wednesday Feb. 15,2006
News from Iran- Iran Emroozonline reporting from German Farsi Radio( DW )
- An interview by Mihandokht Mesbah
(QA)

Q : Mr.Salehi, in the last statement of the Association of Iran Writers , it spoke about testimonies indicating of fresh plans by the authority for limiting more of literary and cultural writings or restricting social and individual rights , how do you see the situation?

Mr. Seyed Ali Salehi - A : In general after some apparent oppenness and often truely during the time of reform we had fairly free newspapers which sometimes were publishing the views of the independent intellectuals and those who think different from regime but in the new government Mr. Ahmadinejad has changed the face of the socity more into militarism and therefore we can see more restriction especially in the area of printing,publishing and book, especially in todays' Iran literature and the modern literature. At present the book publication decreased which we haven't seen in previous year , the days are darker and the atmospher is more suffocating and our literary works particularly in the area of poetry, story and novel even translation when the publisher after following the bylaws of the Islamic Republic and sends the translation to the Ministry of Guidance and Culture for permission and then for publication faces harsh difficulties in a way that there is no new book being published and the publishers are very disappointed and at present they only sell what has been published previousely , we hear from our friends that they have sent their script to the ministry for permission to publish but was put up on hold .
There are only one or two newspaper which sometimes find enough courage to publish the works of the writers and again that is not easy because they are under pressure too, we also witnessed the closure of "Karnameh" and after that we had the closure of students publications in Tehran and other provinces and their license has been cancelled by those who are in the board of media watch dog .
After the ban on cultural material now we have the ban on political activities. Attack on public transit workers and the arrest of their leader Mr. Mansur Osanlou and 700 others including the wife of the workers , also we have the arrest of students in all over Iran and all of these activities teaches us that the closure , banning are geting bigger and deeper.

Q- The statement is asking individuals , independent and freedom loving organizations to have solidarity with the Association of Iran Writers. In addition to your openion and since the society recieving new militaristic face , really how can anyone resist into this pressures and how do you want the solidarity be ?

A-Seyed Ali Salehi : The history has proven that it is possible to disappoint a nation , to suppress a nation and push them to a corner but this won't be continued always . Our hopes and dreams cant be controlled , today and tomorrow they can control us , murder us and make us to retire but at the end what would they do with our dreams? When the Association of writers releases a communique and invites the independent organizations and personalities to resist in front of these choas and closures , in reality it is seeking for a cultural movement which has the political results . In this situation our nation has proven that they won't be defeated and will protect its happiness and unity eventhough it is limited. Of course i have to admit that we have become used to this! If they have special alphabet for controling us we have also our special alphabet to resist and not to let the days get darker.

Q- Mr. Salehi , the revolutionin in Iran have entered in its 27 years, and still the daily slogan is; the return to the values and demands of those days. everyone who is active in literature and culture knows that in those years, on the eve of the revolution the poetry reading at night and activities by writers and poets had so much effect on inflaming the revolution .How did you think 27 years ago and how do you think now?

A- Well, It is very difficult to answer to this question which need a deep and extended treatise with special focus in order to arrive to a correct result, but the truth the matter is not only me , but also many who are now in the position as an authority of this society and government could not believe today after 27 years they would arrive at this point. Who would think that the economic corruption and corruption in government organizationz will bring the society to this dead ends, all of us and all the people were thinking that we will become free from despotism,but unfortunately the taste of power and the habit of power particularly the political and economic power always bring corruption, the corruption not only bring the people to its knees but also bring the every system to its knees. The enemy of all dictators and despotic regimes is the corruption that they creat. We are sorry ! We had hope, an idealistic one that we can arrive to a relative national prosperity and the basic rights of the people will be observed but it diden't, this is a reality that the government officials themselves agree on this ,the other problem which we should not forget is that the social phnomenae in the region and as well as the world helped the days and the special socio-political situation in Middle East to become darker. We could even gradually move towards a kind of reform and become close to a civil society typical of eastern third world, but when our society was ready to put forward a fair dialogue with despotism and resist in front of it , we see the U.S. attack on Middle East and the dream of enlarged Middle East and therefore if the society in Iran took a militaristic face a part of it to be blamed to foriegn threat and we hope that the society in Iran become more calm and really it dosent worth that the human become these much greedy and like the wolf attacking other human.

Q- You think it is still early to say that; for all the dreams that we have lost we must elegize ?

A- Never I believed in elegy , It is better i will say by speaking , what has happened to us is the elegy . We speak of sun while living in dark and in the middle of mourning we won't forget the happiness, we have no other choice than to become the hostage of hope , light and happiness . the national mournful songs and particularly what can spread the disappointment can lead to collective betrayal , No ! We will resist and will never become disappointed , if we are confronting the internal despotism, it dosent mean that we welcome the oppression, tyranny and presence of foreign forces , but we will stand in front of that too.

Q- Mr. Salehi , thank you very much for explaining to us.

End/

Translated by IRAN WATCH CANADA

Link to this news in Farsi:

http://asre-nou.net/1384/bahman/23/m-salehi.html