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Pedro Gonçalves

Iranian Regime Critic Mohsen Kadivar: 'This Iranian Form of Theocracy Has Failed' - SPI... - 0 views

www.spiegel.de/...0,1518,633517,00.html

Iran Iran Elections 2009 Qom Mohsen Kadivar Ali Khamenei Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

shared by Pedro Gonçalves on 01 Jul 09 - Cached
  • Kadivar: This Iranian form of theocracy has failed. The rights of the Iranian peoples are trampled upon and my homeland is heading towards a military dictatorship. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad behaves like an Iranian Taliban. The supreme leader, Mr. Ali Khamenei, has tied his fate to that of Ahmadinejad, a great moral, but also political mistake.
  • Kadivar: The people call "Allahu Akbar" from the rooftops. They carry signs asking "Where has my vote gone?" The protesters don't want to rebel against everything, but they do want justice and they do want fair elections. He who refuses those demands risks a civil war.
  • Kadivar: I admit that some young people are oriented towards the West. But one should not give too much weight to that. The majority of my compatriots would not want a complete separation of state and religion. Neither would I. Iran is a country with Islamic traditions and values. More than 90 percent of our citizens are Muslims.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Kadivar: Above all, stands justice and the fulfillment of the will of the people. Under the rule of Ali, our first Shiite imam, there were no political prisoners, non-violent protests were permitted and critical comment even invited. One must not betray those values. SPIEGEL: And Khamenei and Ahmadinejad did? Kadivar: Yes. I plead for a truly Islamic and democratic state, a state that respects human dignity and does not refuse the rights of women, a state where people can freely elect their religious and secular leaders.
  • Mr. Khamenei is not that charismatic and he is currently in the process of destroying the tie of justice between the religious leaders and the people. When he, together with Ahmadinejad, speaks about foreign countries being behind the protests in Iran, he very much reminds me of the king (the Shah). He used the same arguments and could not recognize that he was witnessing a national and democratic protest movement of his own people. Towards the end, the shah only thought of holding up his regime. Today, Mr. Khamenei does not think any differently.
  • I can even imagine that Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani as head of the Assembly of Experts might actually invite the religious leader to the assembly for a frank discussion. Theoretically, he could even dismiss Khamenei. Then Ahmadinejad would fall too. SPIEGEL: But for that to happen, the majority of the grand ayatollahs would have to oppose the two. Kadivar: Among the grand ayatollahs in Qum, the resentment towards Ahmadinejad's arrogance is growing. Only one of the 12 has congratulated him so far. Several, including my most revered teacher Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who is greatly venerated in the whole country, spoke out sharply against the election fraud.
Pedro Gonçalves

Iranian Regime Critic Mohsen Kadivar: 'This Iranian Form of Theocracy Has Failed' - SPI... - 0 views

www.spiegel.de/...0,1518,633517-2,00.html

Iran Iran Elections 2009 Mohsen Kadivar Obama Nuclear Proliferation Nuclear Weapons

shared by Pedro Gonçalves on 01 Jul 09 - Cached
  • SPIEGEL: Can other countries do anything to aid the opposition? Kadivar: No. This is a battle the Iranian people have to win by themselves. I think that so far, President Obama has acted very prudently and not given those looking for any reason to attack ammunition.
  • I believe that the issue of democratization is presently the central problem. Everything else, including the nuclear question, is secondary.
  • Kadivar: Whoever at this point in time moves the nuclear question to the forefront will not find an open ear in Iran. Blood is flowing in our streets and you keep asking me about nuclear energy.
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  • I have heard that my friends Mostafa Tajzadeh and Abdallah Ramezanzadeh have been tortured. Ramezanzadeh was the spokesman of President Mohammad Khatami and Tajzadeh his deputy interior minister.
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