Protests Against Khatami's Situation and House Arrest During Confidence Vote for Minister of Culture

During the confidence vote for the proposed Minister of Culture, two members of parliament criticized the media ban on Mohammad Khatami, the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, the prohibition of concerts in Razavi Khorasan, and the interference of other institutions in the actions of the Ministry of Culture. Qasem Mirzaei Neko, a representative from Damavand, opposing Abbas Salehi, the proposed Minister of Culture, stated that he himself came from Mashhad, which he referred to as 'the city where concerts are banned.' He pointed to Mohammad Khatami's role in Hassan Rouhani's victory, addressing Rouhani by saying, 'You are 100% indebted to the 24 million thoughts.' This parliament member emphasized, 'In honoring the art of the architect of Hosseiniyeh Ershad and the statue mother in house arrest, tell us when the Ministry of Culture will be freed from re-reading, censorship, and confiscation after the seven trials of approval?' His reference to the 'architect of Hosseiniyeh Ershad' is Mir Hossein Mousavi, and his mention of the 'statue mother' refers to Zahra Rahnavard, his wife. Mirzaei also criticized the confiscation of newspapers, the lack of publication permits and reprints of books, including Mahmoud Dowlatabadi's 'Colonel,' and the filtering of social networks. Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran, also criticized the interference of other institutions in the actions of this ministry and stated that Salehi has no solution to prevent these interferences. He added, 'The press is deprived of publishing the words and images of one of the beloved figures of society, and it is unclear who is responsible for addressing this situation.' Sadeghi's reference could pertain to the media ban on Mohammad Khatami, which has been in place since the winter of 2014 when the Tehran prosecutor prohibited the publication of his images and news. Sadeghi also mentioned that the oversight of the Ministry of Culture, the Press Supervisory Board, and the judiciary is 'not clear and specific,' and recently the judiciary pressured one of the media outlets due to his speech. The Tehran representative emphasized that various institutions receive budgets for cultural activities, but 'many of these budgets are spent on buying land and land grabbing in the north of the country.' Abbas Salehi, the proposed Minister of Culture, also stated that 'irresponsible and unofficial interferences' in the duties of this ministry must be prevented. The prohibition of concerts in some provinces of Iran, especially Razavi Khorasan, the prevention of screening some licensed films, the confiscation of newspapers, and the multiplicity of cultural institutions in Iran have been among the problems of the Ministry of Culture in recent years. In previous years, the Iranian judiciary has directly canceled concerts and confiscated newspapers. Meanwhile, the issue of concert cancellations in Razavi Khorasan was among the reasons for the resignation of Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture in the eleventh government. After Jannati's resignation, Reza Salehi Amiri received a vote of confidence from the parliament as Minister of Culture on November 2, 2016. Abbas Salehi, the proposed Minister of Culture, was the cultural deputy of this ministry in Rouhani's first government. He holds a PhD in philosophy and has also studied religious sciences, having been in charge of the Islamic Propaganda Office in Razavi Khorasan for a while. The confidence vote for Hassan Rouhani's proposed ministers began last Tuesday and, according to members of the parliament's presiding board, will conclude tomorrow.