A number of members of the conservative faction are criticizing and attacking Mr. Ahmadinejad as if they themselves had nothing to do with the creation of the current situation in Iran.
Unfortunately the reformist camp is also critical of the current trend, from a belief that the country’s problems are the fault of one single person, and contend that if someone else occupies the office of the presidency, all problems will be solved.
The reality is that the whole conservative faction is responsible for the current situation. If anyone is to be held accountable, it is all the conservatists and they should be called to account.
In my opinion, it is not difficult to recognize that Khatami’s government provided an exceptional opportunity to implement some gradual changes in the domestic and foreign policies of the country. In my view, the unprecedented opportunity provided by Khordad 2 Movement (the landslide victory of Khatami to the presidency and the dominance of reformists) for the regime was so obvious that I would not believe that those who claimed to defend the regime would mobilize all their energy to destroy this historic opportunity and at the same time take things to the point where they would compromise their own principles, ethics and even religious beliefs that they claimed to uphold simply to neutralize the peaceful activities of the reformers.
But they were neither interested in improving social conditions nor in protecting the Islamic republic, and only pursued their own personal and individual interests and in this quest deprived the country of its unique opportunity, an unfortunate situation that can only be sadly lamented.
I try to swallow my usual anger at the loss of this golden opportunity and the tragedy that followed but cannot forgive those who either out of ignorance or selfishness took our country down the path of darkness and destitution. I can neither forget nor forgive.
I therefore believe that those who after 2nd Khordad (literally May 23, 1997, this term refers to the reform movement in Iran which began when Khatami won the presidential elections in that year) played a role in killing the reform and who finally carried the infant to its grave, cannot now by criticizing Ahmadinejad’s certain remarks, actions and ancillary policies evade their own responsibility for the conditions that came to the fore with the collapse of the reforms, but which were clearly visible and which had been warned against.
By nature, I am not an inflexible person to deny people a second chance, but I do not see any repentance or belief in the new critics of Ahmadinejad. They continue to view Khordad 2 and the events that followed it as a threat and continue to express pride in that the reforms were aborted and they do not oppose any of the major policies of the administration, which is where the fundamental problems of the country lie.
Therefore they cannot be put in the same category as the critics who care about the public good and are not in search of their own personal gain. Their actions are like a game, a game that is based upon personal and group gains. They don’t have an eye for the realities of Iran and those of the international community at large, and ultimately their sole aim is to sacrifice the person of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the one who is singlehandedly responsible for the large and small problems of Iranian society.
Because of this, reformists should not applaud for those who now air protests and criticism. Ahmadinejad’s departure and replacement by one of his conservative competitors will not resolve any of the fundamental issues facing Iranian society and therefore will not reopen the closed road of reform.
In fact and for this very reason, reformists must bypass the type of discussions that are currently taking place between the government and its critics in the conservative wing and which have become a media spectacle, and they should voice their criticism of the current situation in more fundamental and richer ways. Otherwise they will follow the conservatives into a mirage.
