasants, 
and established rural development projects. Just weeks before the election, his 
office handed out cash payments of about $100ââjustice sharesâ from 
state-owned companiesâto villagers. Some 5.5 million low-income Iranians are 
receiving these funds.Mousavi tested the waters in the rural areas June 5 by 
making a campaign stop in the town of Birjand, where Ahmadinejad received his 
highest vote percentage in 2005. Many companies have closed there since 
then.Candidate Rezaei has gone the furthest in calling for rapid implementation 
of Article 44, a law that calls for privatization of some state-run companies. 
He also argues that the next government should be a coalition of the main 
political factions and include members of oppressed nationalities.Â
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