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July
7, 2003
Time for Citizen Diplomacy
What
Should Progressives Make of Iran?
By SIMON JONES
We must take with a grain of salt the recent sensational
reports of thousands of students demonstrating in Teheran. True,
Iranians appear to be frustrated with the democratization process,
with low turnouts in recent local elections and frustration with
both the clerics and the 'reformers'. But there is more than
a bit of confusion about what the focus of the recent demonstrations
is.
Ostensibly, it is the privatization of
the universities, but this is in fact one of the 'reformers'
latest policies, and the main student organizations are closely
associated with the reformers. To the extent that they represent
traditional student leftist concerns, they are protesting the
failure of the 1979 revolution to deliver its promise of a more
prosperous and egalitarian future. But some demonstrators have
gone as far as calling for the hanging of spiritual leader Ayatollah
Khamenei and others for the resignation of President Khatami,
so it's hard to take them as more than the Teheran elite letting
off steam. Confused?
The Real Threat to
the Neocons
What is clear is that actively destabilizing
Iran is shaping up to be the key to the neocon strategy of eliminating
any 'third way' for Islamic countries, all of which are in crisis,
whether it be direct occupation by the US (Afghanistan, Iraq,
Kuwait, Qatar, et al.), or stuck in an authoritarian time-warp,
either secular (Syria, Egypt, et al.) or religious (Saudi Arabia
and, Iran).
Iran is the only of these that has made
substantial steps toward some kind of representative democracy.
Despite its own traumatic upheaval and revolution in 1979, plus
invasion by Iraq and a raging civil war next door in Afghanistan,
not to mention an ongoing vicious insurgency supported by the
US in Iraq, its human rights record is without a doubt the best
of the lot. It has a healthy independent culture, and is eager
to rejoin the world. The West must act to bring it in on its
side.
Unholy Alliance of
Progressives and Neocons
Still, Iran has a murky reputation among
progressives, as did the Soviet Union in its day, ironically,
largely for the same reasons (human rights, censorship, ideological
rule). By unthinkingly supporting the often shrill human rights
campaigns of Amnesty International and the US State Department,
without a broader understanding or awareness of the consequences
of this hostility, one unwittingly serves the real 'Evil Empire',
US imperialism, allowing it to control the shots when the ground
begins to shift. The peace movement, we are told, is the second
superpower now, so let's not shrink from developing our diplomacy
skills, be it stopping bulldozers in Palestine or reaching out
to members of Washington's latest Axis of Whatever.
Let us review our past in this respect.
The attitudes of progressives towards the Soviet Union were at
best disdainful, at worst downright hateful, except for a very
few brave 'naÑOfs' as Einstein [/cite1]. Sure, it was
far from a perfect place, but it was one not based on the world
capitalist system, and Western imperialism spent 70+ years actively
trying to undermine it. If the peace movement had only been able
to reach out more resolutely to allay well-grounded Soviet fears
of subversion, and perhaps even promote some modest democratization
(not just Westernization), we would still have a powerful counterweight
to capitalism, and, hey, maybe by now even a half-decent one.
Islam's platypus
OK. Lost that one. Move on. Which brings
me to Iran. It is best described as a socialism-averse socialist
state, but one where the 'reformers' are hell-bent on jettisoning
the remnants of socialism and obediently following the dictates
of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Strangely, the 'reformers'
do not seem to be aware there is a massive world movement against
US imperialism and globalization afoot, which should ideally
constitute their natural allies.
The reformers are also doing their utmost
to accommodate the US, whether Rumsfeld et al. have bothered
to notice (apparently their 'intelligence' sources are less than
perfect). Stressing his reform credentials, Foreign Minister
Kamal Kharrazi told Der Spiegel on May 31: "Unlike Iraq
under Saddam we are not a dictatorship, but a democracy. Furthermore
we are not disregarding any international laws. So we are not
worried about being the next victim of a military strike."
Considering the fact that the US has recently invaded and occupied
two of their neighbors, and has military bases in just about
all the others, such a conciliatory statement is not surprising,
though Kharrazi's apparent lack of concern might be.
"The Americans include us in the
'Axis of Evil'. We consider the United States as 'the Great Satan',"
Kharrazi went on to say, rather incongruously. I doubt very much
he would have added that without the so-called reactionary clerics
backing him up. Bravo, Ayatollahs! Just look at our fair weather
friends, France, Germany, Canada et al. these days.
During the Cold War, I was mocked as
a Sovsymp for promoting detente. Call me an Iransymp, or worse
yet, an Ayatollahsymp if you like. 'Sticks and stones ...,' I
always used to say. But be clear: my 'ideology' is anti-imperialism,
critical support, sympathy, open-mindedness.
Complex domestic political
dynamic
The collapse of the Shah in 1979 found
Iranian lefties divided and naive, and after 2 years of botched
attempts to take power, they lost or were forced to submit to
the clerics. Thousands were executed along with former supporters
of the Shah, others went into exile or gave up. The Islamists
were mightily assisted by two factors: the invasion of Iran by
idiot Saddam Hussein, and the civil war in Afghanistan, where
godless communism had fleetingly triumphed, propped up by the
Soviet Union (to its posthumous and everlasting regret).
Ironically, despite its denunciations
of communism, the Iranian revolution produced many quasi-socialist
features: the nationalization of banks, prohibition of interest,
and '4-year' plans. Education and health care are also state-provided.
Importantly, the currency is not part of the international speculative
system and is state-fixed. These advantages over an IMF-produced
economy are not to be scoffed at. Just ask Argentina.
In recent years, along with a genuine
democratic upsurge, hundreds of NGOs have been formed. A perusal
of Amnesty International's reports shows a very passionate and
vocal opposition, defiantly organizing, striking, and speaking
out. Of course, this means lots of arrests, but it seems the
hardest times are over -the execution of political dissidents
has stopped, replaced by lots of angry threats and then reprieves
and amnesties. Death penalty, yes; floggings, yes. Amputations
(mercifully), no longer.
The point with approaching a country
like Iran is to show as much respect and support as possible,
to be willing to deal with the powers-that-be rather than just
going for the high profile Solzhenitsyns or Ali Afsharis/ Hashem
Aghajaris (who often have their own personal agendas), and to
make any criticisms in a non-threatening way.
Furthermore, as the Iran English Daily
freely admits, the alignments politically are much more subtle
than just conservative vs. reformers. Khatami is in fact a bit
of a Trojan horse, privatizing and working closely with the IMF
and World Bank. As we should know by now, embracing the IMF is
the kiss of death to any hope of real democracy.
Furthermore, while the pro-Palestine,
anti-Bush and antiwar movement is 'progressive' in the West,
the same 'movement' in Iran is dubbed by our newspeak as 'reactionary'.
True Iran is a notoriously prickly country, and has all sorts
of undercurrents at work (anti-Arab, anti-Kurd, anti-Turk, anti-Pashtun)
-its brand of Shi'ite Islam is even rather isolated in the Muslim
world, but no one ever said politics was for the squeamish or
obtuse.
Khatami: Another Gorby?
And, just wait a minute. Is it possible
that Khatami is another Gorbachev, being courted by the West,
only to preside over a civil war between naive Westernizers,
ready to sell their birthright to foreign investors and embrace
Disney-manufactured myths about the American Dream, battling
a troubled mix of uptight, narrow-minded clerics and sensible
anti-imperialists (dare I say socialists)?
Sensible Iranian lefties, such as Ardeshir
Mehrdad editor of Iran Bulletin, take the position of critical
support of the Islamic Republic and extreme caution with respect
to Khatami's economic reform agenda. He cites the blossoming
of NGOs, groups and circles relying on self-help, which fight
poverty, addiction, prostitution, the problem of street children,
homelessness, and environmental pollution. "These are nothing
less than the creation of the primary infrastructure for a participatory
government by the people. The fact that they are there is the
expression of a society that seeks the answers to its needs outside
the commodity market, competition and profit. It shows that people
prefer to take decisions that affect their lives to the streets,
schools, factories, and neighborhoods."
In a nutshell, a democratic government
is in the making in Iran, but faces two serious obstacles: the
despotism of the ruling clerics and the despotism of American
imperialism.
We should develop strategies on both
fronts: go to Iran without a list of do's and don'ts to find
a common platform, and, well, it's pretty clear what needs to
be done on the other front.
And while Amnesty International's reports
are invaluable, I would maintain it is less of an injustice to
be jailed in Iran (where torture is minimal) for swearing or
wearing lipstick in public than to be in jail, say, in Uzbekistan
(where torture is the norm) for saying anything critical aloud
or for being a bit too religious. But the debate and level of
real democracy arguably surpasses that in most countries, certainly
the US in its present neo-McCarthyite incarnation. I'll go for
the 'Axis of Evil' over the 'Great Satan' any day.
Politics and morality
Consider one of the features the West
finds most amusing about Islam -the prohibition of interest or
(let's call a spade a spade) usury. Usury amounts to the highest
form of exploitation for such disparate figures as Muhammad and
Marx. The latter condemns the extraction of surplus as totally
independent to the means of production and the labor process.
"Ha, ha," you may snicker, "how quaint!"
But this is in fact a very important remnant of morality embedded
in the economy, which Judaism and Christianity abandoned when
capitalism took hold.
And it was prohibited in Iran not without
good reason. It is in fact the root cause of the current world
financial crisis, characterized by massive currency speculation
(90 per cent of all financial transactions), unstable governments
blackmailed by the World Bank and the IMF, not to mention environmental
devastation and outright war and piracy. As more and more failed
states are 'conquered' by the American Empire and chained to
the international financial system, we are slowly being brought
us to the brink of Armageddon. The Judaic prophets, Christ and
Muhammad knew what they were talking about.
If we advocate the IMF road for Iran,
it is clear whose 'human rights' will flourish: the current elite's.
The gap between the rich and poor will rapidly widen, and there
will be no room for social welfare. No, rather than rooting for
the reformers to take what little morality is left out of their
economy and join the Great Satan's imperial marketplace, I would
argue it is time to put morality back into our own economy. Don't
get me wrong: I'm not advocating compulsory prayer at work or
mass conversion to Islam. Rather, social justice for God's children.
The secular experiment to do this failed
in the Soviet Union, though it's still struggling on in Venezuela,
Cuba, etc. How about rooting for an Islamic third way in Iran
instead of blindly watching Khatami pull another Gorby, or passively
watching the Great Satan actively undermine Iranian future?
As for censorship, that battle is being
fought vigorously at this very moment, and judging by the films
that Iranian directors (especially women) have produced in the
past decade, we could learn a great deal from the nasty clerics
about nurturing a healthy culture within socially determined
constraints on commercialism and pornography.
And as for women's rights, more than
50 per cent of university students are women, and while there's
no body-hugging dresses or lipstick in public, no erotica, few
ads on TV, and no abortion on demand, every newly married couple
must take a compulsory course on family planning, and condoms
are widely available and cheap. Irritating, if you like lipstick
and tight miniskirts, but it is not the end of the world. Give
me an inefficient society with basic social justice over the
pornographic neoliberal concentration camp any day.
Madness of King George?
From the US point of view, Iran played
along on Afghanistan (that's a tough one for Iran without a doubt),
and is showing admirable restraint with respect to Iraq (even
tougher), whereas by all rights Iran should be encouraging an
Islamic revolution against the American Empire in both.
So, if Khatami is really a secret ally
of Dubya, already playing the game more or less by US rules,
why does the latter want to invade?
My guess is these neocons can't see past
their noses on this one. Maybe they are gambling on a hat trick.
Or is it possible that this is just another proof that the tail
(Israel) is wagging the dog?
Typical of the Bush clique, truth is
stranger than fiction: in lieu of immediate attack, Plan B is
to use Iranian exiles to beam in Radio Free Iran programs and
provoke spontaneous uprisings (not to mention the myriad covert
activities no doubt already in place). Wake up, George! Iranian
ÑImigrÑIs travel back and forth from the US to
Iran every day. There is no Berlin Wall (unlike in Palestine).
Anyone who knows modern-day Iran will
tell you Iranians are more open and less reluctant to speak out
about things than citizens of any other Muslim state. I have
no doubt that many are naively pro-Western, just like many Soviets
(especially young people) were, to their eternal chagrin now
that they've joined our Brave New World. Along with a few honest
and brave human rights dissidents, the budding capitalists crave
the commercial freedom of the West and are eager to join the
American Empire as junior partners. They will be the first to
send their profits offshore, scoop up state industries, and repress
workers and students when the last remnants of morality are swept
from the economy. These are not my allies, thank you very much.
Time for citizen diplomacy
Once again we are the new superpower.
Let us show some solidarity with the most powerful anti-imperialist
country around, which has no designs on other nations, is actively
striving for peace and is very much in the sight of the US war
machine for these very reasons. This should be our latest stop
in the struggle to turn the tide of US militarism and get back
on the road of peace and disarmament. Our activism must be based
on building trust, even when we disagree on many issues with
our potential allies.
It would be possible for the Evil Empire
to 'make up' with Iran and let it benignly evolve in its own.
Maybe even let Iran provide a positive example for such deathbed
cases as Afghanistan and Iraq. Let us prepare the way for Dubya's
successor next year to begin undoing the horrendous damage of
the past.
Simon Jones
is a Canadian freelance journalist and translator living in Central
Asia. In the past he taught economics and later worked for Greenpeace
in their Moscow office. He is also a life-long peace activist.
[/ref1] "At present, the non-democratic
countries constitute less of a threat to healthy international
developments than the democratic nations, which enjoy economic
and military superiority, and have subjected scholars to military
mobilization." Einstein in interview with the Overseas News
Agency, 20 January 1947 (Just replace Communist with Muslim for
an update.) and "While it is true that in the Soviet Union
the minority rules, I do not believe that its internal conditions
constitute a threat to world peace. If I had been born a Russian,
I believe I could have adjusted myself to this situation."
Einstein in "Atomic War or Peace," Atlantic Monthly,
November 1945.
Copyright 2003 by Simon Jones
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