Rouhani Strong on Diplomacy but Weak on Freedoms

In a recent survey conducted by IranWire’s English and Persian websites, nearly half of readers rated the performance of President Hassan Rouhani and his administration over the past year as either “very good” or “good.” But votes of confidence were stronger from English-language readers than Persian-language ones.

The poll, which asked readers how they felt the administration had performed over the period spanning from March 21, 2014 to March 20, 2015, gave respondents the option to answer either “very good,” “good,” “average” or “weak.” It is significant that a larger proportion of English than Persian-speaking readers felt the government had performed well, with more than a quarter of the former voting “very good” compared to less than a tenth for the latter group. Altogether, 46 percent of voters said the government’s performance was either “very good” or “good,” 21 percent deemed it to be “average” and a third of people said it was “weak.”

Cleric Hassan Rouhani was elected to the presidency in June 2013, when he was brought in under the auspices of reform, of working to ease international sanctions, of helping to release political prisoners and guaranteeing civil rights, an electoral platform that garnered large crowds whilst he was campaigning.

Over the past year, the president and his administration have been praised for a number of achievements, including its role in thawing relations between Iran and the West, particularly the US, which ever since the proclamation of the 1979 Islamic Revolution has come top of Iran’s enemy list.

This thaw has helped Iran and the P5+1 countries, including the US, come closer to reaching a nuclear deal than ever before, which has also culminated in a minor, yet significant easing of economic sanctions — sanctions that have weighed down on the Iranian people for many years.

“Iran and the West have discussed much more over the past 18 months — since the present government has been in place — than they ever did during the previous 10 years,” said Sadegh Zibakalam, a political analyst and professor at Tehran University.

“This is the first time that the United States and Iran have sat around a table, negotiating face to face over something as vital as the nuclear program. Before Rouhani’s government took over, such an idea was impossible.”

The administration under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad— Rouhani’s predecessor — was marked by minimal progress in furthering nuclear talks, let alone finalizing a deal.

However, despite these steps in the right direction, Rouhani’s presidency has also been characterised by a worsening human rights record, with authorities unremittingly cracking down on civil and press freedoms, resulting in the likes of Washington Post Correspondent Jason Rezaian being arrested and British-Iranian citizen Ghoncheh Ghavami being thrown behind bars for attempting to watch a volleyball match.

The IranWire poll, which suggests IranWire’s English-speaking readers give Rouhani higher approval ratings than the site’s Persian-language readership, raises another question: Does Western media portray Rouhani and his government more positively — perhaps in the light of nuclear talks — than Iranian media? Or is Rouhani simply better at performing the duties of a diplomat than being Iran’s domestic head of state, or at being a politician who implements constructive and reformist legislation that benefits the Iranian people?

Dr Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, thinks Rouhani has placed more importance on solving the nuclear issue than on bettering the situation in Iran, particularly in terms of human rights.

“He [Rouhani] hasn’t devoted sufficient attention to improving human rights in the country,” said Dr Shaheed. “Not to the same level he’s invested his efforts into nuclear negotiations. However, I think once that’s sorted, he’ll be capable of doing more.”

Iran and the P5+1 countries are hoping to finalize a deal by the end of March, although it is thought the deadline could be extended once again.

The survey also found that 37 percent of Iranians are disappointed with the performance of Rouhani’s government, while only 28 percent of English-speaking readers felt the same way. Equally, 28 percent of Persian-speaking readers felt the government had performed “averagely,” which is twice as high as the percentage for English readers.

President Rouhani’s weaker reputation in Iran could have partly suffered from continuous criticism and undermining by conservative elite and hardliner media in the country, both of which have proved effective in discrediting or promoting a person in power. Just recently, Iranian hardliner press has been influential in promoting Commander Suleimani as Rouhani’s successor.

From the poll, it is evident that Rouhani could be faring worse in terms of popularity, but he is nonetheless better liked outside of Iran than within it, and this is an unusual and precarious position. At the halfway mark through his four-year term, Rouhani has done well to act upon his manifesto of improving the country’s international relations and nearing his goal of securing a nuclear deal. However, as his focus remains on these things, badly needed reform back home, particularly in terms of protecting peoples’ civil liberties, is not being enacted in Iran. When President Rouhani was on his campaign trail, he also promised reform and greater freedom for Iranians. Has he forgotten that?