‘Liberal’ Iran Govt leaders quit in protest
NZPA-Reuter Teheran Two top men in the Government of post-revolution-ary Iran have left their jobs, revealing for the first time bitter divisions in the religous leadership and tensions between the civilian and religious leaders that threaten to split the Administration.
The latest to leave is the Foreign Minister, (Dr Karim Sanjabi). His resignation has been accepted by the Government, according to a member of his household.
Dr Sanjabi was the first Minister to be named for the Cabinet of the Prime Minister (Dr Mehdi Bazargan) after the February revolution which toppled the Shah. According to the Teheran daily “Ayandegan,” Dr Sanjabi wrote in his letter of resignation to the Prime Minister: “In view of the fact that under the present circumstances it is not possible to make any progress and in view of the common responsibility of all Ministers in all the affairs of the country, it is no longer possible for me to continue in office and I hereby announce by resignation.” Dr Sanjabi tried to resign last month for reasons that were not made clear.
Earlier, Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani, Iran’s most popular religious leader after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeiny, left his home and has gone into hiding to protest about “the trampled rights of the Iranian people,” according to his aides.
It was the first sign of important differences among the Shiite Muslim leaders who wield most power in post-revolutianary Iran. Ayatollah Taleghani was also protesting against “irresponsible elements and the existence of illegal prisons,” his aides said. Several thousand Iranians from all walks of life marched from various directions to his home in central Teheran on Sunday
to support him, carrying portraits of him and chanting “Taleghani, you are the people’s hope.” The incident which touched off Ayatollah Taleghani’s protest was the twoday arrest and beating last week of two of his sons by Islamic Revolutionary Guards, the armed civilians who took over security work after the February revolution. The incident reflected the vagueness of Iran’s power structure. A shadowy Revolutionary Council, believed to be headed by Ayatollah Khomeiny, pulls most strings, but local Islamic revolutionary committees take the law into their own hands.
Ayatollah Taleghani's protest appeared to be the climax of earlier disagreements between himself, considered a liberal among the religious leaders, and Islamic fundamentalists such as Ayatollah Khomeiny.
When Ayatollah Khomeiny said soon after the revolution that Iranian women must keep themselves covered in veils or chador cloaks, it was Ayatollah Taleghani who appeased women’s rights demonstrators by issuing a watereddown explanation of Ayatollah Khomeiny’s remarks.
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Press, 17 April 1979, Page 9
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428‘Liberal’ Iran Govt leaders quit in protest Press, 17 April 1979, Page 9
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