February 12, 2002 Millions in Iran Rally Against U.S. By NEIL MacFARQUHAR TEHRAN, Feb. 11 — Millions of Iranians galvanized by President Bush's branding of their nation as part of an "axis of evil" marched in a nationwide pep rally today that harkened back to the early days of the Islamic revolution, with the American flag burned for the first time in recent memory. Amid the dirgelike chants of "Death to America!" marking the revolution's 23rd anniversary, President Mohammad Khatami tried to display Iran's milder face, stressing his government's interest in détente. Ever since Mr. Bush designated Iran part of an international terrorist network open to American attack, conservatives in Iran have been greatly buoyed, trying to use a resurgence of disgust with America to quash reform at home, daily denouncing Washington and exhorting Iranians to follow suit. This has made it difficult for President Khatami to preserve his reformist agenda of promoting democracy and rooting out corruption — an agenda he emphasized today before he, too, criticized American foreign policy. "Our policy is a policy of détente," Mr. Khatami told the throng clogging all avenues to Freedom Square in Tehran. "We intend to have ties and peaceful relations with all nations in the world," except Israel. Although less strident than his old guard foes, Mr. Khatami suggested that the United States was partly to blame for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "The American people," he said, "should ask today how much of the awful and terrifying incidents of Sept. 11 were due to terrorist acts, and how much of it was due to the foreign policy adopted by American officials." The threat to Iran "originates from the fact that America, or at least some of its officials, see themselves as masters of the world," Mr. Khatami said. "Since they have power, they want to force the world to obey them and exert pressure on countries that disobey. Your revolution threatened America's illegitimate interests in the region, so it is obvious that you are the target of its animosity." After each important line, the orderly crowd burst into another round of "Death to America!" and waved a variety of signs, including one in English quoting the late revolutionary patriarch, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, saying, "The U.S. cannot do a damn thing." The chanting switched occasionally to "Death to Bush!" One man wrapped his white donkey in a hand- painted American flag with "Bush" written on the side, while a truck carried a huge poster mounted with five large close-up photographs of the American president next to five similarly sized pictures of an ape. In his State of the Union address on Jan. 29, Mr. Bush singled out Iran for trying to develop weapons of mass destruction and for its support for groups like Hezbollah that the United States labels terrorists. In addition, Washington has recently accused Iran of sending weapons to the Palestinians, of trying to undermine the effort to build a stable central government in Afghanistan and of helping Al Qaeda members to escape. In suggesting that the United States review its own foreign policy rather than cast aspersions, Mr. Khatami specifically cited what he depicted as the plight of Palestinians denied human rights because of American support for Israel. The threats expressed by Mr. Bush and other administration officials over the last two weeks surprised many in Iran. In some ways, they have united the reformists and the old guard here in criticism of the United States; in other ways, they have strengthened the hand of the conservatives. "Any time we face international problems, democracy stops," said Ali Reza Haghighi, a political science professor. "Now all the discourse must be against the Americans." Mr. Khatami worked to keep his reformist agenda alive. "Some people must not object that we are talking so much about democracy, religious democracy," he said. "The stress on democracy is the soul of the Islamic revolution." Mr. Khatami's supporters had envisioned the efforts to rebuild Afghanistan as a kind of side door to re- establishing ties with Washington, a prospect that alarmed the hard-liners who still control many of the levers of power here. Mr. Bush's remarks thus delighted the old guard, which gleefully presented them as evidence that the American attitude toward Tehran remained unchanged, no matter that Iran helped in toppling the Taliban. The reformists, while critical of America, have tried to suggest that the actions Mr. Bush criticized were the work of shadowy groups within the Iranian elite who want to keep the country isolated and autocratic. Possibly reflecting uncertainty over how to deal with an American- backed government in Kabul, Afghanistan was barely mentioned at the rally. "The Taliban were a major bête noire," said one Western diplomat. "But now they see a U.S. colony with bases developing in their backyard and they don't know how to handle it." At the rally, Iranians were generally polite to the few Western reporters in their midst, saying things like "Welcome to Iran." But there were occasional outbursts of animosity. "Garbage!" "Pigs!" "Get out of here!" shouted one woman, while a man veered close to say, "I would like to punch America right in the mouth!" at which point the crowd edged in, bellowing "Death to America!" While the size of the Tehran crowd was impossible to estimate authoritatively, the wide avenues and highways leading to Freedom Square in Tehran were jammed with hundreds of thousands of people. Iranian television suggested that millions turned out across the country, showing pictures of jammed streets in every city. Marchers said they were more galvanized than in years past because they felt maligned by President Bush. The turnout also reflected the daily exhortations to attend that accompanied every news bulletin since Mr. Bush's speech. Employees at various government ministries said they had been told to go. The calls to attend did not move everyone. In affluent north Tehran, where one occasionally hears support for the idea that Mr. Bush should carry through with his threat to bomb, cars laden with skis headed out of town toward the slopes. As marchers headed toward the rally, periodically one would step out of the crowd to offer spontaneous thoughts about the day. "As long as our revolution is against America, we support it," said one man, wagging his finger. "The day there is peace between this country and America, the revolution is over." After 23 years, though, the sense of brooding menace that pervaded marches of the past had mellowed. This one felt more like a carnival, complete with a gold coin on offer for the best Uncle Sam effigy. A yellow banner painted with giant letters in Persian was stretched across one overpass. In the early days of the Islamic Republic it would have been read as "America Is the Greatest Satan." But today the lettering helpfully included its own English translation, reading, "America Is Extremely Naughty”. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/12/international/middleeast/12IRAN.html
Jeff: This rally was bought and paid for by the mullahs. But I really don't blame them; they are scared s*itless of the indigenous democracy movement. Being put on the frontburner by Bush has got to have the mullahs quaking over their long-term prospects for survival. Another article from the New Yorker: SHADOW LAND by JOE KLEIN Who's winning the fight for Iran's future? On the evening of September 11, 2001, about two hundred young people gathered in Madar Square, on the north side of Tehran, in a spontaneous candlelight vigil to express sympathy and support for the United States. A second vigil, the next night, was attacked by the basij, a volunteer force of religious vigilantes, and then dispersed by the police. The vigils may have been the only pro-American demonstrations in the Islamic world after the terrorist attacks on the United States… http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?020218fa_FACT It’s a very long article, so I’m not going to post it all here, but it is a very good one. It has none of my usual slant, either, so it's probably safe for you to read, Jeff . I’d advise reading it if you’re really interested in what's going on on the other side of the curtain.
