Downsizing Tehran: a Political Move or a Necessary Move……….
“Dozens of employees of Iran's state-run Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts Industries and Tourism Organization gathered outside parliament this week to protest their forced transfer from Tehran to cities such as Esfahan and Shiraz as part of an effort to disperse government offices in the seismically active nation. The controversy came as a fairly significant earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale shook the southern Iran early Wednesday morning, Iranian media and seismology monitors reported, injuring at least 19 people………. Although the threat is especially real in Tehran, which lies on two active fault lines, many suspect the president is also eager to reduce the power and population of the relatively liberal capital, which is politically predisposed against him and his hard-line entourage. The government recently released a list of 163 state-run companies and organizations slated for transfer. So far, local media have reported that between 4,000 and 15,000 government workers have volunteered to be relocated to provincial cities and towns, but not everyone is going willingly……….”
It is true that Ahamadinejad’s opponents center in the larger cities, among the more educated, and that his strength is in smaller cities and villages. But I don’t buy the idea that he wants to get rid of many of his liberal opponents this way. He has got only about three years in office, and he won’t see any benefits of depopulation before he leaves office. Most likely it is what is seems: it is a very good idea to reduce the size of the city and reduce the risks of a serious earthquake, and there is no doubt that there will be one some time. Even if his goal is political, it is a good idea anyway because Tehran is a major seismic disaster waiting to happen. I also don't believe he will succeed in reducing the size of the city.
(Doesn’t Ahmadijenad sound like the American Republican Party? Big city liberals and educated folks don’t like him but small town conservatives like him or think they do).
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mhg
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