While in spite of the Syrian government’s opposition, the American Ambassador in Damascus, went to the center of the city to, as he put it, personally witness the Syrian people’s peaceful demonstrations and how the government forces dealt with it, in contrast, the American Ambassador in Baghdad, after lengthy diplomatic foot-dragging and silence, which signaled confusion and indecision, finally –presumably at the order of his respective Department– broke his silence and rushed to the aid of the new dictator of Iraq and his cleric masters in Tehran for “solving the problem of Ashraf,” and recommended to Mojahedin members at Ashraf to dissolve their organization and request asylum from the UN, and in the meantime, leave their place of residence and go to a place “a bit further from Iran!”
Well, hands down and eyes shut, I bet that Ashraf residents dropped all they were doing as soon as they heard of this life saving solution, and without losing a moment are now knocking at all doors, trying to find an official registrar’s office that happens to be open, so that they can dissolve their organization.
Unfortunately, the respected Ambassador forgot to instruct Maliki’s guards to allow them to leave Ashraf to attend to this task!
When you read that news, perhaps, or maybe even very possibly, you were reminded of Bertolt Brecht and his famous words:
“The people have forfeited the confidence of the government, the people should be dissolved!”
Like you, I thought of him too, but with a giant leap, my mind went back to the middle of the Vietnam War and the suggestions for ending the war through dialogue with the Vietcong. But there were rumors that the American military had concluded that dialogue should be conducted with good Vietcongs, and good Vietcongs were dead Vietcongs!
And this is the same tale. Of course, back then we were at the height of a cold war and in the middle of a warm war, but now, we are supposedly at a time of peace. For this, the American Administration has updated old beliefs: now, they ask the PMOI to dissolve their organization to be able to save their lives as refugees. “This is the Voice of America!”
Fortunately, unlike the McCarthy era, the U.S., even at the highest levels of the government, is no longer forced to a single voice; many American voices have testified to the righteousness and legitimacy of our resistance movement and continue to do so. However, the voiced opinion of an administration that has thus far refrained from expressing its wishes due to its excessive “bashfulness” very much illuminates the road to be taken: We must let the US Administration’s “solution” crumble upon its own head.
Then we can announce: This is the answer of the un-dissolvable people of Iran to the Voice of America.
Manouchehr Hezarkhani is a prominent and well-published Iranian writer, scholar and intellectual.
[Written in reference to US Ambassador in Iraq, James Jeffrey’s call for disbanding of PMOI in Ashraf]
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