Iran Analysis: When Allies Co-ordinate (Mousavi & Karroubi)

As non-Iranian media were focusing on the public Tehran-Moscow dispute on Wednesday, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi were ensuring that internal politics were not going away. Mousavi made his latest statement in a meeting with the youth and student branch of Karroubi's Etemade Melli party, and Karroubi was putting forth his views on the opposition website Rah-e-Sabz.

The statements were not the most dramatic of the post-election period. While Mousavi pointed to the "chaos" of the Government's mismanagement of the economy, neither he nor Karroubi focused on strident denunciations.

Iran Document: Karroubi “Aligning the Green Movement Inside and Outside Country”
Iran Document: Mousavi “On the Importance of Political Parties” (26 May)
The Latest from Iran (27 May): Cooperation and Feuds

Instead, these were tactical declarations. Mousavi's appeal was to support and work with reformist political parties and activists groups, and Karroubi's intent was to put a priority on the internal Iranian opposition, ensuring that Iranians abroad supported rather than led the movement.



Not exciting but important, especially in the run-up to 22 Khordad (12 June) and beyond that anniversary of the election. Many in the opposition believe that the "failure" of 22 Bahman (11 February), when the opposition could not mobilise a visible mass movement, was due largely to errors in tactics and organisation rather than lack of numbers.

So the significance is not just that Mousavi and Karroubi met this weekend to make the call for a march on 12 June and, if the Government refuses a permit for the rally, to find other means to express dissent. It is that, in their first statements after that meeting, they are trying to make the links for an effective show of opposition.

That is not an easy task. An EA reader shrewdly noted yesterday that Mousavi and Karroubi have to be careful about their alliance. When the two established a joint committee last autumn to investigate Government abuses, three of the four advisors they appointed were detained.

So the dance of protest has to be co-ordinated without being formally announced. Note the signal in Mousavi's Wednesday statement: it was made to Karroubi's people. And note that Karroubi's call for alignment of Iranian forces inside and outside the country was in an interview on a high-profile signpost for the opposition.

None of this means success, any more than it points to failure. What it does signify is that, 3 1/2 months after --- for some observers --- the opposition crumbled in Iran, the efforts not only to ensure it is present but that it is effective continue.

But it cannot be only Mousavi and Karroubi. So, alongside and beyond the statements, now to the harder task --- given the Government repression --- of watching the reformist parties, the student movement, the labour movement, the women's movement, the human rights organisations, those who fight against abuse and for justice....

Iran Analysis: When Allies Fight (Tehran and Moscow)

The international headlines this morning are on the drama of an apparent public row between the Iranian and Russian leaders. As we noted in yesterday's updates, the fuse was lit in a speech by President Ahmadinejad in Kerman. As usual, he focused on the international rather than the domestic front, but this time he had a surprise:

Today it has become very difficult to explain [Russian President Dmitry] Medvedev's behaviour to our people. Iranians do not understand whether they (the Russians) are our neighbour and friend standing by our side or are after other things.

But non-Western media really noticed the bangs when Moscow, through Presidential advisors, fought back. Foreign Policy specialist Sergei Prikhodko stated:

Any unpredictability, any political extremism, lack of transparency or inconsistency in taking decisions that affect and concern the entire world community is unacceptable for us. It would be good if those who are now speaking in the name of the wise people of Iran ... would remember this.

Russia has been playing a balancing game between Tehran and "Western" powers for months. Medvedev was one of the rare leaders who dared to appear in public with Ahmadinejad last summer, and the Russians maintained that projects such as the Bushehr nuclear power plant would be completed.

On the other hand, Medvedev --- in contrast to his Foreign Ministry --- has publicly signalled since last autumn that further sanctions can be considered if Iran did not shift its position over uranium enrichment. The Russians have delayed shipments and confirmation of contracts over missiles, and Bushehr's opening date repeatedly slips.

Even last week, the Janus-faced policy of Russia continued. The sharp US response, with the introduction of a sanctions resolution to the UN Security Council, to the Iran-Brazil-Turkey declaration on uranium enrichment came after discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Yet Moscow restated that Bushehr would come on-line in August, and the US press reported that Russian suppliers would continue to send missile components to Tehran.

So what happened for Ahmadinejad to disrupt the balance with his public statement? The obvious speculation is that Russia has refused to peel away from the sanctions move in the UN, but the truth is we don't know. It's unlikely that the warning from the Iran President is going to worry Moscow --- what cards of pain can Tehran play against the Russians? --- so Ahmadinejad's statement appears as pique, anger, or even miscalculation.

For its part, the US has kept quiet, which seems the wise move. And China, the other "balancing" power in the UN Security Council, has also said nothing.

We'll keep eyes well-open today to see if the fight escalates. More importantly, we'll try to figure out why.

Turkey Analysis: Is the Opposition Party Changing?

Joost Lagendijk, a former Member of the European Parliament for the Greens who served as joint chairman of the Turkey-EU Parliamentarians delegation, has written about the "change" in the Republican People's Party (CHP), following the election of Kemal Kilicdaroglu as party leader. In his article, Lagendijk questions whether the party is giving signals of social democracy which would push the Erdogan Government towards European Union reforms:

Few people in this country realize how many European friends of Turkey would like to see the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, transform itself into a genuine, European-style, social democratic party and challenge the ruling conservatives.

Turkey Inside Line: A Political Warning from Business; Kurdish Connections

Some cherish this wish because they do not like the Justice and Development Party, or AKP’s, blend of Islamic values and neo-liberal economic ideas. Most supporters of a CHP renaissance simply think it would be better for Turkey and the AKP if there were a progressive, pro-reform and pro-EU party in Parliament that would push Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to be more courageous and forthcoming on reforms that will make Turkey a more democratic country and, by doing so, bring it closer to EU accession.


Is the replacing of Deniz Baykal, the ultimate status-quo defender, with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the man who does his utmost to appear as a man of the people, the moment so many in Europe have been waiting for?

The question of whether or not last weekend’s explosion of hope and excitement at the CHP party convention signals a return to the good old social democratic days of the era of former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit will be answered negatively by most analysts. They believe it does not make any sense to compare the 1970s to the present political landscape in Turkey. On top of that, they claim the CHP never was, in fact, a real social democratic party and that academic research shows there are simply not enough social democrats in Turkey to get more than 20 percent of the vote at the ballot box.

Even if we take these points for granted, however, the question remains whether we will witness a serious attempt to reposition the CHP under the new leadership.

In that sense, parts of Kılıçdaroğlu’s speech have created some hope. His switch in rhetoric from state and secularism to people and poverty went over well. This is what many in Turkey and Europe would expect from a social democrat. But what about all the other controversial issues that have split Turkish society and politics for so many years now? Why was he so conspicuously silent on the Kurdish question and refuse to go beyond the old CHP clichés on the EU?

Let’s stop here for a moment. Is it reasonable to expect Kılıçdaroğlu to radically change all CHP policies from one day to the next? Let’s not forget that the new CHP leader was a member of the Baykal team that came up with so many of these dead-end proposals in the first place. The man is, in all probability, not a closet social democrat in heart and soul who, finally freed from his shackles, will now fundamentally change the CHP in one big move. The best bet seems to be to see him as a man who has understood that continued polarization will lead the CHP nowhere and a change in style and an adjustment of some policies are therefore necessary. I am not so sure whether he already knows which ones.

Based on his personal background, I expect Kılıçdaroğlu to prepare the CHP in the short term for a compromise with the AKP on the Alevi and Kurdish questions. Apart from his private motives, electoral considerations will force the CHP to try and regain some ground among these millions of voters. But in order to keep his credibility among diehard CHP voters, I think he will stick to the party’s rejection of radical constitutional change and to the ambiguous attitude toward the EU – saying you are in favor and then voting against all reforms that are needed to get there.

It might well be that this combination of change and continuity will convince some that the CHP has become a different party under Kılıçdaroğlu’s leadership. I am afraid many others will position the new CHP leader as stuck somewhere in between a version of Baykal lite and the real reformer many in Turkey and in Europe would like him to be.

Iran Document: Mousavi "On the Importance of Political Parties" (26 May)

From the Facebook page supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi:

Mir Hossein Mousavi, in a meeting with a group of members of the Central Council of the Youth and Academic Branch of the National Trust party (Etemade Melli --- Mehdi Karroubi’s party) emphasized the importance of political parties at this time and warned about the influence of superstitions in the general management of the country.

The courage and the unveiling of issues by Mr. Karroubi have been very effective in spreading awareness

Mousavi, at the beginning of the meeting, thanked Karroubi for his role in this national movement and said: “Karroubi’s courage and the unveiling of issues by him have very effective role in spreading awareness and the movement. I hope that this role strongly continues. Karroubi’s resistance has vital importance for the continuation of the Green Movement.”

The Latest from Iran (26 May): Panahi Out But 100s Still Imprisoned
Iran Document: Karroubi “Aligning the Green Movement Inside and Outside Country”

Mousavi then discussed the role of political parties after the revolution and said: “From the very first days of the revolution there has been a strand of thought that was against political parties and organizations. People’s bad experience with regards to political parties in the Constitutional era exacerbated this cynicism.”


One of the characteristics of Martyr Ayatollah Beheshti was his opposition against monologue and one-party system

Mousavi added: “Alongside these cynical views there were positive thoughts, led by Martyr Ayatollah Beheshti’s view [Ayatollah Beheshti was one of the leaders of the Islamic Revolution; he was assassinated in 1981]. He believed in partisan and organized activities and strived for this. There were impressive results as an outcome . One of Martyr Ayatollah Beheshti’s characteristics was his opposition against monologue and a one-party system.”

Mousavi, expressing sorrow for negative views toward political parties and organizations and even small grassroots organizations in recent years, emphasized: “ The recent actions against the two main reformist parties of the country (Islamic Iran Participation Front and Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution) has roots in the same negative view toward political parties. Of course these days following the enforced suppression, the importance of political parties and organizations is being felt more than before.”

Standing for the right of forming and maintaining political parties is more vital than ever

Mousavi said: “Standing for the right of forming and maintaining political parties is more vital than ever. When the discussion of full and comprehensive implementation of the constitution is raised one of the principles is the clear view on the freedom of political parties and organizations, for wither political parties or unions....The political parties must be advocates for freedom and right of all the people and if possible should merge together to create a more comprehensive organization.”

Today superstitions are being used for organized political and economical corruptions

Mousavi pointed to the issue of superstitions and said, “Today superstitions are being used for organized political and economic corruption. Dissolving the Management and Planning and Organization, the sensitivity to the key phrase of “Development”, and putting aside the five-year development programs are signs of the spread of superstitious thoughts.”

Charity-type economy has created immense chaos in developing rational processes

Mousavi iterated, “A true Shia is always and everyday awaiting the return of Imam Mehdi but also at the same time plans for the next thousand years. Today the charity-type economy and arbitrary actions have created immense chaos in developing rational processes.”

According to Mousavi, the elimination of a vast group of experienced managers who believed in planning and scientific management is related to this radical superstitious ideology.

Mousavi pointed out how the comments [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad made are linked to superstitions and said, “According to this view, the US has come to Iraq not because of oil or geopolitical or strategic reasons but rather has come to prevent Imam Mahdi’s return. What kind of disaster in the foreign policy, governing with this ideology can create? Won’t Turkmenchay-style treaties [an 1828 treaty in which Persia made significant concessions to Russia] be the inevitable result of such a view?”

At the end of his remarks, Mousavi spoke of the role of Imam Khomeini in ending 2500 years of monarchy and said, “In a time whre there was unprecedented pressure to prevent women from participating in elections, he (Imam Khomeini) bluntly and clearly confronted this and asked, 'How could it be possible to deprive half of the population from being involved in their own destiny?'"

The Latest from Iran (26 May): Panahi Out But 100s Still Imprisoned

1503 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Peyke Iran reports that detainees in Evin Prison have joined student leader Majid Tavakoli (see 1425 GMT) on hunger strike.

An EA reader notifies us that a Facebook campaign for a three-day hunger strike, starting today, in sympathy with Tavakoli has been launched.

1459 GMT: Ahmadinejad "Something's Not Right with Russia". Radio Zamaneh has extracts from the President's speech today in Kerman (see 0940 GMT), and he is sounding more than worried about Moscow's position on nuclear issues: "“Today, explaining the actions of the Russian President [Dmitry Medvedev] to the Iranian people has become difficult. The people wonder whether they are our friends, whether they are beside us and with us or if they have other objectives.”

1455 GMT: M0usavi on Political Parties. We've posted, in a separate entry, Mir Hossein Mousavi's comments made today to youth and student activists in Mehdi Karroubi's Etemade Melli party.

NEW Iran Document: Mousavi “On the Importance of Political Parties” (26 May)
NEW Iran Document: Karroubi “Aligning the Green Movement Inside and Outside Country”
Middle East/Iran (& Beyond) Revealed: US to Expand Covert Activities (Mazzetti)
NEW Turkey’s Diplomatic Dance: The Nuclear Two-Step Between Iran & the US (Yenidunya)
Iran Analysis: Towards the Final Battle? (Zahra)
The Latest from Iran (25 May): Panahi Freed; Will There Be a 12 June Protest?

1425 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Lots of internet chatter about an interview with the mother of detained student leader Majid Tavakoli, as she calls on all Iranians abroad to help him. 


Ali Tavakoli has spoken with Human Rights Activists News Agency about his brother's condition and hunger strike and revealed that his mother is also refusing food.

1400 GMT: Mousavi, Rahnavard, and the Students. Back from an academic break to find news Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard met student activists from Tehran's Amir Kabir University this morning to share "views and concerns". We are keeping eyes open for more details.
0940 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? (Nuclear Special Edition). President Ahmadinejad has delivered his speech in Kerman.

Press TV's article features standard rhetoric on the uranium enrichment deal, such as "[President Obama] should bear in mind that if he does not use this opportunity, Iranians are unlikely to give him a new chance....Arrogant and tyrant powers should either give up or be obliterated."

There are interesting revelations, however. Ahmadinejad tipped off his worry over Russia's position on sanctions, urging President Dmitry Medvedev to support the Iranian nuclear programme.

And Ahmadinejad actually pointed to Tehran's weakness rather than strength in the manoeuvres over uranium:

We have a reactor in Tehran which produces radio medicines. Around 800,000 people annually use radio medicines. Twenty five years ago Iran bought nuclear fuel enriched up to the level of 20 percent from Argentina for use in Tehran Research Reactor. It is currently running out of fuel.

No clue in the story whether Ahmadinejad mentioned unemployment, which is what his crowd in Khorramshahr wanted to address on Monday, or indeed any internal issue apart from uranium.
0840 GMT: We have posted an extract, in a separate entry, from Mehdi Karroubi's interview with Rah-e-Sabz (see 0715 GMT), “Aligning the Green Movement Inside and Outside Country”.

And our colleague James Miller has written for The Huffington Post, "A Year of Blood and Promise in Iran", using the review of events to conclude with a look forward:

It's been a long, interesting, and tumultuous year in Iran, but the Green Movement is far from dead, or even asleep. Rather, it has been waiting for June 2010 to pounce. We'll have to wait to see who is the Caspian Tiger in Iran, the government or the people. If I were a betting man, I'd say that the next year may give us the answer.

0815 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. RAHANA reports on female detainees facing charges of "mohareb" (war against God), with its death sentence, including Maryam Akbari-Monfared, the mother of three children, and the youngest female prisoner, 22-year-old Parvin Javanzadeh.

0810 GMT: Economy Watch. Fararu claims that growth in 2009 was about 0.5 % --- that compares with a Government projection of 8% in its 5th Plan.

Not that this will necesarily trouble the Revolutionary Guard. Rah-e-Sabz has another article on the millions (billions?) of dollars in oil and gas projects being picked up by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (see 0710 GMT).

0800 GMT: The Challenge to Ahmadinejad. Fatemeh Badaghi, the President''s legal advisor, has said that if necessary, lawsuits will be filed against members of Parliament for criticising the Government.

Badeghi might be quite busy. Ali Larijani has easily retained his seat as Speaker by a 214-44 vote with 32 abstentions; the suggestion of some Ahmadinejad supporters that Larijani could and should be challenged soon fizzled out.

And as the Iranian judiciary claims that it is investigating the corruption allegations against First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, MP Gholamreza  Mesbahi Moghaddam has criticised the Guardian Council blocking a law on  money laundering.

0730 GMT: Where's Mahmoud? After his appearance in Khorramshahr on Monday, distinguished by heckling from the crowd over unemployment, President Ahmadinejad is on his way to Kerman Province in central Iran.

0715 GMT: Karroubi and the Green Movement, One Year Later. Rah-e-Sabz features an interview with Mehdi Karroubi, with the cleric's responses to questions such as "Entering the second year of the Green Movement, where do you think you were wrong and what do you think are the strengths and successes of the movement?"

0710 GMT: Revealing the Revolutionary Guard. Peyke Iran features an article by Jaleh Vafa claiming the devleopment of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps into a military and financial "mafia" over the past 30 years

0640 GMT: News of One Still Detained. Speaking of imprisoned journalists....

Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi has said that Emaduddin Baghi will be relocated in a general ward. Baghi's family have claimed that the journalist has been held in solitary confinement and in poor conditions during his 5 months behind bars.

0630 GMT: Those Who Are Not Free. Arshama3's blog, which has maintained a list of journalists in prison (reposted on Enduring America last month), adds two more names:

Ramin Jabbari, Blogger and Journalist, Bayram, Nedaye Moghan, Yashil Moghan, Detained 17 May 2010

Mostafa Jamshidi, Journalist, Redaktion Yashil Moghan, Nedaye Moghan, Detained 18 May 2010

Up to 102 journalists are still imprisoned or restricted by bail conditions.

0555 GMT: A Call for Reflection. An EA correspondent sends us the translation of an open letter from Saeedeh Montazeri, the daughter of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, to Mir Hossein Mousavi. An extract....

After your reaction to recent political executions, [Tehran Prosecutor General] Jafari Doulatabadi [said]: "How could those who claim to follow the line of Imam forget his teaching of standing up to dissident groups?....In the same years that the executions were carried out against the hypocrites by the order of Imam Khomeini (RA), Mousavi] was Prime Minister. If we consider his present claim, how did he serve then?"

Mr. Mir Hossein Mousavi! I do not intend to confirm what he [Mr. Jaafari Dowlatabadi] said, but it is fair to conclude from his words that we need to be critical according to society’s needs. Why do we all virtually have history safeguard our deeds, so that the future generation can criticize us?! This is our collective duty, to criticize our past; and if we have made any mistakes, we should attempt to compensate for it. This is especially important for politicians. Before the future generation criticizes them, politicians should attempt to criticise their deeds themselves. You must know well how this criticism can be helpful to the Green Movement.

This point must be made that the critical principle is that no one is immune from error, and our affairs should be based on this hadith that the Prophet said: "All of Adam’s children are fallible, and the best would recant."

0545 GMT: Ironic Headline of Day. Press TV writes with a straight face, "Protesters Silenced before Queen's Speech".

0500 GMT: Tuesday's late news outside Iran was dominated by the emerging information of the release of film director Jafar Panahi on $200,000 bail. Panahi, gaunt after almost three months in detention and a reported hunger strike, was freed after a meeting last week with Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi. (A question to consider: was Panahi's silence on political issues and abandonment of plans to film about the post-election situation a condition for his release?)

Because of Panahi's high profile --- and because a photograph was released to the international media --- the news was picked up by international media. Some noted that another director, Mohammad Nourizad, had been freed a day earlier --- in fact, that news on state media has still not been confirmed (t0 our knowledge) by Nourizad's family.

The essential context was provided, however, by those who circulate news on social media. One activist reminded, "Let's not forget the other filmmakers who was jailed with Jafar Panahi. Mohammad Ali Shirzadi is still detained at Even prison." Others put out the information that blogger Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki (Babak Khoramdin) has been placed in solitary confinement and is the third day of a hunger strike.

And, of course, it's not directors and journalists who languish, sometimes without formal charges, sometimes in isolation, sometimes with lengthy sentences from closed trials and little known evidence, in Iran's prisons during the post-election crisis. There are doctors, lawyers, politicians, students, human rights activists, woman's rights activists, housewives....

So another day begins....