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« Iran Snap Analysis: "Game-Changers" from Mousavi and Ahmadinejad | Main | The Latest from Iran (2 February): A Quiet Start to An Unquiet Day »
Tuesday
Feb022010

Iran Document: The Rallying Call of Mousavi's 14 Points (2 February)

We're awaiting the full translation of Mir Hossein Mousavi's statement today in Kalemeh. (Khordaad 88 is working on the text, and Pedestrian has posted the English text of the answers to two of the ten questions.) But, to emphasise the importance of the answers he gave in the interview, an EA correspondent has brought out the 14 high points:

1) The Constitution is not an unalterable Revelation. It was changed in 1989, and we can change some parts of that [version], based on needs and demands of the people and on our national experience.

2) Those who have limited the media and monopolise Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting for their demands weaken the basis of the Islamic Republic.

The Latest from Iran (2 February): A Quiet Start


3) Based on that (the restriction of the free flow of information in Iran), the foreign media have become more important than Iran’s but Iranian people do not give up their national interests and religious and historical value for foreign propaganda.


4) Overthrowning the Constitution has many problems. The first of these is that it will not be supported by the majority of the people.

5) The second problem is that we would fall in the face of the religious beliefs of people, as the people did vote for the Constitution of the Islamic Republic.

6) I think Iranian people have no grudge against police and Basiji (militia), as people know them for themselves (i.e., they are having to serve the regime).

7) I advise police and Basij to be kind and respectful to people and suggest the Green Movement also respect national and religious beliefs of people.

8) In the Green Movement, every person is the media.

9) Today justice, especially economic justice, is tied to liberty.

10) We should support less fortunate people, not only for our campaigning, but for the improvement of their lives. This is a principle of our actions.

11) Even though the report from the Kahrizak Prison scandal has been send to Parliament, it is clear that Parliament in some cases which are its duty can not control the government.

13) The anniversary of the Islamic Revolution is held every year to show that we, the Iranian Nation, are against dictatorship and that we are the supporters of liberty and democracy.

14) We are very disappointed at the Judiciary as they brought Alireza Beheshti (the son of the first head of the Judicary, Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti) to the court in pyjamas.

15) Today our prisons are now filled with educated people, and now I am sorry that I am not with my friends.

Reader Comments (22)

I think another important point (for me) was what he said following number 8 - he has no representatives in the West. So while the likes of Makhmalbaf can certainly state their own opinion, they are lying if they claim to be speaking for him, or for the "movement in Iran" at large.

February 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterPedestrian

[...] 2010 von Julia Veröffentlicht auf Enduring America am 2. Februar 2010 Quelle (Englisch): http://enduringamerica.com/2010/02/02/iran-document-the-rallying-call-of-mousavis-14-points-2-februa... Deutsche Übersetzung: Julia, bei Weiterveröffentlichung bitte Link [...]

There are so many big points in the interview, that these 14 do not do it justice. It needs to be read in its entirety.

February 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterBosco

Bosco,

I agree. As soon as we have a full English translation, we will post it as top item. In my opinion, this is a major move by Mousavi.

S.

February 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterScott Lucas

Khamenei had asked the “elite” to clarify their positions.

Karoubi said, that Khamenei has approved a fraudulent and very unhealthy election.

Rafsanjani said, there is smell of conspiracy and I will soon reveal a few things in writing.

Khatami said, the Islam and Islamic Republic that we wanted was not a regime that is not under the control of the people and that the leader whose position is set by the constitution should not be close to one faction.

Mousavi said, at the beginning of the revolution the majority of the people were convinced that structures that could lead to dictatorship had been destroyed; I was one of those people too; but I no longer have such a belief. He also said, we have come to the conclusion that we were too optimistic at the beginning of the revolution.

I wonder if all this is enough clarification for SL.

Putting all this aside, the Mousavi statement is big, very big. He said that the IR is like the Shah’s regime. He said if the Shah had given into the people’s demands he would probably not have been overthrow. He said that some things in Iran today are as bad as before the Pahlavi dynasty (he is referring to the Qajar dynasty that was overthrown in 1925).
He also said that the people will come up with their own slogans. No need to tell them what to say.

February 2, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterGreeny

I am glad that he has reminded the myriad group of his followers that the Islamic Republic was set up through the exercise of the popular will and that whilst not cast in stone it remains popular and in tune with the majority's religious beliefs. This puts paid to those who had hopes to wreck the Islamic Republic and impose a secular constitution on a religious majority. It is right to challenge those who in the name of Islam have usurped people's rights and committed human rights abuses or who interprete Islam so narrowly as to depart wholesale from its true spirit as exemplified in the conduct of its magnaminous Prophet known throughout the Muslim world as a 'mercy to all the worlds'. It is time to reclaim this original Islam not to replace it by some sham neo-liberal democracy subservient to US/Israeli hegemony. Mir Hossayn Mossavi has taken the challenge in the true spirit of his ancestor, Imam Hossayn, against the Yazids of our time. God be with him.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterrezvan

Scott,

Will you please also post the farsi version if you have access to it. I often find a gap between Farsi and the English translation when it comes to coded words.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMegan

[...] The Rallying Call of Mousavi's 14 Points Iran Document: The Rallying Call of Mousavi’s 14 Points (2 February) | Enduring America [...]

Greeny,

“at the beginning of the revolution the majority of the people were convinced that structures that could lead to dictatorship had been destroyed; I was one of those people too; but I no longer have such a belief.”

I never was and never will be. I was never a fan of Shah but I also would never cut my nose to spite my face. I was smart enough to know replacing Shah with Mullah Khomeini will not take us to the land of free. Did I want a different system of government? You bet you. Did I want Islamic+ Republic rolled in one package for my government? Absolutely Not. Islam and Republic are contradiction in terms.

Unfortunately there were many like you and a few like me in 1979. People who had never set foot outside of Iran (or if they did it was for pilgrimage) and many who could not even read and write sealed our faith and sent our nation into a downward spiral. Some thirty one years later I still cannot fathom the thought of people believing that replacing a government body who was educated (many in the West), a government body who lived and understood economic and individual freedom, with mullahs who lived in 6th century, many of whom did not what indoor plumbing was and eat with their fingers, would usher a new era of individual freedom and democracy.

Sometimes I look at the parents who are grieving at their sons and daughters graves and say these people put murderers of their children in position of power. How could they have possibly believed that going backward when the entire world was moving forward was better for their children and grandchildren? They are the one who made the mess and their children now have to clean up that mess with their blood. Very cruel but true.

I did not mean to point finger at you, Greeny. But I see you day after day talking out loud on EA, many times repeating the obvious as if that is going to lessen the pain. I am sorry but no matter how much you repeat the obvious many will lose their lives and many more will lose the will to fight and will die with broken spirit. Many will not enjoy life as a free man and woman like you (I am assuming you are living in the west) because their parents, their neighbors and their fellow citizens sealed their faith by their mistakes.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMegan

Point #3. Coded words

#4. He cannot know that. No one knows that until people vote on it.

#5. Not true. Majority of voters today were not born in 1979. And many who voted in 1979 have changed their minds after seeing the failure first hand. LET PEOPLE SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

# 11. Parliament is the government-it is the third branch of the government. And if parliament has no say then call it as it is; “Iran is a theocratic dictatorship”.

# 14. Alireza Beheshti's blood is the same color as those who were hanged and are going to be hanged. Please do not only call out injustice and cruelty perpetrated on your friends.

#15. “I am sorry for my friends”. Mr.Mousavi, please be also sad for those who are not your friends and are wasting away in jail- those whom you have never met, the ones who cried out your name “ Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein” and were arrested.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMegan

Megan

4.It is actually not that hard to fathom his position on this , when was the last time you walked the streets of Tehran ( and by that I don't mean the north of Tehran) or or any other city? , I am not sure if you have read the interview ( the answer to lot of your objections are actually in the interview ) , he does not support overthrowing the constitution because there needs to be a WIDE CONSENSUS for that ( if everyone votes on that as you say that would make consensus ) , he simply says he does not see that , many real ( an I emphasize real ) political analysts/activits in Iran like Abdi , Ghochani and majority of reformers have more or less the same position. of course he does propose that the constitution can be amended to contain more democratic measures, I think that is the line where lot of people in opposition inside Iran stand on right now .
5. it think the point does not really capture the essence of what he says in this regard in the interview , hopefully the full text translation will make this more clear. I think it is quite a valid point he makes and there is a context for it which he discusses in the interview.

11. Megan , government in English means state , but dolat in Farsi translated to government in English only refers to executive branch of the state, you can see how your criticism is based on a false assumption which makes your point completely irrelevant to what mousavi is talking about in the interview

14. let me just quote few lines from the interview, hopefully next time you will wait to read what the guy actually has said :

" Today, the prison cells are occupied with the most sincere and devoted sons of this nation: students, professors and others. [Security forces] are trying to prosecute them with espionage or charges related to financial or sexual misconduct – charges based on expired formulas – while the real criminals and thieves who steal public money are free ... did not name any of my advisers in order to pay my respects to all political prisoners. Iran will remember their names and their sacrifices.- source khordaad88 " well there are things you think he did not say( or maybe wish he would not say) but I can't see how much more he can condemn the executions , he talks about it in the interview as well.

15. People still say Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein as clear as the early days , it is exactly because he has not taken step back in condemning illegal arrests , show trials , murders ,atrocities committed on the people who have taken to streets , I think this is clear from his statements including this interview.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered Commenteramir

1) The Constitution is not an unalterable Revelation.

I think this is a big statement: it points directly at Velayat e fagih, the "principle" that undoes all the demecratic or republican aspects of this constitution.

Mousavi is being pushed forward by the people. Good, very good !!

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterflorence achard

Amir,

Please read my post # 7. I do not need English translation because it sugar coats the bitter truth. I can read Farsi and I will be able to un-code the riddle.

Thank you for your help but no thanks I understand the meaning of Dolat or its translation in English.

Thousands were slaughtered in the 80’s and those who today claim to be troubled by atrocities were in position of power and were silent. They are all morally corrupt and their words are worthless. If you or others want to be fooled again that is your prerogative. I will not join you.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMegan

Mousavi:"For this reason some of the slogans which lean toward moving past the Constitution have been treated with suspicion by the devout and by traditionalist institutions"

... but not by grassroot Iranians, who are less prude I suspect.

"... Unfortunately, it must be said that sometimes these kinds of extremist slogans harm the movement more than the extremism of the authoritarians [who repress the movement]."

Well after reading the full text of M's declaration carefully, I'm less enthusiastic. Some passages (such as above) are even disgusting.
The statement is attractive at first sight, but in fact it puts the blame of dictatorship (and the atrocities that go with it) on the preceding regimes, leaving the holy islamic regime untouched.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterflorence achard

Megan,

Re. “I never was and never will be. I was never a fan of Shah but I also would never cut my nose to spite my face.”

The quote you are referring to is not from me. It is from Mousavi’s statement. Not that it really matters but I was not around at the time of the revolution.

Re. “I did not mean to point finger at you, Greeny. But I see you day after day talking out loud on EA, many times repeating the obvious as if that is going to lessen the pain...”

Well you are actually pointing the finger at me, which BTW does not matter. I am a little confused though. Are you saying that I should not express my opinion? Or are you saying that I was wrong to quote from the Mousavi statement (a part of the quote that was not available on EA at the time)?

As well as calling me ill informed with a limited view of the world, you are obviously accusing me of something more serious. What it is exactly that you are accusing me of? Was it my fault that I wasn’t around in 1979 to stop the IR?

To be honest your opinion of me should not be important to either anyone in this forum (including you and I), but what I find a little troubling is that in your post #9 you are accusing me of being directly or indirectly responsible for the suffering of people at the hands of IR because I posted a sentence from the Mousavi statement which I think is very significant (the significance is that one of the darlings of Khoemini is saying that the IR has failed; this is big).

I don’t think by stating the obvious as you call it I am harming anyone. Last time I checked this was not the Inquisition.

Enough of personal vanity and back to the real world.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterGreeny

Greeny,
Most of your posts in my opinion do not "state the obvious" but rather uncover the meaning behind the obvious. Keep posting and don't pay attention to those who emotionally attack the person behind the post instead civilly expressing their disagreement and backing that up with facts or convincing arguments.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCatherine

Greeny,

I was not criticizing you. I was responding to your analysis. I was not referring to “you” personally when I talked about people who fell into the trap of a charlatan like Khomeini. I was referring to “you” as those who were still beating Khomeini drum, people like Mousavi.

With regard to Mousavi interview, many readers on EA can read Farsi and all can read English. I can read and analyze for myself. I do read others comments because I am interested to learn other view points but I do not like to be driven or directed to a view point.

I am sorry but I did not and do not see any big news with regard to Mousavi interview. I read the Farsi text as well as English.

First, I must say I was insulted by (that is not in English translation) “people protest today is the valuable gift of Islamic revolution” (و تأکید کرد که امروز مقاومت مردم میراث گرانبهای انقلاب اسلامی است). Well, the Constitutional Revolution of 1905, the very first in Asia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Constitutional_Revolution had nothing to do with Khomeini and his Islamic revolution (Khomeini was three years old in 1905). I find the claim that Khomeini and his revolution taught us how to rise up and stand up to dictatorship very insulting.

Mousavi’s reference to Green color (that has become the color of resistance) as symbol of Mohammad and Islam is an insult to religious minorities in Iran.

I am sorry but for me the big news was this “some of the slogans which lean toward moving past the Constitution have been treated with suspicion by the devout and by traditionalist institutions. Unfortunately, it must be said that sometimes these kinds of extremist slogans harm the movement more than the extremism of the authoritarians [who repress the movement].” He wants people to chant as he wishes and put us in a box of his liking and that is not freedom and democracy in my book. For me that is replacing Dictator A with Dictator B.

The big news for me is when Mousavi admits that in 1979 they changed the country from one dictatorship to another. And that they violated people’s right the day they forced women and beat them to wear hejob (head cover). And if he said there was no judiciary or justice from day one and they executed thousands without due process and he stood by and watched in silence when he was in-charge and he was wrong. These are big news for me.

Greeny, I am very concerned when I read comments of smart people and noticing once again they are falling into traps of these morally corrupt individuals. I must say I was willing to forgive Mousavi for his deeds in the 80’s until I heard him longing for a return to Khomeini era.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMegan

Catherin,

If your comments at 11:10 are in response to my comments, for someone who cannot read Farsi, like yourself, regurgitating the same news may not be stating the obvious for me it is. And I was speaking for myself.

I do not spend time at work blogging. I spend my sleep time. For example right now in about less than two hours I have to get ready for work and I have not slept since 7 am yesterday. I, therefore, appreciate comments that are concise and to the point.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMegan

Megan,
My comments at 11.10 were not addressed to you - they were addressed to Greeny.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCatherine

Catherine,

I meant you indirectly referenced me. I was the person who had used "stating the obvious" term.

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterMegan

Megan,

"And if he said there was no judiciary or justice from day one and they executed thousands without due process and he stood by and watched in silence when he was in-charge and he was wrong. These are big news for me."

I agree.
The embassador in Japan said so; will Mousavi say it?

February 3, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterflorence achard

He is better than Tony Blair and George Bush and a myriad of other Western politicians whose policies and actions have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is better than Madeline Albright, who when asked of the 500,000 Iraqi children, as documented by the UN, as having died as a result of US sponsored sanctions considered them mere collateral. In Russia it is still not wholly possible to talk and condemn Joseph Stalin for the 20m odd Russian deaths he caused. An apology for the slave trade run by the British was only offered 200yrs after it ended. The politicians of the Islamic Republic are comparatively benign, this is of course not to applaud or uphold the taking of innocent lives. But unfortunately revolutions of whatever hues are messy affairs. At least he has expressed contrition at the post-revolutionary wrongs and killings that happened. That is a start, the past is simply there to take lessons from but the future must be built anew on better premises and that is what we all ought to work for the benefit of all.

February 4, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterrezvan

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