Editorials
Tuesday, May 27, 1997IT'S being called the most significant political change in Iran since the overthrow of the shah in 1979. The upset victory of Mohammad Khatami, a moderate clergyman and former minister of culture, in Iran's presidential election could signal the eventual emergence of a more flexible and conciliatory foreign policy. Iran’s election could
signal moderate turnHowever, the president remains subordinate to Iran's "supreme leader," Ayatollah Ali Kahmenei. It may take some time to win over the still-dominant conservative establishment and institute reforms. Khatami called on Khamenei, who gave him "appropriate guidelines," according to the official news agency. Khatami is due to take over in August, when President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani steps down after serving the maximum eight years in office.
The surprising victory was the product of a coalition of centrists, Islamist liberals, women, students and intellectuals seeking change. Nearly 200 of the 270 members of the Iranian parliament had supported Hatami's conservative rival, speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri. Yet Khatami won with a stunning majority of 69 percent of the 29 million votes cast to the speaker's 25 percent.
Evidently many Iranians are dissatisfied with the policies of the conservative establishment that has ruled the country with an iron hand for 18 years.
In a statement quoted on state television, Khatami said the country needed diversity of opinion to help achieve further development. Perhaps as a gesture of acceptance of the current anti-Western policy, he added that the people should still pull together to resist threats from abroad. Still, a leader of Iran who openly welcomes diversity of opinion is a refreshing change.
Where all this will lead isn't clear, but the election has given observers in all world capitals reason to watch developments closely. This could be the first step toward ending Iran's status as an outcast nation.
SHORTLY after Ben Cayetano assumed office as governor, he took aim at the University of Hawaii Laboratory School. Seeking ways to cut spending, the governor said the lab school wasn't needed and should be closed. But a task force assembled to study the situation has concluded that the school should remain open and continue its work of developing lessons for the state's public schools. UH Lab School
The governor's proposal served a purpose by prompting a reappraisal of the school and its value. This is useful for any institution. However, the conclusion is that the school is providing an important service. The governor should look elsewhere for ways to cut spending -- as we hope he will.
THE Clinton administration was accused by Republicans of mounting a campaign to streamline naturalization procedures in order to allow more than 180,000 immigrants to become citizens before the November 1996 elections. In response, the Immigration and Naturalization Service launched a review of the nearly 1.1 million people who were granted citizenship between September 1995 and September 1996 to determine who were improperly naturalized. Citizenship fraud
In a report to Congress, the INS said it found that 16,400 had a record of at least one felony arrest. Now the government will try to revoke the citizenship of 5,000 persons.
The integrity of the screening process for applicants leaves much to be desired when 16,000 people with felony arrests manage to slip through. Many an immigrant rightly prizes his or her American citizenship. But citizenship will be devalued and the electoral process corrupted if the INS fails to weed out applicants with criminal records.
AGREEING to send 50,000 tons of corn and other foodstuffs to its famine-stricken northern rival, South Korea has won an important concession. North Korea consented to let some of the aid be labeled as originating in the South. The Communists in the past have refused to give South Koreasuch credit -- even if it meant letting their people go hungry. Labeling food aid
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
