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DECEMBER 1999, pages 113-114 Human Rights
Stephen Fairbanks, director of the Persian Service at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, spoke on Oct. 6, 1999, at the Woodrow Wilson Center on “The Struggle over Democratic Reform in Iran.” Fairbanks, a former guest scholar at the Wilson Center who also served for many years as a State Department analyst on Iran, focused on changes in Iran since this summer’s student demonstrations. The struggle for democratic reforms in Iran will be a continuous one, he predicted, with the movement being neither suddenly successful nor suddenly suppressed. In the July demonstrations, the reformers were not out to upset the system, but rather to bring about democratic reforms within the structure of the Islamic Republic. Their goals were and are: fair elections where candidates are the people’s choice without the vetting power of the Council of Guardians, a free press, and the rule of law rather than the arbitrary rule of the few. None of these is a threat to the Islamic Republic, Fairbanks pointed out, but the conservatives are “not ready for an early retirement” and have not taken these developments lying down. While during the summer the conservatives showed some tolerance for the change-seekers, this has decreased significantly since. While the West treats the Iranian newspaper wars almost as a comical side show, Fairbanks noted that there is subtle evidence in the Iranian press for the decreasing tolerance of dissenting views. In the press, the conservatives have taken to painting the reformists as falling outside of the system and as being foreign stooges, counter-revolutionaries, and even heretics. The struggle between reformers and conservatives continues beyond the newspapers. In the courts the conservatives use reforming President Mohammed Khatami’s promise of the rule of law to their advantage. As they control the Majlis, the courts, and the security apparatus, they are able to stymie reform by upholding the rule of law. Khatami, according to the Republic’s constitution, cannot interfere in legal matters. The conservatives thus can make new laws that give them the advantage. Fairbanks’ two examples were the Council of Guardians and the press laws. Through the first of these laws, the conservatives look to maintain their power to vet candidates without having to support their decision in writing. Through the latter, they aim to make it easier to control the press by giving a judge more say in the selection of a jury (although a judge also can overturn a jury’s decision), and empowering a judge to close a publication and imprison its owner without a hearing. None of these developments auger particularly well for the reformists, though Fairbanks stated it was too early to predict a total suppression of the movement. Supporters of reform, especially the students and the press, have shown a bold tenacity. The threat and use of force have not dimmed the students’ calls for change, and new publications open as soon as one is closed. However, Fairbanks said, leaders of both camps have a mutual interest in maintaining the integrity of the Islamic Republic and of the Revolution. And although both President Khatami and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have allowed their supporters to vent their frustrations, neither has allowed the situation to escalate into further violence. Nevertheless, Fairbanks said, while the seeming mutual understanding of Khatami and Khamenei point to the possibility of finding a common center, the potential for violence remains great. —Hugh Galford
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was the keynote speaker at a Sept. 28 forum on “Women in International Law: A Closer Look at the Arab and Muslim World,” jointly hosted by Hannibal Club U.S.A., the Tunisian Embassy and the President’s Interagency Council on Women. Tunisian Ambassador to the United States Noureddine Mejdoub welcomed O’Connor, whose appointment 18 years ago made her the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Discussing women’s legal and political achievements in the U.S. and the Middle East, O’Connor said that “while women have made tremendous advances in this century, the process of achieving gender equality is still an ongoing one, in this country and throughout the world. In many respects, we have traveled far, although we have a way yet to go. We remember the old adage that ‘the test of every civilization is the position of women in the society.’ “I think that the experience of women in the United States shows that dramatic change can occur only when members of a large group surmount their individual differences and unite in pursuit of a concrete goal,” O’Connor asserted. “The two most significant accomplishments of the American women’s movement—winning the vote and gaining mass entry to the working world—were the products of a rare consensus among adherents of widely divergent philosophies. It has only been when we women have cast aside our differences and forged common ground that we have achieved meaningful change.” The next speaker was Dr. Azizah Yahia al-Hibri, a professor of law at the University of Richmond who is of Lebanese origin and the author of many highly acclaimed articles on Muslim women’s rights. She said that one of the fundamental themes in Islam is that no human being is more favored than another, and that all are equal, including women. “Put into today’s legal language,” Dr. al-Hibri said, “the Qur’an engages in affirmative action with respect to women,” providing women with added security in a difficult patriarchal world. Some of the problems women face in Muslim societies are caused by existing patriarchal bias in their cultures, not by Islam. Pious Muslim women may opt to obey rather than question cultural rules, but Dr. al-Hibri said they should read the Qur’an for themselves to learn about the many rights the Qur’an gives to women with regard to marriage, work, education, owning property, inheritance, and participation in public prayers and politics. Listing the strides Middle Eastern countries have made toward equal rights, Dr. al-Hibri concluded by saying, “Women are demanding their God-given rights but doing it in the Qur’anic spirit.” Member of the Tunisian Parliament Houda Kanoun, who is on the executive board of the Arab-African Forum on Population and Development, discussed the long history of tolerance and openness for women in Tunisia. Tunisia’s Personal Status Code, enacted in 1956, stipulated that no woman could be married without her consent and that the minimum marriage age was 17. Polygamy and repudiation were abolished and various other laws were passed to safeguard rights in marriage and inheritance. Judge Akila Jarraya, a magistrate in Tunisia since 1975 and the first Tunisian woman to be appointed public prosecutor and a counselor of Tunisia’s Supreme Court, discussed women’s rights and achievements in Tunisian legislation and jurisprudence. Director of the President’s Interagency Council on Women Theresa A. Loar moderated the forum. She is also senior coordinator for international women’s issues at the U.S. Department of State. First Lady Hillary Clinton’s Chief of Staff Melanne Verveer described women’s rights in Tunisia as a model not only for the Arab world but for the whole world. —Delinda C. Hanley
Members of the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu demonstrated outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC on Sept. 30. Former Israeli nuclear technician Vanunu was lured in 1986 from the UK to Italy by Israel’s Mossad and then kidnapped to Israel, where he was convicted in a secret trial for releasing information to the London SundayTimes confirming his country’s nuclear weapon’s program. By now he has served 13 years of an 18-year sentence. Among the Washington, DC demonstrators were Mary and Nicholas Eoloff from St. Paul, Minnesota, who have legally adopted Vanunu. Earlier this year, members of Congress, including Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-MI) asked President Bill Clinton to intervene on the whistle-blower’s behalf. The president said, “I also share your concerns about the Israeli nuclear program. We have repeatedly urged Israel and other non-parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty to adhere to the treaty and accept comprehensive International Atomic Energy safeguards.” Simultaneous demonstrations by international peace groups demanding Vanunu’s release were held around the world. He remains the world’s longest-held anti-nuclear prisoner. —Delinda C. Hanley |
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