MEMRI has an extraordinary video of an angry meeting at Tehran University between students and the ineffectual “reformist” President Mohammad Khatami.
Khatami, who never had the courage to stand up to Iran’s ruling mullahs, tries to defend himself against students venting their frustration with his failure to carry out promised reforms.
As an al-Jazeera commentator remarked, “It seemed that the students of the conservative movement were the only ones who, uncharacteristically, defended the reformist president.”
At one point students chant, “Jannati, Jannati [head of the powerful Guardian Council], you’re the enemy of the people!” Khatami thinks they are chanting his name and becomes indignant: “If you represent the people, I am the enemy of the people.” And the crowd cheers.
He also comes across as incredibly patronizing, telling one student: “Dear sir, dear sir. Don’t you want progress? Don’t be angry. You are young. You don’t know what this is all about.”
I hope there’s more behind all this than just a single burst of anger.
