By: The Kurdistan Voice

Kawa Ahangari, born in 1973 in Bokan, a city of Urmia Province, graduated from Rasht University in Sociology, become a secret member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) after his graduation. He has lived in Belgium from 2003 and continued his study in the Open University of Brussels in Political science. He has been active as a representative of the PDKI in the European Union and in the party’s relationship with the other Iranian opposition parties. He writes on politics in Iran and in Kurdistan particularly. Now, he is the PDKI’s representative in Belgium.

The Kurdistan Voice: The recent presidential election is one of most talked debates in the Iranian websites and newspapers inside and abroad even after passing more than two weeks. One of the topics is vote rigging in the benefit of Raeesi as the main competitor of Rouhani, while Raeesi and his advocates continue to their claims about the election fraud by the Rouhani side yet. Why has not the Islamic Republic of Iran responded officially to these claims?

Kawa Ahangari : Your question brings to mind that the Islamic Republic is different from Raeesi, Rouhanim, Ghalibaf and the security and military organizations while the main affective officials in the system are exactly the same persons who accuse each other side to convict of fraud. The election is the real fraud because it is not complied with the democratic principles and norms and the universal standards, for instance, the lack of political parties, existing the approval supervising, filtering the candidates and only approving a few candidates to compete and even forcing the people to attend to the polling stations. This is only half of the story, because there is another decision-maker that can say the last word and all of the candidates, despite being informed of it, cannot show any reaction. The main decision-maker led by the Iran’s leader Khamenei is a decision-maker group that decides how the result must be published and whom must be declared as winner. Therefore, there is no way to investigate on the claims expressed by the candidates. Moreover, before the elections, Khamenei stated that all the candidates must accept any person who will be declared as the winner.

 

The Kurdistan Voice: Although the human rights centers publish daily the news related to suppressing the Iranian nationality minorities, their turnout in the elections wan not so lower than the general turnout across the country, according to the official statistics. What are the causes?

Kawa Ahangari : There is not any reliable and neutral source to know what is the exact level of Kurdish turnout in the elections. When Raeesi as one of the candidates and the main competitor of Rouhani does not accept the results, why we could think that the Kurdish turnout was not less than the other people’s turnout. Taking into account the election manipulation and fraud, we cannot trust the statistics.

Besides, the Iranians’ turnout does not mean the people are satisfied with the regime and Rouhani at all. there are so elements that worked as stimulation for the people’s participation such as: the people’s economic problems so that the Social Commission of the Iran’s Assembly has declared that around 60 percent of the people are under the poor line; 6 million people are unemployed; there is 10 million drug addicted; 18 million people live in slums and so on. Moreover, the lack of freedom of speech, the lack of political parties and organization to take part in the process and mainly the lack of a free election cause the people have a reactionary behavior during these events. In other words, we can say there is not a sort of organized resistance among the Iranians against the regime, so I don’t agree with having more expectation from such people whom have been taken the hostage by the regime. Whenever a democratic and trustful alternative with a determined discourse and political program to fight the regime is established, the people’s behavior concern to the elections would be different.

 

The Kurdistan Voice : Mawlawi Abdolhamid, the Friday Prayer Leader in Zahedan as a famous balouch and Sunni clergy in Iran declared this support to Hassan Rouhani during the recent elections. In a speech, he spoke about the importance of separation of religion and government. Could we consider these remarks as a turning point in the election campaigns? Could these influence on the Iranian authorities?

Kawa Ahangari: No, it cannot be considered as a turning point and does not impact on the Iranian authorities.

Frist of all, Mawlawi Abdolhamid has not talked clearly about separation of religion and government. If he believed in separation of religion and government, he would speak on with Ayatollah Khamenei because Mawlawi is his representative in Zahedan. By getting attention to that Khamenei as a religious figure is the highest authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran, any attempt to separating the religious power and the political power must be started from him who is the higher authority of Mawlawi.

Second, the idea of separation of religion and government in Iran has a long history. Besides, Mawlawi’s attendance in a salon of the Interior Ministry and his speech are seen as an attempt to marginalizing the Sunni population of the country and give advantage to Rouhani and the regime at all. I see it as a reaction against the regime’s opposition groups and not more.

 

The Kurdistan Voice : The voice of pro-boycott campaign has not been heard so loudly. What are the problems? What is your opinion about the power of the pro-boycott campaign for the recent elections?

Kawa Ahangari: So many elements were utilized against the pro-boycott campaign such as, the lack of strong media for publishing the message of pro-boycott side; the lack of an alliance of the opposition groups to be known as an alternative by the people and for spreading hope among the people; the regime’s soft war especially this time aim at dividing the pro-boycott campaign and mobilizing the people to attend the polling station; coinciding the presidential elections with the City and Village Councils’ elections and so on.

I believe that the boycott level was not low, because even based on the formal statistics published by the regime, 41 percent of the people did not cast their ballots. I think this level in a close system and security situation is significant and hopeful. Besides, the regime’s secrets were revealed more than previous terms and the pro-boycott campaign provided and offered better and more thoughtful analysis comparing to the previous terms. In other words, the pro-boycott campaign took more steps toward a unit and coordinated discourse-action which was a good achievement for the campaign.

 

The Kurdistan Voice : You have participated a few times in the Iran-base meetings and conferences in the European Parliament. It was likely that the European countries were wanting the reelection of Rouhani as the Iran’s president. Last week, Rouhani in a telephone conversation pledged the Russian President Vladimir Putin to promote bilateral and regional cooperation with Russia. Why does not the European Union do something against the strategic relationship of Iran and Russia? Could Rouhani and his reformist advocates impact on the equation inside Iran so that Iran takes some distance with Russia and has close relationship with the Europe?

Kawa Ahangari : The European countries seek their interests at all, so their relationship with other countries is based on their national interests. In case of the alliance between Iran and Russia, I believe in the influence of the United States rather the Europe. The possible agreement between the Trump administration and Russia can change the equations. Those principles that we must emphasize on them in the European Parliament are the western values like the human rights, democracy, freedom, justice, fighting with discrimination, etc. We can talk about these principles and remind them and demand them to not forget these values in their relationship with Iran. The importance is the Iranian Nationalities’ willing and their organized struggle. If there is a pragmatic and planned struggle, I am sure that the Westerners would support the people’s movement and leave the regime alone.