Shadow Enemies

On the pretext of silence and whispers after the death of Ebtahaj

They say death takes grudges with it, but it seems that the grudge some held against Amir Houshang Ebtahaj is not so easily erased. With the passing of Saayeh, it became clear that there are quite a few people, including his peers and colleagues, who were not fond of him. This can be understood both from the complaint-filled content of a journalist’s writing and from the heartfelt writings of Yalda Ebtahaj, and also from looking into the past of his daughter, who lost both her mother and father within a few months. She has published heartfelt writings on her Instagram, indicating that in these days, while dealing with the matter of transferring her father’s body to Iran and fulfilling his will to be buried under the Arghavan tree at the Koushk Street house, she has read and heard things that have upset her. Now her request is for her father’s body to be allowed to be buried in peace. She wrote on her Instagram page: ‘Today, in these moments, I tell all those who have no idea of all these difficulties and easily pass by with words, ignoring the pains and sorrows, that the loss of Saayeh is a great pain, and let me have a moment with myself in this mourning. Saayeh’s body has not yet rested in the ground. What are we doing to ourselves that we are emptying both our world and others’ of his teachings? In these shameless and misbehaving times, let’s not forget his dignity, which taught us another lesson.’

Akbar Montajebi, the editor of the Sazandegi newspaper, also wrote on his Instagram: ‘One of the strangest things I saw and directly heard today was that some prominent poets, renowned writers, famous musicians, and even top-tier journalists avoided writing and speaking about Saayeh. The excuses varied. One said they didn’t like his poems, another said they were traveling and not in these realms. A few others made different excuses. It seems that among these figures, only Dowlatabadi was willing to write something for the newspaper in praise of Saayeh, and Shafiei Kadkani and Shams Langeroodi. Meanwhile, even some conservatives, after hearing or being told that apparently the Leader liked Saayeh’s poems or had met with him, wrote a little something, and even the Deputy Minister of Culture called Yalda and said they were ready to cooperate in any way to arrange the transfer of Saayeh’s body to Iran.’

Why are they upset with Saayeh?

The story seems to go back to many years ago, to a time when Saayeh was a staunch member of the Tudeh party, although he considered himself a socialist until the end. To when he was in the Writers’ Association, to when he joined the radio and took Dawood Pirnia’s seat in the Golha program. They say the program’s quality declined with his arrival. Some were offended by him, and he drove some away, leading some figures from the music world to become reclusive. Composer Mohammad Heydari, in an old interview with Voice of America, referring to the time when Ebtahaj joined the radio, said, ‘At that time, the communists had taken over the entire radio. Mr. Ebtahaj gathered all the communists around him and took the work away from others. Golpayegani, Habibollah Badii, Jalil Shahnaz, and Farhang Sharif did not return to the radio. Although some believe the issue was not leftism but rather a preference for youth, and Ebtahaj was looking for some transformations in the Golha program and opening the door for young people to this program. Mr. Ebtahaj gave more opportunities to some young artists, especially Mohammad Reza Lotfi, who had more performances. When, for example, the violin was removed from this program, artists like Parviz Yahaghi protested this approach and left the Golha-e-Tazeh program. These artists, who carried the entire musical burden of the Golha ensemble, were used less in Golha-e-Tazeh, and fresh young faces replaced them, which led to their protest.’

Because he was a Tudeh member

Saayeh was one of the Tudeh members expelled from the Writers’ Association in 1979. Apparently, the members did not have a good opinion of the Tudeh members. It’s a bitter irony to know that, for example, Shamloo expelled Ebtahaj from the Association. Mohammad Ali Sepanlou used the term ‘devoted to the Tudeh party’ for Ebtahaj and said in an interview: ‘When we talk about devotion, it means that Mr. Saayeh, due to his dedication and faith in this party, took positions aligned with the Tudeh party’s policies wherever he went, and many of those views and reactions were contrary to what was in their poems.’ Then, referring to Saayeh’s presence at a party hosted by Homa, Esadollah Alam’s daughter, and gifting his poetry book to her, he said, ‘In general, we never get informed about such ceremonies and parties, and the Tudeh members kept these kinds of gatherings secret like Masonic secrets. It would have been better if Mr. Saayeh had read the book ‘The Story of the Iranian Writers’ Association,’ which was published in Sweden in 2002. I’m sorry that this book wasn’t published in Iran. In part of this book, on page 212, I wrote that Nasrollah Kasraian, in one of the sessions in early November 1979, repeatedly mentioned the Tudeh members with a derogatory tone. Suddenly, Saayeh, who was sitting in the room, jumped up and, while shouting, ‘I am a Tudeh member, I want to see what you have to say,’ attacked Kasraian with the intent to assault, but since the number of attendees was large and the chairs were full, and some were even sitting on the floor, he got stuck among the crowd and couldn’t reach the speaker.’