Iran's ex-PM breaks silence to warn on poverty

from The Middle Eastern Times

TEHRAN -- Iran's last post-revolution prime minister has broken years of silence to warn that poverty is threatening the basis of the Islamic republic, the media reported Sunday.

Mir Hossein Moussavi, seen as close to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, served in the now-defunct post of prime minister from 1981 to 1989, but has largely stayed out of politics ever since.

In a speech quoted by most of the reformist newspapers, he complained that the country was becoming immune to pictures of impoverished minors and statistics that he said showed that 20 percent of Tehran children were homeless.


"It seems that we have distanced ourselves from the revolution's vision and thoughts," said Moussavi. "It seems like we think that our responsibility is over. Uprooting poverty and meeting human needs, while preserving their dignity, is what the Islamic republic's economy is based on," he added.

Moussavi, who also served as foreign minister, noted that Article 43 of Iran's constitution said that it must aim to provide all the basic needs and food to its people.

"The Islamic republic's legitimacy depends on these principles. It means that this system, as long as it is an Islamic republic and accepts this constitution, cannot abandon this goal and settle for less."

Iran's reformists - including the outgoing government - were keen for Moussavi to run for president in the 2005 elections as a popular moderate who still enjoys great legitimacy owing to his closeness to Khomeini.

However, he refused, for reasons that were never publicly disclosed, and conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went on to thrash the more pragmatic Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the run-off.

With Khomeini's backing, the leftist Moussavi managed to haul the country through a bloody war with Iraq and international isolation. After Khomeini's death in 1989, the post of prime minister was scrapped.

His comments come at a time of increasing concern about Iran's economy, with MPs and economists warning that the policies of Ahmadinejad risk further fueling rising inflation.

The country is also grappling with problems of unemployment for its booming youth population as well as drug addiction and juvenile delinquency.