Some weeks ago, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented Ali Kordan to the ‎country’s parliament, the Majlis, as the next minister of interior. Problems soon came up ‎when his doctoral degree was questioned. Now, as the final stages of the validation of his ‎doctoral degree near its end, it appears that not only have some authorities rejected his ‎doctoral degree but some have rejected his associate professorship position as well. This ‎is why some allies of the president have suggested that Kordan should voluntarily remove ‎himself from the candidacy, so justice is served. But it seems that to meet the calls of the ‎nation and the prevalence of justice a mere departure may not be adequate, and other ‎necessary steps must follow for justice to be truly served.‎

More than anything else, it is necessary to understand the roots and causes of such a ‎taxing development. Until the corrupt and unhealthy grounds for such events are not ‎clarified and plans to remove them are not in place, such ugly issues will again come up, ‎while it is clear that such events constitute only the apparent and a small fraction of the ‎actual problem. I will list some of the issues related to such incidents.‎

‎-‎ If the doctoral degree is fake and a forgery, to which official authorities are the ‎originals normally submitted? Do appropriate authorities not have any sensitivity ‎to such issues? Is it that they are not familiar with the issues or for a slew of ‎reasons, including courage, knowledge, etc, do not respond to such situations? ‎The impact and effect of any of these reasons is tens and hundreds of times more ‎destructive and negative than the forgery of a single document and the resignation ‎of the perpetrator.‎

‎-‎ Let’s assume that the minister resigns, how is one supposed to look at the tacit or ‎implicit support during the last two months (by individuals such as the president ‎himself) that was provided to him? What is the punishment for a person who ‎ignores a wrong and even engages in justifying it?‎

‎-‎ You probably remember that a few months ago when Mr. Palizdar was making ‎public revelations about senior state officials, government officials and ‎institutions immediately engaged in reject and denying the discreditory remarks, ‎and some even denied that he had ever worked for some of the government ‎agencies who m he had accused of corruption. But official and institutional ‎negations and rejections came despite the fact that there were official documents ‎indicating that Mr. Palisdar had actually worked for the institutions which he was ‎accusing of corruption and whose leaders were in denial. Regardless of all of this, ‎during the review of Kordan’s doctoral degree, even after Britain’s Oxford ‎University underscore that it had not issued such a degree to a person by that ‎name, most state institutions have not clearly stated their position. Why?‎

‎-‎ Why is Mr. Kordan being asked to remove himself as a candidate? If the issue is ‎not serious enough for the government to take the initiative in this regard, then ‎why must he remove himself? Why is the head of the government not specifically ‎asked to remove him? Did the ten earlier cabinet ministers who were dismissed by ‎the chief executive have more serious issues than the forged document that Mr. ‎Kordan has presented?‎

‎-‎ How do we really want to regain the lost trust of the public? Generally, the public ‎is not so much concerned about whether a Mr. A or a Mr. B is appointed to a ‎cabinet position. Such events impact the trust that the public has in the ‎government and the executive branch. The public is not concerned about battling ‎a liar, but about battling lies, and this has its own dynamics and necessities. These ‎necessities cannot me bet by a person who makes such a claim. ‎

‎-‎ If this person had not wanted to become a cabinet minister or had not been offered ‎such a position, then the issue of forged documents would have never come up, ‎while he would have continued to have benefited from the document as a faculty ‎member. It is interesting that I read yesterday that Mr. Kordan also has an ‎associate professorship position. Even if he resigns as a cabinet minister, how is ‎the fact that he has benefitted from a fake degree as an associate professor going ‎to be resolved? How is the structure and process through which one can become ‎an associate professor with a fake degree, and engage in teaching while enjoying ‎the benefits of the privileges that go with that position going to be reformed?‎

So one must conclude that while the resignation or dismissal of the person is ‎necessary, it is absolutely not sufficient. So a resignation, albeit a belated one, is only ‎a minor necessary step in improving an organization that normally allows such ‎problems to take place. Only future can tell whether even this small step will take ‎place. I am certain that even if the small step is taken, it will certainly not be followed ‎with the subsequent more serious and necessary steps.‎