Mashaollah Shamsolvaezeen is a prominent journalist and former editor-in-chief of ‎several reformist newspapers. Today, Shamsolvaezeen is not employed by any ‎publication. With his articles being rejected nowadays, he does not have a platform to ‎publish his ideas. We spoke with Shamsolvaezeen about today’s newspapers and their ‎condition. Below is an excerpt of the interview. ‎

Rooz (R): Do you think there is a chance for another "Spring of press freedom" in Iran, ‎the kind we witnessed in the years between 1998 and 2000? ‎

Mashaollah Shamsolvaezeen (MS): At that time, there was social pressure that forced the ‎regime into accepting new norms and a peaceful political explosion climaxed into the ‎reform movement. To be fair, certain spaces created by the regime’s legal structure were ‎also important in creating that movement. But there must be social pressure to make ‎positive change possible. Just as government, when dealing with public health, ‎emphasizes vaccination to prevent disease, in the political realm, it must vaccinate the ‎system against dysfunction by creating an environment that supports free press. ‎Otherwise, we will see a dysfunctional political system and an alienated population. ‎

R: Well, with these conditions, in what era was the Iranian press more effective? ‎

MS: Relatively speaking, the publications during the fifth Majlis and more importantly ‎the sixth Majlis were more effective than publications from other periods. There is an ‎interesting point here though: some times the responsibility of the press to illuminate the ‎public is transferred onto civil institutions and civil society organizations, like political ‎parties. At other times, especially during crises, strong personalities substitute for the ‎press and civil society organizations, meaning they function in lieu of a free press. For ‎example, certain powerful individuals are lobbying the system to solve the problem of the ‎disqualification of the large number of reformist candidates. These are the kinds of ‎things that happen in the Third World, and they are not the most efficient way to solve ‎problems. ‎

R: What are the most efficient ways?‎

MS: Solving problems through lobbying and holding elderly councils is not the best ‎way. This model belongs to the pre-modern world. In the modern world, this ‎responsibility has been bestowed unto modern institutions. What is taking place today ‎stands in opposition to the norm prevalent in a republic. In the modern world, the ‎government must obtain its legitimacy from the people. But what happens here is the ‎exact opposite: people are disqualified by the government. It is better if the regime ‎honestly admitted to this. The Guardian Council could itself nominate 290 MP’s and not ‎waste public funds to hold elections, like what happens in Saudi Arabia. The Sultan or ‎the King is appointed by God to pick individuals to consult with. We must pick a system ‎like that and avoid having our current problems.‎

R: Mr. Shams, how optimistic are you about the future?‎

MS: I have no inkling of hope. The smallest criticism gets a publication banned. The ‎National Security council passes legislation on what the press is allowed to cover. ‎Tehran’s prosecutor general Saeed Mortazavi interferes by making personnel decisions ‎for independent publications. His interference is so shameless that independent ‎publications must stop publishing right now. With the dominance of such an outlook and ‎model there is no place left for the press - or for hope. I used to be an optimistic person, ‎but now am hopeless – god bless the rest! ‎