The Start of a Dangerous Game

Roozonline - Hashemi Rafsanjani’s recent remarks criticizing Ahmadinejad’s administration and the possibility of his presidential candidacy in the June election have met strong reactions from the ruling principlists and their media. One media outlet called his remarks “a dangerous game” that had been anticipated.

Speaking to a group of visiting journalists, students and reformist clerics who have called on the head of the state expediency council to run in June’s presidential race, Rafsanjani clarified his earlier comments about the election and said that he had not said he was not running in the race.

While most of the questions and talk in this meeting were on the upcoming elections, reference was also made to Rafsanjani’s criticism of Ahmadinejad’s policies and administration. “The next administration will have to deal with a large debt, the government owes the public 500 billion Toman, 200 billion to the banks and 50 billion in bonds,” he told his audience.

In a part of the talk Rafsanjani said that while Ahmadinejad’s administration had initially rejected the fourth development plan of Iran – which had been developed during Rafsanjani’s presidency – it was announced subsequently that some 23 percent of its plans had in fact been implemented, adding, “this would have been accomplished even without the administration and perhaps even more because farmers, teachers and other workers do their job regardless.”

He also attacked Ahmadinejad’s foreign policy and called it “badly practiced.” He said it called for conflict and a fight. “They initially said that Security Council resolutions were nothing but a piece of trash but then called on them to suspend them. This has cost the country much,” he said of the government’s policies.

Rafsanjani accused Ahmadinejad’s government of getting rid of the professional and experienced cadre of the country, while promising to bring in fresh blood. “I know Ahmadinejad as he was a governor in my administration and his policy had been to drive out revolutionary people and defame them. Today, we see that our policies lack any planning and are driven by daily events,” he said.

He also made a reference to a tape recording that he possessed from a 2008 meeting with senior officials who agreed with his predictions over Ahmadinejad. The meeting was purportedly arranged to reduce the conflict between Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani after the former had made direct accusations against Rafsanjani during the presidential debates with presidential hopeful and former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Rafsanjani also talked about the sovereignty of people and their right to govern themselves, a touchy subject after many clerics openly negate the principle which is recognized even in the current constitution of the country and who say ultimate sovereignty and rule rests with God and his representative, a reference to the supreme leader. “You cannot have a situation where any person can do whatever they want and expect people not to protest. People own the government. God has given the right to government only to the 12 saints and after that to anyone who gets the people’s vote. We expect that those who are qualified will not be rejected because people know who is suitable and will not let the country go to ruin,” he said in a reference to the disqualifications that the Guardians Council engages in vetting presidential candidates and the fear that reformist and even centrist candidates may be eliminated by the powerful clerical body.

Rafsanjani’s remarks were immediately met with criticism by the principlist media. Raja News that is close to the principlist Steadfast Front said Rafsanjani was trying to regain his lost popularity and credibility and that “most active political groups” rejected him because of his posture in the 2009 unrest. Principlists accuse Rafsanjani to be part of what they call the 2009 sedition – the massive protests against the official results of the 200 presidential election that reinstated Ahmadinejad as president.

Vatan newspaper close to Mehrdad Bazrpash, a close associate of Ahmadinejad and his supporters in the Majlis, also wrote against Rafsanjani arguing that the head of the expediency council had changed tactics to return to power, and questions whether he had abandoned his goal of regime change through the sedition or velvet revolution. One editorial in the newspaper said that an event larger than the 2009 sedition was on its way through Rafsanjani.

Jahan News affiliated with Alireza Zakami, a presidential candidate, also criticized Rafsanjani’s comments and accused him of leading the 2009 sedition.

By Arash Bahmani