WORLD> Middle East
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WORLD> Middle East
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Iranian president defended fake-degree minister
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-03 09:32 TEHRAN, Iran -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday dismissed an upcoming impeachment hearing for his interior minister who has come under fire after admitted he had a fake degree from Oxford University.
The minister, Ali Kordan, will go before parliament on Tuesday after an honorary degree he claimed was awarded to him by the elite British university was found to be a fake. Both conservative and moderate lawmakers have called on Kordan to resign or face a no-confidence vote in the parliament and be dismissed from his Cabinet post. But Ahmadinejad called the move to impeach Kordan illegal, because he did not commit any wrongdoing while in office, the state-run news agency, IRNA, reported. "We do consider the parliament to be our ally, but we do not approve any impeachment," of Kordan, Ahmadinejad was quoted by IRNA as saying. He said his administration would abide by any decision made by the parliament, but the hardline president also accused his opponents of being behind the call for Kordan's impeachment, IRNA reported. "Apparently some want to put the administration in trouble," IRNA quoted him as saying. Earlier Sunday, Ahmadinejad dismissed a government official over allegations he tried to pay lawmakers in exchange for their promised not to impeach Kordan, IRNA reported. The official, Mohammad Abbasi, allegedly tried to persuade parliament members last week not to impeach the country's interior minister by offering them money. At the time, Abbasi, who was the director of the government's representative office at the Iranian parliament, complained that he was physically assaulted by a lawmaker. That lawmaker said he "confronted" Abbasi because he was collecting signatures from lawmakers not to vote in favor of the impeachment in exchange for a check worth about $5,000, the semi-official Fars news agency reported last week. On Sunday, Ahmadinejad downplayed the accusations, saying the case was a "mistake by an individual," IRNA reported. Newspapers have quoted Kordan as admitting that he made a mistake and was prepared to offer an apology but won't resign. During debate over his confirmation, numerous lawmakers argued Kordan was unqualified for the ministry post, some claiming that his Oxford degree was a fake. Kordan was approved August 5 by a relatively slim margin of around 160 of the 269 lawmakers present, a reflection of the concerns. Ahmadinejad defended Kordan amid the debates, dismissing degrees in general as "torn paper" not necessary for serving the people. |
