Iranian opposition leader urges supporters to persevere

MirHosein Mousavi in the mass demonstrations last summer

Iran’s opposition leader MirHosein Mousavi declared the coming year, the year of “patience and perseverance” and called on the supporters of the Green Movement to persist in informing the public about the objectives of the reform movement.

In a meeting with executive members, political office and the youth branch of the reformist party Islamic Iran Participation Front the opposition leader charted the path of the Green Movement in the coming Iranian year which starts on March 21.

He added that people need to be informed that the Green Movement “has no ties with foreign elements, that it is in no way against our religion, that it is in line with reviving the constitution and establishing the merciful Islam.”

He urged his supporters to “reach out to teachers, workers and different strata of the society in order to explain the issues. If we want more waves of demand for our rights, this murmur has to reach every strata of the society.”

The former head of the Academy of Fine Arts once more stressed on the importance of strengthening the link between the Green Movement and the clergy. He claimed that such a link will defuse the myth that they have constructed around the movements as a foreign-backed movement against Islam.

He added that in the recent years the establishment has repeatedly used the tactic of labelling people as “foreign conspirators” in order to suppress people and the thinkers of our society.

The election protests against the June presidential elections which saw millions of people take to the streets of the country to protest the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which they claimed to have been fraudulent, has been repeatedly labelled as a foreign-backed conspiracy by the Islamic Republic authorities.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has argued that no one inside the country should take any action that might lead to the happiness of the “enemies.”

MirHosein Mousavi argued against this statement saying the during Iran’s Constitutional Revolution at the turn of the last century, it was said that this movement “makes Britain happy.” The said Revolution led to the establishment of Iran's first parliament and regarded as a turning point in the history of the country.

He added: “We cannot base our actions on the happiness or sadness of others; we must simply do what we have to do!”

The opposition leader went on to say that the demands of the Green Movement cannot be summarized in the people’s demand for their votes. He claimed the economic shortcomings and social needs of people are included in the demands of this reform movement.

Once more he urged the government to respect the civil liberties of people and their right to free and open political activity.

He also expressed deep concern that the judiciary which was supposed to be completely independent “is being run under the command of the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards.”

Mousavi concluded that the Green Movement has reached a point of no return and said; “I am full of hope for the future. We must transfer this hope and patience to people…the Green Movement wants people’s freedom, happiness, prosperity and progress and it will certainly achieve this end.”