Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, May 12, 2021
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| Ural Hatemi |
Sociologist Ural Hatemi spoke with Voice of America, analyzing the political and economic situation in Iran ahead of the June presidential elections, as well as the Iranian public's attitude toward the elections.
Ural Hatemi emphasizes that, compared to previous years, the Iranian population is now indifferent and hopeless ahead of the elections.
He adds, "Of course, these surveys have different variables. They consider responses from those who are sure to participate, those who have not yet made up their minds, and those who definitely do not want to participate. But in all of them, the widespread hopelessness in society is evident."
Ural Hatemi also evaluates the role of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the presidential elections:
"In Iran, there is no one who opposes Khamenei or challenges him. He does whatever he wants. From the coronavirus pandemic to the country's economy and military issues, Khamenei makes all the decisions in the country. Elections are the same."
Hatemi explains that all candidates first pass through the "Velayat-e Faqih" filter, meaning the institutions affiliated with Khamenei, and that the final decision is made by Khamenei himself:
"I don’t think the candidates presented to the public tomorrow will be introduced without Khamenei’s approval. These candidates go through various filters before reaching Khamenei. Khamenei will choose from among them. Even if he does not choose just one, he will select several and tell the people to choose from them! This is the so-called democracy in Iran, or as they call it, religious democracy."
In Iran's parliamentary and presidential elections, candidates make promises to meet the demands of various political, social, and ethnic groups. The current president, Hassan Rouhani, had promised during his election campaigns to introduce Turkish language education and establish a Turkish Language Institute in cities such as Tabriz and Urmia in Iranian Azerbaijan. However, approximately two weeks ago, he referred to the demand for mother-tongue education as a "conspiracy of enemies."
"Hassan Rouhani, on Teachers' Day, separated the issue of official/national language and local language in Iran. He claimed that the official recognition of the local language was a lie and a fake. He labeled those who wanted Turkish to be an official language in Iran as enemies. He said, 'this is the work of the enemies.' It was very meaningful that he made these comments just before the end of his presidency. His statement was a message to the people regarding those whom he would support in the upcoming elections. Or perhaps, it was a message to centralist and pan-Iranist groups, saying, 'Although I said those words 4 years ago, 8 years ago, my true thoughts are this.'"
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Ural Hatəmi: İranda seçkiləri Xameneyi və ona mənsub qurumlar yönləndirir