Iranian opposition leader issues "Green Movement Charter"

In his eighteenth announcement marking the anniversary of the June 15 street protests, opposition leader, MirHosein Mousavi introduces the “Green Movement Charter” listing the policy aims for Iran’s opposition movement.

MirHosein Mousavi primarily insists that forgetting the “atrocities of Kahrizak and the murders” committed on June 15 and 20 of last year as well as on Ashura Day in December, is a betrayal of the spilled blood of protesters.

Islamic Republic authorities killed tens of people during the street protests to the alleged fraud that brought Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back to power and a number of detainees, especially those taken to the infamous Kahrizak detention centre were tortured and abused by their jailors.

Mousavi expresses disappointment that the authorities have failed to respond adequately to people’s peaceful protests. He insists that “Peaceful resistance and struggle is our most effective weapon against the bullets, charged batons and uncultured and insulting club-wielders.”

The opposition leader states that the constitution is not “permanent and absolute and every nation has the right to reform it in course of its own developments.”

He insists that changes in the constitution can be realized through negotiations and interaction between all the strata of the society.

Some of the aims of the Green Movement are stated as “promoting civil society, expanding social interaction, promoting knowledge and free flow of information, effective cooperation of political parties and organizations and creating an environment for the free activity of intellectuals and social and political activists concerned for national interests.”

Mousavi emphasizes the importance of finding a minimum of common demands to unite all the opposition forces under one banner while respecting each of their individual identities.

The announcement also states that the Green Movement is concerned with protecting people’s votes and the establishment of free and transparent elections.

MirHosein Mousavi stresses that the Green Movement is a “civil” movement and its primary social concern is “defense of people’s dignity and their fundamental human rights regardless of their ideology, religion, gender, ethnicity or social status.”

Independence of the judiciary and no interference from armed forces in political and economic affairs of the country as well as confrontation of the so-called plain clothes forces are also listed as demands of the Green Movement.

"Release of political prisoners, lifting of all illegal restrictions on the activities of organizations and social movements such as women’s, students and labour movements, prosecution of those responsible for election fraud along with the perpetrators of torture and killing of election protesters as well as prosecution of theorists and advocates of violence in all layers of the society" are also mentioned in the announcement as some of the top goals of the Green Movement.