Reformist Newspaper Banned for Causing Division!

After Hashemi Rafsanjani reiterated once again last Thursday that “Today we cannot hide anymore, the problem of division is serious,” several prominent conservatives once again spoke of the so-called “unity” plan.  Meanwhile, yesterday, the reformist Hayat-e No daily was banned for “implying division” through publishing Hashemi Rafsanjani’s remarks.

In a related remark, ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, a conservative ground ayatollah, told the website Jamaran that the protesters fall into two categories of “majority and minority,” adding, “We must sit down and negotiate until we reach an agreement… Continuing the present path will lead to nothing other than anarchy and disorder.”

Meanwhile, Mohammad Gharavi, a senior member of the Qom Seminary School Teachers Association said, “The misunderstandings must be resolved and the criticism of those who adhere to the regime must be noted.”  He added, “If the recent events were managed well, the country would not have ended up here.  Therefore we must all work with each other and not fan divisions.”  

Ayatollah Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, the supreme leader’s representative in the province of Khorasan and powerful head of the eighth Shia Imam shrine, yesterday spoke about the necessity of “unity” in the nation, noting, “Power is fleeting, sooner or later we will all go and others will replace us.  Let us not make the future generation curse us.”

In another remark, Mohammad Nabi Habibi, secretary general of the conservative Islamic Coalition Society (Hezb-e Motalefe), stated, “We must help and cooperate in decisions-making and preserve our unity in future elections as well.”

Before that, Ali Larijani, the eighth Majlis speaker had announced, “If someone takes a radical look towards the present situation, he must move towards unity and cooperation.  Those who, for whatever small reason, use demeaning and insulting language to threaten and accuse people, engage in treacherous acts and must be confronted.”

These remarks are made after last Thursday Hashemi Rafsanjani repeated his prior statements about “responding to doubts, releasing prisoners and reconcile with those harmed and the people,” adding, “I think other than the supreme leader no one else can restore unity, and we must all help the leader to create an atmosphere of cooperation so that people are satisfied.”

Opponents of “Unity Plan”

While based on the published reports, the so-called “unity” is being pursued again by Hashemi Rafsanjani and several prominent conservative figures, supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have repeatedly dismissed the plan for “unity with opponents of the regime.”

Mohammad Ali Jafari, the head of the Islamic Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC), said a while ago: “There can be no unity with those who break the law and oppose people’s votes.  These people must first apologize to the nation.  The aim of such plans is to protect them from being exposed to the public.”

Meanwhile, Hossein Shariatmadari, the supreme leader’s representative at the Kayhan Foundation, referred to protesters as traitors and wrote about proponents of the “unity plan” in his newspaper: “Those who have violated the law and openly stepped on people’s rights and crossed the regime’s boundaries are a group of criminals that must answer the law and the people.  They must be investigated by the judiciary.  Nowhere in the world are hand of friendship extended to criminals.”  

In the latest move by Ahmadinejad’s supporters against the unity plan, yesterday Hayat-e No newspaper, which had published Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ali Larijani’s remarks on Saturday regarding the existence of division in the country, was banned.

The interesting point about Hayat-e No ban is that it was the fourth newspaper, after Aftab-e Yaz, Asrar and Etemad, that has received a written warning by the press division of the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance for publishing Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ali Larijani’s remarks.  

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration’s ministry of culture and Islamic guidance has announced regarding issuing written warnings to these newspapers and Hayat-e No’s ban that “The aforementioned newspapers chose their front-page headlines or articles in a manner so as to create the inference of division and disunity for the readers among the country’s officials.”