This is a crosspost by Arash from Observing Iran
Two things caught my eye this weekend. One was the picture I’ve posted above, made by Babak, an Iranian graphical designer. Many of his works have a monarchical spin, however this particular piece was very good in my opinion, and summed up my own feelings about Mousavi quite well, especially in light of the second thing that caught my eye. Read on.
The text under the photo of Mir Hossein Mousavi translates as
“We shall not follow the mercenaries and murderers of old, and those endorsed by the Guardian Council and agents of the Islamic Republic. Our desire is a free Iran with the people’s vote“.
The second thing that caught my eye was a news report detailing the tearing of a poster of Khomeini on an Iranian university campus during the 16th Azar (7th December) protests. There’s currently a battle raging between the Islamic Republic’s officials as to who’s behind it. The hardliners are blaming the reformists and the reformists are accusing the hardliners of framing them. The main defence for the reformists was summed by Mir Hossein Mousavi as “I am sure the students have never gone over such boundaries, because we all know they love the Imam [Khomeini] and are prepared to sacrifice their lives for his goals“.
This entire episode yet again confirms my suspicions that the Islamic Republic, reformist or otherwise will always be at odds with the wishes of the Iranian people. The entire movement that was born after June’s elections, has been about securing democracy and freedom in Iran. The shouts people gave started as “Mousavi, Mousavi reclaim my vote” and have since progressed to “Independence, freedom, Iranian republic”; an outright rejection of the motto of the current regime founded by Khomeini.
What Mousavi doesn’t seem to get is that Iranians by and large do not care for Khomeini, a vile dictator that before the revolution promised freedom, democracy and justice saying “Our future society will be a free society, and all the elements of oppression, cruelty, and force will be destroyed“, and after the Revolution declared “Don’t listen to those who speak of democracy. They all are against Islam. They want to take the nation away from its mission. We will break all the poison pens of those who speak of nationalism, democracy, and such things”.
How can Mousavi think for a minute that Iran’s youth, who have lived through 30 years of totalitarianism under the Islamic Republic, and have risked rape, torture and execution to protest on 16th Azar would ever die for Khomeini’s “goals”? The youth are dying for freedom and democracy and Mousavi actually believes they would rather die for someone who actively hated freedom and democracy! Was there ever anyone more clueless than this so called “moderate”?
I say to you that Mousavi is, and always has been, with the Islamic Republic. If he ever had to choose between the wishes of the Iranian people and the Islamic Republic, he’d choose the IRI every time. He built it and nurtured it, for three decades he propagated fascism in Iran. Reformists are the lowest of the low in the Islamic Republic’s government. They attempt to cosy up to Iran’s people, whilst at the same time actively supporting the preservation of the unjust, fascist status quo that is the Islamic Republic.
I thank god that the current resistance movement that has rooted itself in Iranian society is lead by Iran’s people and not by weak lackeys like Mousavi, a man who has continually tried to rein in the Iranian people to follow the Islamic Republic line. Long live the Resistance movement, and remember the words of 16th Azar’s protesters “Mousavi is an excuse, the entire regime is the target“.
