‎

Elham Esmaeili ‎

Mohammad Bastenegar is a prominent nationalist-religious [melli-mazhabi] personality ‎with a long history of pre- and post-revolutionary activism. In an exclusive interview we ‎discussed the future of the reform movement and the eight Majlis elections with him. ‎Here are the excerpts.‎

Rooz (R): Why did people not heed Mr. Khatami’s advice to participate in the elections?‎

Mohammad Bastenegar (MB): This issue is related, on the one hand, to the actions of the ‎Guardian Council, and on the other, to the taking away of the people’s right to choose ‎their own representatives. According to Article 99 of the Constitution of the Islamic ‎Republic, the Guardian Council is only in charge of supervising the elections, not hand-‎picking and selecting candidates. It is the people who have the right to approve or ‎disapprove of candidates. The Guardian Council’s actions have turned elections into a ‎two-round affair and have deprived people of the right to directly elect their ‎representatives. In such elections people are deprived of the right to choose and lose their ‎motivation to participate. ‎

R: In these conditions, isn’t Mr. Khatami forced to stay home and doesn’t he feel ‎‎“useless?” ‎

MB: First of all, despite all that has happened, Mr. Khatami should not retreat and feel ‎useless. It is not right to say that Khatami should now stay home and stop fighting for ‎people’s rights. Retirement has no meaning for people who enter social or political life. ‎Khatami must fight for people’s rights and improve the conditions. Secondly, during his ‎presidency, Khatami raised the issue of “civil society” and tried to institute the culture of ‎non-governmental and civil society organizations. He should now continue his activism ‎with all force. He should also defend freedom of parties, freedom of speech, freedom of ‎association, freedom of elections, and many other rights stated in the constitution. ‎During his presidency, Khatami raised slogans that he must now fight with all his might ‎to institute. ‎

R: Aren’t you suggesting that Mr. Khatami’s responsibility is heavier now than when he ‎was in power?‎

MB: Yes, in my opinion, Mr. Khatami’s responsibility is heavier now than before, and ‎despite all the current problems, he must work harder than before. This is not specific to ‎Mr. Khatami. All reformist factions must do the same. They must sacrifice their parties’ ‎interests for the nation’s interests because their own success is dependent on defending ‎the right of the Iranian nation and taking into account national interest and the country’s ‎well-being. ‎

R: What criticism do you have of the reformists’ performance in the latest round of ‎elections? ‎

MB: The problem with reformists is that when they run into problems or when they are ‎not doing well in the elections, they start bickering with one another and engage in ‎infighting rather than delving into the roots of these issues. Such behavior only adds to ‎their problems and makes things more difficult for them. ‎