Iran's economists slam Ahmadinejad in open letter
Published: Sunday, November 09, 2008
16:00GMT--11:00AM/EST
ECONOMY - CRITICISM - AHMADINEJAD
Washington, 9 November (IranVNC)--Sixty of Iran's economists yesterday published an open letter denouncing what they called the negative consequences of the economic policies of the government.
The letter, addressed to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and members of the country's Majlis [parliament], was signed by economists from major Iranian universities.
It criticized particularly Iran's trade policies and the policy of "tension" with other countries, which the economists said has deprived Iran of opportunities for trade and foreign investment.
"This way of thinking in its essence, is translated into tension in international relations and militarism , and encompasses the reaction of the international community," the semi-official Fars News Agency quoted the economists as writing.
The letter continued: "Presenting such a portrait of the system of the Islamic Republic entails the paying of heavy economic, political and social prices."
The economists also said that the three rounds of United Nations Security Council sanctions over Iran's refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment activities had added billions of dollars to the country's foreign trade.
"Such that, these days, because of the United Nations Security Council sanctions, a large part of the country's imports and exports, is undertaken by way of not-too certain intermediaries, in the Emirates and other places, who make the flow of economic interaction between the country and the outside world time-consuming, adding further risks, which cause the final price of the country's exports and imports to increase by billions of dollars," they wrote.
The letter also blamed Ahmadinejad and his government's policies for Iran's high rates of unemployment and inflation and the soaring costs of food and oil, and warned that the global financial crisis and the recent drop in oil prices would hurt the country's economy.
Iran's crude oil income makes up approximately 80 percent of the country's foreign earnings, and is therefore vulnerable to major shifts in oil prices.
Iran's Economy Minister Shamsoddin Hosseini today reacted to the letter in a news conference after meeting Ahmadinejad, Iran's Labor News Agency, ILNA, reports.
Hosseini said the opinion of the economists is "respected", and said that the government would review the letter and use their opinions in the upcoming economic meetings.
Sources: Fars News Agency, ILNA, both in Persian
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