Former Majlis representative in the sixth and seventh Majlis assembly, Akbar Alami discussed in an interview with Rooz the recent revelations made by Abbas Palizdar, noting, "Three factors of personal consideration, fearing consequences of siding with Palizdar and preserving factional and group interests have prompted people to shy away from supporting Palizdar.
Akbar Alami says, "I think a large part of Mr. Palizdar's assertions about corruption of senior clerics and politicians are true, although it is plausible that he has exaggerated some aspects of it. On the other hand, some of his remarks did not fit within the legal framework, meaning it was clear that he was “revealing” them with the motive of supporting Ahmadinejad and this factor caused many people who could have potentially supported him not to support him and undermine him. Most of the issues discussed by him have already been discussed in various supervisory institutions. There are documents and files that prove some of the claims voiced by him and such documents and files are in the possession of the Majlis investigative committee, and ethical and moral considerations dictate that he is aided that much."
Alami adds, "We have to note that people are paying attention to these issues, and that their pessimism causes serious harm. If the regime loses its popular base, which is one of the most important factors in national security, it will naturally become more vulnerable than before. The more the scope of this corruption expands, the more shaky and unstable the regime's foundations become.”
Alami believes that Palizdar would have been more successful if he had categorized the information at his disposal and revealed them in several stages, thus reducing the possibility of coalition of various factions emerging against him. If Mr. Palizdar had not just dealt with information regarding individuals and groups that are known to be opposed to Ahmadinejad and had, for instance, revealed the cases related to Ahmadinejad's tenure at Tehran's municipality his revelations would have been more effective.
This former Majlis representative believes, "Our political parties and movements confront the phenomenon of corruption selectively, and this very factor has caused the defeat of every action or idea to fight corruption."
Regarding Ahmadinejad's lack of support for Palizdar, Alami says, "The Ahmadinejad Administration is vulnerable and unstable enough. Throughout the time he has been in office, because of his lack of experience, Ahmadinejad has lost a large cross-section of his supporters. Therefore I do not think that Ahmadinejad has the necessary energy and potential to sustain himself as well as support others. That is why despite the interest of subjects discussed by Palizdar and the fact that it could have ensured Ahmadinejad's presence had he supported them, we see that he does not back the claims and leaves Palizdar alone."
In Alami's view, the revelations of these cases are mostly aimed at eliminating opponents. He says, "It is natural that as long as we do not have non-governmental and independent civil society organizations in this country, and all such organizations are platforms for various political groupings, confronting economic corruption will continue to remain a slogan, and if someone finds enough courage to reveal the contents of several cases that have been archived and collecting dust, he would experience the same fate as Palizdar."
Alami concludes, "The existence of various corruptions in the fields of culture, politics and economy is chipping away at the regime's foundations like termites and making the people pessimistic toward the regime and entire government."
