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Iranian view of Afghan elections

By M.Behnoud

Various and cautious reactions by Iranian officials and media to Afghanistan's presidential elections (9 October 2004) which against their previous prophecies turned to be welcomed by the people of Afghanistan, including Afghans living in Iran, can demonstrate the worries of Iranian conservatives. They are worried of the effects that an unprecedented democratic elections in neighbouring Afghanistan can have on Iranian public opinion.

Independent press in Iran have reported the successful process of Afghan elections and the optimism with which Afghans welcomed it. However conservative-controlled newspapers tried to dilute this picture by concentrating on boycotts and occasional violence.

During the regional political and military upheavals of the past two years, most of the conservative groups and clerical officials foresaw that resistance of Muslim people on the face of military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq would throw US-led foreign forces into a quagmire. There was no place in their thoughts for free elections without a significant violence or a war.

Tehran's cautious reaction to Afghan elections coincided with Turkey's reform of its penal code to appease the EU, that had angered Iranian conservatives and fundamentalists. Moreover it happened as the disarmament of Moqtada Sadre's militia in Iraq and the wish of Iraq's Shi'ite leaders for peace, have raised hopes for ending the violence and paving the way for elections in that country.

Other than the so-called geopolitical reconstruction of the region, what has made Iranian conservatives and fundamentalists sensitive to the slow developments on its Eastern and Western borders, is related to a past that shows what happened to Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq in the twentieth century, had closely effected Iran's internal developments.

The wave of modernism and reform, that engulfed the region in the second decade of the twentieth century, started in Turkey with the rule of Ataturk and reached Iran very shortly as Reza Shah Pahlavi assumed power. It also affected plans by Amanollah Khan the then king of Afghanistan. Of course later on each country had a different answer to this wave of reform and modernism.

The first direct effect of Afghanistan on Iran also relates to the beginning of Reza Shah's rule When Amanollah Khan and his queen visited Iran on their return from Europe. The Afghan king discussed his reform plans for the liberation of women and the development of his country with Iranian modernists and encouraged the Iranian Shah to follow the same plans. Afghanistan's internal political problems stopped these plans both in Afghanistan and in Iran. However with Reza Shah's trip to Turkey after a few years and his firsthand experience of seeing Ataturk's reforms, the Shah started his own reform plans. Decades later, according to the then Court Minister, Assadollah Alam, changes in Afghanistan and the establishment of a Republic by Davoud Khan, greatly worried Reza Shah's son, Mohammad Reza.

In addition to historical and cultural ties, what makes afghan and Turkish developments important for Iranian decision makers, is the fact that for many long years these three countries (Pakistan joined them later) were the only non-Arab nations of the Muslim collection of countries from Africa to India. In recent years, newly independent republics of the former Soviet Union have also joined them.

The belt that includes Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan is the same region that the American theoretician, Samuel Huntington, in his controversial model, The Confrontation of Civilizations, has referred to them as places that Islamic civilization would challenge neighbouring ones.

However with all the disappointment on the part of Iranian conservatives and fundamentalist groups from regional developments, government's official policy is to support peace in neighbouring countries. This peace, at least, can relieve Iran of hosting three million Afghan and Iraqi refugees who have been living in Iran in recent years.

Based on such an official policy, the Islamic Republic of Iran announced immediately after the defeat of Taliban, its willingness to help restore peace and a strong central government in Afghanistan. In the Bonn Conference, held in December 2001, Iran reinforced this position by granting generous loans and credits to Afghanistan.

The powerful head of Iran's Expediency Council, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has constantly complained about what he called hostile US policies towards Iran. He has said that despite Iran's cooperation in global war against terrorism and in operations resulting in the defeat of Taliban, Iran's inclusion in the "Axis of Evil" by the US, shows America's disregard for its words and agreements.

On the other hand, reactions by Hamid Karzai's government in Afghanistan, shows that Afghan statesmen, in contrast to their Iraqi counterparts, not only do not mention Iran's meddling in their internal affairs but thank Iranians for their cooperation and assistance in restoring order in Afghanistan. In the past two years, in matters such as the detention of Al-Qaeda leaders, encouraging the rebel leader Gulbedin Hekmatyar to leave Iran and orderly repatriation of Afghan refugees, Kabul officials have demonstrated their gratefulness to the Iranians.

It is in the pursuit of this policy that despite tough words by conservative press, Iranian officials prefer to keep their cautious quiet and witness the difficult task of the new Afghan government in turning Afghanistan from a traditional and backward society into a new country. The first step to complete this task, namely the presidential elections, has been taken with apparent success.

BBC Persian   Oct. 10 th . 2004