Muhammad Reza Khatami, the Islamic
Iran Participtation Front (IIPF) leader, issued the warning during
a party
congress on Thursday.
The congress is taking place amid signs that voter frustration could
deal the embattled reformist camp a serious defeat in upcoming elections.
"Reformists are trying to prevent the present social movement
from being transformed into a violent political revolt or into a
scenario of an overthrow (of the government) from outside the country,"
he said.
Reforms
"Reforms will continue and deepen in a movement that is calm and
progressive."
"We are confronted by two visions of the Islamic republic,"
Muhammad Reza, the brother of the Iranian president, said.
He was referring to conservative-run courts and legislative
oversight bodies who favour "power without limits" on one side, and
"those who believe everything must be done in accordance with the
law" - the reformists - on the other.
"The reformist movement always respects the framework of the
law and non-violence," he asserted.
Religious leaders
He also hit out at the Islamic republic's powerful religious leaders
for turning the burgeoning youth population away from
their faith and country.
"A great part of the youth are fleeing religion, in particular
the social role of religion," the younger brother of the president
said.
"I say clearly that when people are fleeing religion and the
Islamic republic, the reason is a violent and dictatorial
interpretation of religion."
The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 20 February
,
2004.
|
"Reformists are trying to prevent the present social movement from being transformed into a violent political revolt or into a
scenario of an overthrow (of the government) from outside the country"
Muhammad Reza Khatami,
Iranian reformist leader |
Voter apathy
Led by the IIPF and rallying around President Muhammad Khatami,
the reformists have controlled Iran's parliament since 2000, when
they swept to power on a youth vote and a platform of shaking up the
way Iran is governed.
But little of their agenda has made it into law, leading to
major frustration among young people, students and women who rallied
behind the movement.
The cause, reformists complain, is the overwhelming power
wielded by conservatives in the judiciary, state media, security forces
and legislative watchdogs.
Initiatives passed by a parliament are
stymied by conservatives who see them as trying to undermine the
foundations of the state.
An attempt by parliament to give greater powers to the president and
strip conservative oversight bodies of their right to vet electoral
candidates, also appears to have
failed.
Frustration
Amid widepsread frustration with the deadlock, voters showed
their disdain in February 2003, when municipal elections saw an
all-time low turnout for a country where voter participation
regularly exceeds three-quarters of the electorate.
With just a tiny percentage of people bothering to cast their
ballots, conservatives - relying on a committed hardcore support
base - won the day.
Analysts see the very same happening in February. Some radical
reformers have even called for a boycott of the elections, taking a
stand against conservatives and forcing a political crisis rather than
lose the elections.
But a number of IIPF delegates said the issue of a boycott would
probably not yet be decided during the congress, as they were not
yet certain that frustration among their supporters would lead to a
low turnout.
One delegate said a low turnout may be expected in cities such
as Tehran, but that reformists were still optimistic of strong
support in provincial areas.