An iron fist won”t resolve the fact that Iranians have lost trust in their leaders
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei effectively warned the Iranian people on Friday that future protests over the recent presidential election will be met with a harsh response from the regime. Moreover he warned that protest leaders would be held "responsible" for any bloodshed that might result from the "chaos" to come.
Khamenei”s thinly veiled threat of violence may succeed in putting down the demonstrations in the short term. But an iron fist will not solve what appears to be Iran”s bigger problem: the fact that such a large number of Iranians have apparently lost trust in their government.
Tens of thousands of them have been taking to the streets to express their outrage over what they believe was a rigged presidential election. But this segment of the Iranian population”s confidence in their government was probably not eroded by a single act, and the protests are likely about more than just the recent polls.
It has taken Khamenei and those behind him years to lose the trust of so many Iranians, and it could take years more for them to restore this constituency”s faith in the regime.
One thing is clear: This situation needs to be rectified if the Islamic Republic of Iran is to survive into the next decade. Since the 19th century, Iranians have shown a penchant for street politics, and whenever they have protested in large numbers, they have done so with dramatic effect in both their country and the broader region.
The Iranian regime can try to employ force to quell the country”s current round of street protests, but this will do nothing to safeguard the Islamic Republic from the inherent danger of a large segment the public”s lack of trust toward the government. If left undressed, this mass sentiment of mistrust will only rear its head again in the future, possibly in a far more violent manner.
The Iranian leadership needs to show competence, sensitivity and concern toward those who have expressed their doubts about the legitimacy of the regime. A good example of what not to do was provided this week by the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who publicly belittled the demonstrators by describing them as "specks and chips" and likening them to angry soccer fans whose team had lost a game.
Iran”s protesters need to be made to feel that they are every bit as important to the country as Ahmadinejad”s supporters. They also need to be given room to express their opinions in a peaceful manner.
The supreme leader has said that Ahmadinejad is the president of all Iranians, and that all citizens should therefore support him. But the duties of the governor and the governed go both ways: Iran”s leaders must also be responsive toward all Iranians.