The Association of Iranian Journalists have requested that President Hassan Rouhani reopen their current guild rather than opening a new guild.

The Association of Iranian Journalists (AIJ) have written an open letter to President Hassan Rouhani expressing regret that instead of pushing to have their guild reopened the president proposed a less controversial plan of starting a new guild.

“The Association of Iranian Journalists, with its duty as a guild and to defend the right to organize the Association of Iranian Journalists, expresses deep regret about the latest statements of the president that ‘the administration will produce a bill for a guild regarding journalists,'” the statement read.

On Aug. 7, before Journalists Day in Iran, Rouhani said that his administration would produce a bill that would create a guild “so that this association can be active for the work of journalists.” He added that one of the services this guild could offer would be, “If there is an infringement, this guild and professional association can state its position on that infringement.”

The AIJ statement continued, “The guild sees it necessary to inform Dr. Hassan Rouhani that the guild for journalists has an independent organization, with an active history of 18 years and close to 4,000 members. It is the largest guild organization for this profession in the history of Iranian journalism, and despite the limitations and hardships has been the source of numerous services for the profession of journalism.”

“Therefore, Mr. President, the guild for journalism already has its own organization, and what you have promised not only is not new, but we believe has caused surprise and worry that some individuals in the administration of hope and prudence seek to instead of complying with the constitution and common laws in officially recognizing the independence of professional journalism and its guild are after governmental domination over this profession and guild, and ultimately, violating the independence of professional journalism.”

The statement continued that one year ago, during the elections, Rouhani had promised that the guild would be reopened: “We are disappointed that after this time … we have not seen effective actions by the administration to remain loyal to this promise.” Rouhani at his first press conference after the elections said that not only should the journalists guild be active but all of the guilds should be active.

Referring to former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the statement asked that the administration not take actions in the name of the president that “would violate the independence of professional journalists that has no history even with the previous administration.”

In January 2014, 770 journalists wrote an open letter to Rouhani asking him to reopen the AIJ. The guild started in 1997 under President Mohammad Khatami but has had various legal troubles in its short history. It is currently not operating. In August 2009, due to the wider crackdown of journalists and those who supported presidential candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi in the aftermath of the contested 2009 elections, the AIJ was shut down on the order of then-Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, who was once known as the “butcher of the press.” It was later briefly reopened but immediately closed again.

by Arash Karami
Al-Monitor