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TEHRAN (News Agencies)-Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has launched a strong attack on reformist sections of the Iranian press, accusing some newspapers of acting as a base for foreign enemies. And he strongly attacked the United States in its quest to impose global domination. "There are 10 to 15 [reformist] papers writing as if they are directed from one center, undermining Islamic and revolutionary principles, insulting constitutional bodies and creating tension and discord in society," said Khamenei to an estimated 100,000 youths in Tehran's Grand Mosque. He added, “I warn against any illegal action by any person due to emotion and support for this or that person. I'll not allow this.” Hardliners who say the reforms betray the ideals of the 1979 Islamic revolution are often accused of using heavy-handed measures against opponents. They have used vigilante groups and members of the security forces to attack or intimidate critics. Khamenei accused the pro-reform press of becoming the "bases of the enemy" in Iran and going along with "American, British and Zionist media." Khamenei’s audience denounced the reformist media, chanting "death to mercenary writers" and "shame on you, hypocrites, leave the press." President Khatami and his allies want to loosen rigid Islamic laws and social restrictions that have been in place since the 1979 Islamic revolution brought the Shi’a clergy to power. The most visible sign of Khatami's reform program since his election in 1997 has been the emergence of an outspoken press that has questioned the actions of the hard-liners, who control key institutions like the military, the broadcast network and the judiciary. The debate on the media began when a number of prominent reformers returned from a Berlin seminar on democratic reform in Iran. A court, accusing them of making speeches against the system and religious principles of the Islamic Republic, summoned them to appear before a revolutionary court. The Revolutionary Guards, who are under the personal authority of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have called for national demonstrations on Friday to express outrage at the conference. The seminar, sponsored by a foundation associated with the German Green Party, studied the political situation in Iran in the aftermath of the February general elections, in which the reformists scored a sweeping victory. On Tuesday, Iran state television broadcast extensive footage of the seminar's stormy opening session. Reports say Iranian exiles from the opposition People's Mujahadeen were shown accusing the Khatami government of human rights violations. And a woman dressed indecently by Islamic standards was portrayed performing a provocative oriental dance. The Iranian reformers were also shown apparently attacking the Islamic regime, including press censorship and political repression in Iran. The images caused uproar after their broadcast by Iranian state television. Reformists themselves, clearly embarrassed by the affair, were outraged by the broadcast. They accused state television of trying to create conditions, which would make it impossible for the new reformist-dominated parliament to take over at the end of May. The defendants include reformist cleric Yussefi Eshkevari, investigative journalist Akbar Ganji and Ezzatollah Sahabi of the banned but tolerated secular party, the Iran Freedom Movement. |
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