Iranian reformists seek open political atmosphere

08/16/11

Masoumeh Ebtekar, Iranian reformist, political activist and member of Tehran City Council has supported the conditions set by reformists for participating in coming parliamentary elections.

Masoumeh Ebtekar

Ebtekar told ISNA: "Reformists continue to desire major reforms in the general political atmosphere of the society." She maintained that the reformists are often used to turn elections into a hot topic but they are later held out of the power structure.

Ebtekar went on to add that conditions set out by Mohammad Khatami, former Iranian president are the minimum requirements for reformists to join the coming elections.

Khatami has called for the release of political prisoners, full adherence to the provisions of the constitution as well as open and transparent elections.

Ebtekar said that Mr. Khatami has been criticized because many are of the opinion that nothing will change. She went on to add that Khatami has an optimistic outlook of the country's future and believes that all factions must unite in order to build Iran.

cartoon by Mana Neyestani (facebook fan page)

Following the controversial 2009 presidential elections and the allegations of vote fraud that led to mass protests and heavy crackdown on protesters, Iranian reformists have been pushed into a corner in the political arena of the country and many of their top figures have been arrested and sentenced to long jail terms.

The reformist candidates in the 2009 election, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have been put under house arrest since February and referred to as "leaders of sedition."

Mohammad Khatami, the remaining top reformists figure has been issuing statements urging the establishment to open up the political atmosphere in order to bring about more constructive interaction in the political arena.