VIEWS FROM IRAN'S CULTURAL SECTOR

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 002300 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/22/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL IR SOCI SUBJECT: VIEWS FROM IRAN'S CULTURAL SECTOR REF: DUBAI 1217 DUBAI 00002300 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Jason L Davis, Consul General, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (d) 1.(S) Summary: A University of Tehran art professor, who until President Ahmadinejad came into office was director of a major Iranian museum, discussed with PolEconChief April 17 his view about the political situation in his country. The professor, who defined himself as a member of the Iranian intelligentsia, said he was highly dissatisfied with the Ahmadinejad government and disappointed with the limited reform achieved under Khatami. He urged the US to continue to push Iran on democracy and human rights, calling in particular for the US to push Iran on holding free and fair elections (the next round of elections in Iran, he noted, was expected in November for the Assembly of Experts). He and an Iranian music producer discussed the government's influence on culture. End summary Intellectual's View of Government -------------- 2.(S) A University of Tehran art professor and former museum official, in an April 17 conversation, called on the US to continue to push on democracy and human rights, and particularly on the issue of fair elections. In his belief, the current composition of the Iranian government -- in power through fraudulent elections -- would never reform itself, but officials who had been fairly elected could start the transition to a democratic government. Free elections would change the country without a shot having to be fired, he said. He lamented the Khatami government's failure to serve as the transitional phase, a la Gorbachev in the Soviet Union. Unfortunately -- despite being a "nice man" -- Khatami had not been up to the task of fighting the conservative power structure. 3.(S) The professor urged the US to speak out for fair elections in the upcoming Assembly of Experts election, projected for November 2006. He described this election as critical in its importance because this body selects the supreme leader. He mentioned ongoing attempts by reformist members to change the structure of the Assembly of Experts elections (reftel); he called its current structure self-propagating. The Assembly of Experts chooses the supreme leader, the supreme leader appoints members of the Council of Guardians, and the Council of Guardians vets candidates for the Assembly of Experts. "That's ;not democracy," he said. 4.(S) On the other hand, the professor downplayed the importance of the supreme leader in Iran. He said it was important to differentiate between Iran and other autocratic states, because in Iran, no one person is in charge, and it is possible to selectively ignore the supreme leader. For instance, when he had worked at the museum, he had actively promoted artists he knew were disapproved of by the supreme leader. 5.(S) The professor said there are reform-minded clergy in Iran who are worried that "this so-called Islamic government" is doing long-term damage to the religion of Shiism. There are grand ayatollahs in Iran, he added, whose stance on the relationship between religion and government is more along the lines of Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq. 6.(S) The professor called the 2005 presidential election flawed but said no one in Iran would expose the problems. He, like the intelligentsia in general, had never supported Ahmadinejad; in the absence of opinion polls, he said he could not speak on popular attitudes toward the president. He did not think, however, that scenes of people in the provinces cheering on the occasion of a rare appearance of a high-level official in their towns should be seen as a sign of deep support. 7.(S) The Iranian population is expecting economic deprivations with the looming political crisis over the nuclear issue, said the professor, but nothing significant has happened yet. The main indicator people are watching is the price of the dollar, and this has been relatively stable so far. On a social note, he said, there has not been a crackdown on liberties since Ahmadinejad came into office, probably both out of fear of a popular backlash and because the nuclear issue distracts the government. In fact, he observed, women on the streets are wearing their hijabs ever further back on their heads. (Note: others have reported an increase in enforcement of Islamic dress on university campuses. End note) Government Impact on the Arts -------------- 8.(S) The Iranian government does not try to dictate to visual artists a state-sanctioned artistic style, according to the professor, but it does make its influence felt indirectly. The DUBAI 00002300 002.2 OF 002 museum structure is all state-run, and artists whose work centers on religious themes tend to get more support. There are private galleries, but they do not play a significant cultural or economic role. Nonetheless, he said, one achievement during the Khatami administration was the formation of substantive artist organizations. Now there are a number of groups, with graphic artists particularly active. He said he used to let these groups meet at the museum, but that this is no longer allowed under the museum's new management. He also mentioned that from a commercial point of view, there is no significant contemporary art market in Iran. Paintings by contemporary Iranian artists are not bought for investment, and there is no secondary market for them. 9.(S) The museum where he worked has a valuable Western art collection, acquired under the Shah. In the past, he said, high-level politicians have approached the museum about selling them some of these paintings -- at low prices -- but the museum refused. The collection, including works by significant US artists, has rarely been shown in Tehran since the revolution, but has been loaned to European museums. The collection has not been loaned to US museums, out of fear the paintings might be seized for US court judgments against the Iranian government. 10.(S) A music producer in Iran indicated the government imposes itself more directly in the sphere of music. He said he has had occasional run-ins with officials when they had deemed his music "too pop." He said Western music is not allowed on state broadcasting, but that pop music CDs can still be purchased. He also said that when his brother in the US began a Farsi-language satellite television, ITN, a few years ago, unspecified officials made clear that he and his family would have problems if his brother broadcast anti-regime programming. His brother has opted to stick to generally cultural material. 11.(C) Comment: The views of the professor echo what we hear and read elsewhere from the more liberal elite, and he admits to knowing little about the views of the Iranian working class. His recommendation that there be an international call for free and transparent elections for the Assembly of Experts raises an important issue. We should consider what we will say publicly about the Assembly of Experts' elections, currently projected for November and held only once every eight years. On the one hand, they are direct elections and significant in their importance (we hear rumors that both the Rafsanjani camp and the Mesbah Yazdi camp could be trying to assert itself in this round, with the possible goal of deposing Khamenei; as in last year's presidential elections, reformers are protesting as undemocratic the power of the Council of Guardians to vet candidates). On the other hand, the body that will be elected is not part of what we would consider a democratic system; its main function is to select the supreme leader. Furthermore, candidacy is currently restricted to religious scholars, with efforts to allow laymen and women to run so far unsuccessful. We will continue to pulse Iranians on their views of this election. DAVIS