News and Letters April 1998

Protests test Iran's ruling order

by Cyrus Noveen

The arrest of the populist mayor of Teheran, Hassan Karbaschi, on April 4 caused such an uproar that a top- level summit of Iran's rulers had to be convened to prevent the power struggles from breaking out into major street battles. After several days of maneuvering and sending out the riot police to break up a protest demonstration by nearly 4,000 university students-"Followers of the Line of Imam" who have now thrown their support behind President Khatami-Karbaschi was released from Evin prison on bail. He is charged with embezzlement and financial fraud.

The arrest and the charges are a not-so-veiled attack on President Khatami and his powerful supporters, including Karbaschi. The so-called "religious hard-liners" exemplified by Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the judiciary, have seen their powers recede drastically ever since Khatami's ascendance to power. A recent visitor to Teheran observed that "many people support the Khatami administration because they are determined to protect the recent gains that have been made in limiting the powers of the conservative clergy and their supporters."

According to one source, the president has been trying to remove Yazdi from the post of chief judge for some time. Mayor Karbaschi's arrest was a preemptive move by Yazdi to reassert the dominance of the "conservative faction."

Karbaschi, appointed mayor in 1989, is held up as the architect and the moving force behind a major facelift of Teheran's dilapidated buildings, streets, and other public places. His administration's beautification campaign transformed scores of empty lots into public parks.

Many Iranians opposed to the regime, however, sneer at such claims. For example, one longtime opponent points to the rampant corruption so systemic in all members and factions of the regime. He explained that the "beautification" of Teheran served to hide the fact that this city of nearly 10 million people still does not have a functioning covered sewage system. "The mayor," he points out, "is revered by major speculators and other big property owners who have made billions while avoiding compliance with health, safety, and zoning regulations." Many of the newly built high-rises in Teheran are "death traps," he believes.

At the same time, he added, "small property owners, those who often cannot afford to pay the exorbitant property taxes they owe, have seen their lands expropriated by the city using a traditional law that allows them to plant a few trees-thus the designation 'park'-and laying claim to the property which is then sold off to the highest bidder to build more high-rises." This sentiment is shared by many, who do not want to be pulled into having to choose the lesser of two evils among ruling officials.

Iran's economy is in major disarray, and the mayor's arrest helps to focus (and divert) the blame for the deteriorating conditions of life and the state of the economy on "corrupt" elements. "Hyperinflation, recession, and unemployment are causing widespread public concern," according to a report by Agence France Press (4/12/98).

Nearly 85% of Iran's economy is controlled by the government. In the last few weeks the price of rice, the major staple of Iranians, was raised by 70%. Meat and chicken prices are so high, they are unaffordable for the general population. Price subsidies for bread were also eliminated by the government. Fuel prices increased nearly 100%. Bankrupt industries, such as the nationalized Melee shoe company, are borrowing from banks to pay their workers' salaries, according to a labor ministry official. While consumer prices have shot up, Iran's currency, the Rial, has taken another nose dive.

All eyes have been on the rapprochement between Iran and the U.S. Major developments are occurring in that front that will have important consequences for the world.

Powerful forces are shaping up inside Iran at multiple levels in society. These forces, including a totally alienated and fed-up population-are also compelling a part of the rulers to effect a major house-cleaning in their affairs. One welcome development would be for the pro-Khatami forces to cleanse the judicial system of judges and prosecutors who implement the obscene and disgusting practices of so-called "Islamic" justice, public stonings, lashings, and the arbitrary accusations of moral transgression.

But will the reformists be able to maintain their powers while effecting such changes, or will a much deeper mass movement emerge that raises the banner of total human freedom?

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