Trial on Air

Review of newspapers on Saturday, February 17, 2018: The newspaper Shargh reported with the headline "Trial on Air" that "IRIB aired a 7-minute film accusing Kavous Seyed Emami and other detainees." The newspaper wrote: "IRIB broadcast a seven-minute film last Friday about the activities of Kavous Seyed Emami and the institute he managed, namely 'Wildlife Heritage of Parsian.' The film aimed to prove to the audience that Seyed Emami and his institute were engaged in espionage activities in Iran and were under surveillance. Meanwhile, apart from Kavous Seyed Emami, several other environmental activists who worked at this institute are still detained, and the 'accused' means that no court has been held and no verdict has been issued yet." Shargh pointed out that Kavous Seyed Emami was killed during detention and that judicial authorities claim that "Seyed Emami was in the investigation stages when it was stated that he committed suicide." It wrote that while "no court has been held for this accusation, Ameneh Zabihpour, IRIB's reporter in her film, introduced this institute as a network of infiltration established before the revolution and restructured in 1991 after the revolution, claiming that 'the goal of this institute was to infiltrate military and scientific centers under the guise of environmental NGOs.'" Kayhan expressed strong dissatisfaction with public doubts, members of parliament, and social media users regarding the statements of judicial and security officials about how Kavous Seyed Emami was killed in prison, writing in its Tuesday issue: "In our country, we see that despite the extensive explanations of the Tehran prosecutor and the confirmation of Kavous Seyed Emami's suicide by his relatives and the description of the suicide film of this accused by members of parliament, some reformist figures and chain newspapers of this current consider themselves entitled and authorized to comment based on speculation and rumors, personally and directly issuing a verdict of acquittal for this spy simply because he committed suicide, or joining voices with hostile media to cast doubt and portray the issue of espionage as insignificant." The newspaper wrote: "Everywhere in the world, security issues and espionage discussions are specialized matters and usually among the red lines of any government system, and when a spy case is raised, even in those countries that claim unlimited press freedom, they act very cautiously in expressing opinions regarding such cases, and the angles and dimensions of such cases are usually revealed years after the nature of the case becomes clear and the explanations of security officials are provided." The newspaper Shargh, in the front page headline of its Saturday issue titled "Friday Imams Against Referendum," wrote: "In the week since Hassan Rouhani proposed the idea of a referendum, one of the harshest reactions has come from Friday Imams. Last week, Ahmad Khatami and this week, Ahmad Alamolhoda." According to this newspaper, Ahmad Alamolhoda criticized the referendum proposal during Friday prayers in Mashhad, addressing Hassan Rouhani: "In this millions-strong wave that rose in support of the system and in this sea of people holding the leader's photo, you say this, do you know what it evokes in minds; that you are in favor of secular democracy, not religious democracy... You come and flaunt Article 59 in front of the people, who are holding the leader's photo. Be careful not to question the foundation of the system for the sake of pleasing a secular minority without religion linked to the West. Do not overlook this millions-strong wave that came for Islam and religion to please a secular minority without religion." Shargh reminded that earlier Ahmad Khatami, the Friday Imam of Mashhad, had also said: "To the anti-Islamic, anti-Iranian, and anti-revolutionary state network that is pleased with some comments, I say that they will never reach their wish for a referendum and public vote. This current wants to gather the table of Islam and the rule of the jurist with a referendum." This newspaper simultaneously quoted Laya Janidi, the legal deputy of Hassan Rouhani, as calling all these accusations and reactions "unjust" and wrote: "The referendum law approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly in 1989 states that the President or one hundred members of parliament have the right to propose a referendum." The newspaper Qanoon also wrote: "Since the day Hassan Rouhani mentioned the referendum for any purpose, some have created a commotion and opposed his reference to the constitutional principle. They were mostly individuals known for their conservatism, and everyone is familiar with their intentions. However, not all opponents were from the conservative right spectrum; even a personality like Saeed Hajarian, whom some call the theorist of reform, did not show a positive response to this proposal." This newspaper, however, quoted Hossein Ali Amiri, the parliamentary deputy of Hassan Rouhani, as saying: "Mr. Rouhani's remarks regarding Article 59 emphasized the abundant capacities of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and it seems that he did not have a specific issue in mind for holding a referendum." The newspaper Qanoon emphasized that "this country has laws, and on the surface, everyone insists on them, but sometimes when it is not in their favor, they try to circumvent or ignore them," writing: "That movements that demand their demands in the streets and climb the walls of embassies want to ignore the national charter of Iran and attack its guardian will hear the people's response, and the people will not remain silent against them." The newspaper Shargh reported on "concerns about the future political and social atmosphere of the country at the United Front meeting," where Ali Shakouri Rad, the secretary-general of this reformist party, expressed concern about the "discourse of overthrow" and its costs, saying: "We must prevent the radicalization of the atmosphere. The recent protests and unrest were a wake-up call for everyone." Ali Shakouri Rad opposed holding a referendum, stating: "I am not saying there is no problem in the Constitution, but now is not the time to solve our problems with changes in the law. If this law is implemented correctly, our current problems will be resolved. If we increase demands and radicalize them, it will yield no results. That is why we consider reformism to be the most important approach." Meanwhile, "those who chant 'Reformist - Principlist is over' tell us that you have become continuists. We have had three major electoral victories, now obstacles have arisen in our path. We should not become passive." According to Shargh, Mohammad Reza Khatami also said at the meeting of the United Front of Islamic Iran: "In the context of the recent movements, the voice of the overthrowers has become louder than before. They have grown excessively, and the reason for this is ourselves. This is the greatest advertisement for them to exploit domestic issues for their specific political goals. They have no base or program, and their only support comes from foreigners, and there is no cause for concern at this stage of this situation." Simultaneously, Mostafa Tajzadeh, in an interview with the newspaper Jahan San'at, stated: "Our free elections are in all freedoms." Mostafa Tajzadeh expressed hope for holding free elections, stating: "The events that occurred in December changed the conditions and political alignments of forces in society to a large extent and created new opportunities for us to exert pressure so that those in positions do not exploit their positions to eliminate rivals. My point is that free elections must be held. If not, the system will face very serious problems and could threaten its stability. Today, as a necessity for maintaining political order and stability, we have no choice but to move towards free elections, and we hope everyone has reached this necessity because if God forbid we do not reach the final point, the atmosphere of the country is such that we actively announce that we will not participate in the elections and pressure the rival faction to stop its law-breaking." The newspaper Jahan San'at quoted Mostafa Tajzadeh regarding the nationwide protests in December: "It is incorrect to limit all protests to economic issues. People did not only chant against Rouhani and the government but also targeted other centers of power. There is no doubt that the demonstrators were all Iranians and our children, and such nonsense that they were imported from abroad is not accepted by the general public and reminds of the accusations made by the Shah against his opponents. However, there is no doubt that efforts were made abroad to provide their specific interpretations of the protests of certain segments of the Iranian people." Mostafa Tajzadeh explained why many reformist political activists withdrew their support from the people during the December protests: "The reason we refrained from participating was that these protests had no leader, no organization, and no unified slogan, and unfortunately, it was attempted from the very beginning to escalate to violence, and no unified demand was presented because the country's conditions are such that it is not possible to achieve a favorable outcome with destructive slogans and violent methods." Mohsen Safaei Farahani, a former member of the Participation Party, in response to the newspaper Etemad's question about what should be done if reformist paths are blocked or obstacles exist to reform methods, stated: "We must stand by everything related to the rights of the people and support it, with wisdom and rationality, and not through chaos and violence. You can be sure that in today's world, standing against the people is not in favor of any government; governments can only survive with the support of the people, otherwise, they will face a legitimacy crisis." This reformist political activist emphasized that "the people are dissatisfied with all these pressures, and their protests are comprehensive, but the solution is that the pillars of the government should not look at these protests one-dimensionally, take them seriously, and allow for transformation and movement in civil society to emerge from this frozen situation." He stated: "If people are raising the issue of moving beyond reformism and principlism in society, it means they have reached a kind of political maturity. You cannot tell 80 million people that whenever you have something to say or protest, you will be suppressed. No society does this; therefore, people want to move beyond this disorder. They want to have parties and syndicates in civil society." Mohsen Safaei Farahani stated that "everything that is sown can be harvested," saying: "The invention of restrictive interpretations of the Constitution over the past 30 years has weakened the republic, which has been the greatest achievement of the people since the 1979 revolution. These restrictions have seriously confronted the country with a crisis of inefficiency." Etemad quoted Safaei Farahani as saying: "People are generally dissatisfied with the forces in society that can help them and do not. Because with the repeated trust of the people and participation in various elections, they expect part of their demands to be met. Currently, the majority of people's trust in the political system is decreasing due to the widespread corruption among those associated with the system and the weak performance of all three branches and the violent and rude interventions and behaviors towards them. If hope is cut off, it is obvious that they will pass by Mr. Khatami and Mr. Rouhani or anyone else. To get out of this situation, criticism of the governmental structure must arise, and the press and media must find their real place." In this context, "Dollar Patrol," Ali Khamenei's new definition of "the people," Rouhani's media meeting, and "unanswered questions," "We are caught in violence," changing the playing field of "proxy forces"; the war against the people in the streets of Iran, the crisis in Iran; the responsibility of the opposition, and the possibility of radicalizing Iranian society, the death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis, internet shutdown in Iran exceeding 300 hours; report on "evidence" of the killing of injured patients under treatment, narrative of three witnesses from the situation in Isfahan; "like war-torn areas," the death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis, Trump emphasizing "stopping executions in Iran": we do not know what will happen in the future, Trump announced an agreement to hold a meeting about Greenland in Davos.