Khatami: Accept there is a national crisis!

Mohammad Khatami

Mohammad Khatami, Iran’s former president and one of the leaders of recent protests against the alleged fraudulent victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, addressing the “leaders” of Islamic Republic maintained that accepting that there is “a problem and a crisis” is the first step toward actualizing “national unity and understanding.”

In an interview with Jamaran news agency he declared: “when an incident takes place in society which is protested by a group that is consequently restricted and accused of baseless charges, there will be no room for discussion and unity.” He cautioned that “omitting true supporters of the Revolution is the greatest conspiracy against the Islamic Republic."

The conservative faction of the government denies the presence of a crisis and claims the election protests are an insignificant unrest fomented by foreign powers. Opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohammad Khatami regard themselves as true supporters of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and faithful to the teachings of Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Revolution. They maintain that their actions are geared toward saving the Islamic Revolution and system.

The establishment has not been able to arrest these figures because of their prominent place in the history of the Islamic Republic and whilst many of their aides and supporters have been imprisoned and tried for treason and an alleged soft coup to overthrow the Islamic regime, the three leaders, although slandered and accused in public speeches by conservative public figures, have not been arrested so far.

June presidential election triggered the biggest crisis in Iran since the 1979 Revolution with millions of people alleging that their votes were stolen and Ahmadinejad was fraudulently announced as president.

Ayatollah Khamenei, supreme leader of the country, despite repeated demands from the public and opposition leaders, supported the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and put his stamp of approval on the election.

Mr. Khatami criticizes the supreme leader’s actions claiming the Islamic Republic does not decide for the people. He maintains that in the times of Ayatollah Khomeini, in case of any election disputes, the Leader was always on the side of the people without directly “interfering” in the process.

In June, Ayatollah Khamenei announced the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad even before the ministry of interior had announced the final result. Customarily, the ministry of interior and the Council of Guardians confirm the results prior to the approval of the supreme leader.

The event created a deep rift in the Islamic Republic establishment. MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the two presidential candidates disputed the outcome and vowed to continue a legal battle against the consequent government and despite violent crackdown on protesters, people have used every opportunity to demonstrate on the streets and express their demands for justice.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s relentless support of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has raised a negative reaction in protesters and in November 4 demonstrations, people chanted slogans not only against Mahmoud Ahmadinejd but also against Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic.