Iran clergy move to tighten their grip; Kurds take gendarmes hostage

          
          5/27/2011
          Article - Untitled Article
          Publication: Guardian 1821-2000; Date: Oct 12, 1979; Section: None; Page: 7
          Iran clergy move to
          Ti hten their grip
          From Liz Thurgood
          in Tehran
          The Iranian clergy has
          moved further to insti lutiona-
          use its rule by rendering the
          country's Lower House of
          Parliament citcetively powers
          less and naming Ayatollah
          Khomeini is the ultimate auth-
          ority in the land.
          The move. which comes amid
          waning cnthusiasm for the
          c'ergy and new reports of vio'-
          ence from the tro tibled western
          province of Kurdestan , is COfle
          ta med, in ar(iclc 17 79 and 8
          of Irails controversial draft
          consUtutiun that Is new being
          virtually rewritten by a CDUIIS
          cii of E lcper(t
          The council 1 heavily-weighted
          In favour of the clergy,
          zipproved the three articles in
          two days of secret sessions
          earlier this week, indicatin
          perhaps that the elderly ayato
          Jalis might have expected some
          opposlUon .
          The new articles were seen
          as a further entrenchment of
          Velayat-e-Faghaih — Ayatollah
          Khomeini's }ittle expounded
          “Government of Theologians 1 '
          which, as contained in
          article 5 of the draft cotisUtu-
          tion, gives Iran's clergy politi-
          cal powers unprecedented in.
          the histor r of Moslem Sbi'as
          According to articles 77 and
          78, a 12-man Council of Giiar-
          dians to Protect the Constitu-
          tion will have veto power over
          all legislatiofl. enacted by Iran's
          Lower House.
          © Guardian News and Media Limited
          Article 84 names Ayatollah
          Khomeini as the highest aut h .
          ority in Iran , having the power
          of v eIayfl-e a'mr, or IotaJ execu-
          tive authority, including, ii.
          appears, the i'ight to declare
          war and make key Government
          appointments. The overthrown
          Sbah possessed far fewer
          powers.
          The draft constitution states,
          furthennore, that diould a
          single religious Leader not
          enjoy “the support of an over-
          tvhelming majority of the
          population,” another coune 1
          made up of “the nation's
          experts” would c ther select
          the most prominent clergyman
          or choose between ‘ three to
          fIve qual&lied men as
          members of a li leadership
          coun dil. '
          Such a system of mt cHock-
          ing councils might initially
          appear to be a gcnuine attempt
          at preveutlng the emergence of
          a new dictator, but many of
          the more articulate Iran ansin
          creasingly view the t 1 uaubUtu•
          tion as a vehicle aimed at
          nothing more than ensuring
          the det' a perpetual place In
          the sun of Iranian polities 4
          S Kurdish rebels have taken
          control c f two posts close to
          the Iraqi border 1 and attacked
          another two No rasualties
          were reported 1 but according
          to reports reaching Tehran the
          K.urds had taken 45 gendarmes
          hua lage .
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          5/27/2011 Article - Untitled Article
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