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

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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