Iran Document: Mehdi Karroubi "The Islamic Republic Depends Upon the People"

Mehdi Karroubi's statement to teachers, physicians, nurses, and families of martyrs, from the Facebook page supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi:

The great people of Iran fully supported the revolution in all aspects and have gone through many hardships and sufferings during these times. The great nation of Iran courageously resisted and made many sacrifices during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war and Saddam Hossein’s dictatorship, as well as in the face of sanctions and numerous terrorist attacks, including the bombing of the office of the Prime Minister, and the reason for all these sacrifices and braveries has been the love for their country and Islam and the two words of Islamic and Republic which was established by the very same people.

The Latest from Iran (17 May): Let’s Make a Deal (But Not with You, Mousavi)

Our system is based on people’s vote so that people elect their representatives to the Assembly of Experts to oversee the performance of the Supreme Leader; people elect their representatives to the Parliament to legislate laws and also have permanent oversight on the performance of their elected administration. So this is how people play an important role through direct and indirect elections and overseeing the performance of the officials in different ranks, and this is how the body of the Islamic Republic comes to life and becomes meaningful with the spirit of the people and their votes. However, unfortunately today we witness the derailment of the train of Islamic Republic because some individuals are trying to eliminate the Republic and people’s role to stay in power.


Unfortunately, we are witnessing a trend in pushing the pure religion of the Prophet Mohammad and his descendants towards superstitions. Lies and deceptions were not enough for them [the authorities] so they are adding superstitions and fictions to the religion too....Unfortunately our system has reached a point that some thoughtless people, ignorant about this world and afterlife, recklessly accuse others of being an enemy with God. We have just recently witnessed that in a strange and thoughtless act, a member of the Guardian Council [Gholam-Hossein Elham] called Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife [Zahra Rahnavard] enemies of God.

They themselves know that we...did not choose the path of reform only recently. You and I both have realized this correctly that the true democracy is not being implemented in the system. When the result of the election was already known on the morning of the Election Day and they started congratulating each other right then, for sure this shows that they don’t respect and honour people’s votes.

We say that the system must return to its main path. Free and healthy elections must be held, there must be independent media and freedom of speech, different parties and groups must have the right to be active, various classes and groups of the people must be recognized and their rights must be respected, and the Constitution must be implemented correctly. Of course, every law has flaws and shortcomings except for the holy books, so the Constitution is not some holy word and has some flaws too. Therefore the Constitution, if necessary, must be changed according to present needs and to fulfill public benefit and national interest....

To follow up on the situation of the families of the victims and to comfort them, soon after the post-election events I had a meeting with Mir Hossein Mousavi to create a committee, and he appointed the son of Martyr Beheshti [Alireza Beheshti] and Mr. Rohollah Moghadam from the Assembly of Combatant Clergymen, and I appointed Mr. [Morteza] Alviri and Dr. [Ebrahim] Amini. Unfortunately from this group of four, three were arrested. After that I did all I could and have been meeting with the families of the victims and prisoners of the recent events, and I have also asked my representatives in other provinces to meet with the families of the victims in those provinces and see how they are doing.

[One of the guests said to Karroubi that people are worried for his well-being and safety and added: "They issue heavy sentences, the social networks are also being more and more restricted every day, the independent press and those critical of the government have been shut down and not everyone has access to Internet. With all of this, what is your plan for better informing and educating the people?"]

Unfortunately, the issues you mentioned do exist. The pressure is extreme. My family and I are also under pressure like the rest of people and you know of what has happened to my family, like other families. To break people's spirits the government had even started rumours that I have a fatal disease but they didn't gain for them [these rumours]. These pressures intensify the situation but the nation is aware and is standing vigilantly in front of this suspicious movement. Some seek an opportunity to spread more violence in the society to survive; therefore we should pay more attention because we also have share in this revolution and the system. In this situation that they have taken all means of communication from us, have closed down parties, and have shut down newspapers. We must benefit from the cyberspace and also we should increase public awareness by face-to-face interactions.