Sweeping the Streets of Tehran
Nov 9th, 2009 by pedestrian
The late Ahmad Bourghani was deputy minister of culture under the Khatami administration. He was once the U.N correspondent for IRIB. During the war, he oversaw the War Information Press. Jahanshah Javid remembers him as the gentle giant.
He was one prominent example of the life and times of a young, raging revolutionary who had aged into wisdom, tolerance and a will to work for the betterment of Iran.
He passed away last year after a heart attack – at the age of 48. His ongoing battle with his his weight had long been a subject of his newspaper columns, speeches, and something he would bring up again and again oh so whimsically.
Who knew he would be gone so soon?
He is still fondly remembered in cultural circles as a dedicated father, a great man and a respected journalist and colleague. For those who knew him and his work, he is still greatly missed.
And then there are the grim reapers who sweep the streets of Tehran today.
Mohammad Ali Ramin has become deputy minister of culture in the new administration – the exact same position Bourghani once held.
Among other things, he’s infamous for heading the holocaust conference in Tehran and declaring to the world that “Tom and Jerry are Zionist entities”. It’s not really what he said – I too would argue of the “hidden agendas” behind almost everything we see and watch. But I listened to that speech in which he went through a nonsensical hodge podge of filth and absurdity.
Along with Mahsouli, Mahshaie and others, he is a member of the prominent “gang” that has appeared with Ahmadinejad.
Ramin’s first official (unannounced) visit as deputy was the office of reformist Etemad newspaper which he visited on Friday. He later had a meeting with the editor and journalists of that newspaper.
He said: “I’ve come here to tell you that we are friends, we are not rivals. If there is any rivalry, that is only in regards to supervision over newspapers. If you are worried about job security [journalists in Iran have long been vocal about how they have none in the IRI since newspapers close down so often] you must provide the political security of the establishment.”
[excuse me?]
“Sometimes you just say stupid things which I can personally overlook, but from a legal standpoint, I can not let them pass.”
The journalists asked him about his work experience and he replied: “it’s not like I have no experience. The story of my life is clear.”
Another journalist asked about a possible connection between his recent position at the ministry, the government’s subsidies bill, and the closing down of Sarmayeh newspaper [this is SUCH an important question. Sarmayeh was a newspaper with focus on the economy, and one of the only outlets left that was critical of Ahmadinejad's economic policies. It has been closed since last week]. Another journalist asked about the conditions of his colleagues who are in prison and asked that Ramin try and get them released.
Ramin replied to all these questions: “your questions are very simple-minded and naive. You think in simple terms, I am speaking on a macro level, about much more fundamental issues.”
Another reporter asked: “Is asking about article 9 of the media law and the closing of a newspaper with more than 50 staff not within your responsibilities?”
Ramin replied: “I spent my Friday [weekend] coming here, to answer these questions?”
Another reporter answered: “if you want to speak to us, you must hear what we have to say. You can’t be the sole speaker here.”
At this point, Ramin got up, and although Hazrati, Etemad’s editor-in-chief held his hand and asked him to stay, he shook his hand free and left the building.
As one commentator said on AyandehNews: “he was left baffled and couldn’t answer anyone’s questions so he just said if anybody has a problem come to Kahrizak and I’ll be at your service.”
i’m not a violent person but i’d really like to shove this guy’s head in a toilet
Inna, I hear ya!
I guess that’s the MAIN challenge for any non-violent movement. Attempting NOT to shove people’s heads in toilets when they very much deserve it. It’s not a small challenge, to say the least.
It’s striking, how much information a photograph conveys on the character of a person portrayed . It sometimes replaces a lie detector.
Isn’t that so German?
I was thinking the same thing when posting photos of Bourghani vs. Ramin. I mean, I know they say never judge a book by its cover, but some covers give away everything!
re portrait photos
It’s something new to me – this reflection of somebody’s life and character on his photographed face (no joke !).
It’s only now that I am finding that out – to be precise: since following your and Naj’s blog and comparing your texts with the portrait photos presented.
Let’s not go too far down that road. Physiognomy was dismissed as quackery nearly a hundred years ago. Leaving aside his looks, from his comments he sounds like a grade-A idiot–someone clearly not up to the job he’s been given. But he wouldn’t be the first and some of those before him may have even been well groomed and dressed. What his and his colleagues’ clothing, hair styles, etc. tell me is that these people are not far removed from village life and the unavoidably smaller mental vistas that village life promotes. Ahmadinejad, for one, was born a villager and grew up in a migrant household. The meek have finally inherited the earth but more and more it looks like they’re out to punish the rest rather than bring in an era of greater equality and freedom.
supp, I just found this Ramin vs. Bourghani’s portrait so telling. From everything I know of Bourghani, he was such a kind, jolly man. And I think it sieves through the photo.
Ramin, Mashaie, Ahmadinejad, Samareh Hashemi, etc … I’ve tried to look for these guys’ backgrounds. Some of them really do have murky backgrounds, at least there is no information available on them. others, are either villagers or came from really humble beginnings.
(e.g., Gholamhossein Elham is from Khuzestan and his last name used to be “sagvand”. He changed it quite recently in fact, after the war. His dad was a shepherd – thus the last name.)
I think that is quite in contrast with the earlier reformist crowd, like like Nabavi, Jalaiepour, Khatami, etc who all come from middle-class to quite affluent families.
“peace, peace” – my utterance was intended as just a passing, superficial aside and note, nothing more nor less !
German, so was mine!
I know !!!
I would like to get to know that human being, that haven’t been drowned in that ocean of friendliness, kindness, niceness, patience and politeness, called PEDESTRIAN.
Behaving like that you will hardly find anybody in your life contradicting you – ever !!!
That’s why I am going to to enroll, propose and register You as a special main exhibit –
under the title : “Just found: the 8th Wonder of the World”
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_of_the_World] –
- for the next Universal Exposition or Expo (short for “exposition”, and also known as World Fair and World’s Fair), i.e. possibly Edmonton EXPO 2017 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_EXPO_2017) !!!
I agree with Pedestrian regarding not using violence our people have been subject of enough violence already. But to be honest I hate them all, the whole clan, hate them for all the rapes all the tortures and unjust executions. But I mostly hate them for imprisoning freedom, for calling democracy a crime. I hate them for intimidating the entire nation by the fear they create. The whole system is so bloody sick and infected that it’s almost unbelievable.
At the same time the only way to fight them is avoiding to sink to their level by standing firm for democracy. These Guys are not stupid, they’re all the extended hand of a real dictator that’s all. They hate democratic movements more than we hate them.