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NEWS & LETTERS, March 2002
'Axis of evil' hits Iran Bush's State of the Union
Address on Jan. 29, in which he called Iraq, Iran and North Korea members of an
"axis of evil" has had important reverberations in Iran. On Feb. 11, a
state-sponsored demonstration marking the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian
Revolution was attended by huge crowds chanting "death to America" and
was addressed by President Khatami. While some analysts have argued
that Bush's speech made a distinction between the repressive government and the
Iranian people’s "hope for freedom," most analysts have attacked
Bush for alienating Iran's reformists. Bush's "axis of evil"
designation has been a gift to the hardliners and is helping them to cover over
the internal battles. Following the September 11
terrorist attacks, many Iranians did solidarize with the people of the U.S. Many
also celebrated the defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Recent signs of
continuing protest in Iran include the following: - A student protest during a
speech by Khatami at Tehran University in December. Students shouted:
"Either strength or resignation," "Political prisoners must be
released," "Do not chant slogans, take action." - Demonstrations and strikes
for better working conditions and a living wage by school teachers in Tehran,
Shiraz and Isfahan. Teachers' strikes in Iran have been historically important
as bellwethers of larger upheavals. - A January walk-out by 240 of
the 290 members of the Iranian parliament to protest the imprisonment of a
deputy from the western city of Hamadan. He was subsequently released but the
anti-reformist Iranian courts have also sentenced a woman member of parliament,
Fatemeh Haqiquatju, to 17 months in prison for criticizing the government. - The abduction, disappearance,
and later arrest of an important journalist, Siamak Purzand, by the government.
Purzand is married to Mehrangiz Kar, an Iranian feminist legal scholar whose
critical writings have challenged clerical orthodoxy. - A summons from the government
has been sent to a number of prominent journalists and intellectuals who are to
be questioned for their writings and activities. —Sheila Fuller |
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