Esteemed President of the Republic Hojjatoleslam Mr. Seyed Mohammad Khatami,
With wishes of peace and hope for your continued health, we present to you:
Following recent events, as a group of public servants from the Holy Defense (Iran-Iraq War) who defended the esteemed people of Iran, we consider it our duty to present this document to His Excellency, the esteemed scholar. We hope that with great tolerance and valuable slogans, coupled with the message that you are advertising (we are willing to listen to every opposition speech and idea) you can address this issue. This issue represents the pain of thousands who have sacrificed for the Revolution, who nowadays – far away from any political line or party – see the problems and events of the Revolution with anxious eyes. And they are astonished and surprised at the silence, negligence, and simplistic views of Iranian officials, who are sitting on their seats with the blessing of the blood of thousands of martyrs.
Esteemed Mr. Khatami, certainly all of us have considered and do consider His Excellency pious, revolutionary, faithful, and possessing deep religious roots with regards to his commitment to the Revolution. But your response to the events that we all have witnessed, which brought about the happiness and celebration of the enemy, and your prioritization of following up on some of the mistakes and transgressions, making them bigger than they really are, compared with the lack of attention to and downplaying the significance of other mistakes, such as breaking the law, desecration of Islam, and other pressures, have caused currents that hate the Revolution to become more confident. In contrast, they have caused defenders of the Revolution have become more conservative, their apathy coupled with despair. Every day they have been humiliated, and because of this, they have seen blood, and with regret and sorrow, they bite their own fingers.
Esteemed Mr. President, the attack on the University dorms was, just as the honorable and innocent Leader of the Revolution said, an abominable, ugly, and awful event. Despite the fact that the harshest and most critical retaliatory measures were taken against those responsible, the Iranian people, because of the abominableness of the actions that took place, not only accepted these confrontations but also endorsed them. Yet the important question, which remains unclear, is this: in your opinion, was that the only catastrophe?
Only this issue is worth following up, paying attention to, opposing, and taking corrective measures against, such that a few Ministers resigned and the National Security Council organized a meeting and created a Special Research Group. But the desecration and disparagement of the foundations of the System, doesn’t that call for regret and inquiry? Do you think the sanctity of the Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurisprudent) is less than that of the Tehran University dorms? Is the sanctity of the Imam, that rarefied individual, worth less than effrontery towards one student? Do you think that disrupting the security of the nation for a few days, attacking every faithful and religious Iranian, and starting public fires is not a catastrophe? Do you think bringing the entire Islamic Republic under question, the very legacy of tens of thousands of martyrs, and shouting slogans against it does not constitute a catastrophe?
Esteemed Mr. Khatami, when it was said a few nights ago that a minority were shouting slogans against the Supreme Leader, moving towards the “Shahid Mottahari Collection,” our small children looked us in the eyes. It was as if they were asking us where our bravery had gone.
Esteemed Mr. President, today when we saw the face of the Supreme Leader, we wished for God to put us out of our misery. It is because our shoulders have locked up, and with itching eyes and lumps in our throats, we must observe the withering away of the product of fourteen centuries of the torment and persecution of Shi’ism and Islam.
Esteemed Mr. Khatami, you know well that, despite all of our power, we are rendered incapable because of our friends’ Reform-mindedness. Who is the person that does not know that today the Hypocrites and Opponents are gathering in regiments in the name of the “Students,” and joining this line of battle? And vindictive, short-sighted, and profit-seeking insiders are adding fuel to the fire. They will not refrain from any form of speech or writing in order to incite more [chaos].
Esteemed Mr. Khatami, how long should we watch with tears and regurgitate our own blood while we practice “democracy” laden with chaos and insults, and have Revolutionary patience at the price of letting our System go?
Esteemed Mr. President, thousands of families of the martyrs and soldiers and militants gave their votes to you, and their votes represent the (Presidential) medal upon your chest. They have the expectation that you will confront these problems judiciously. And today we see the footprint of the enemy in these recent events and hear them drunkenly laughing. Seize control of today for tomorrow will be much too late, and your regret tomorrow will be impossible to eliminate.
Honorable Seyyed, listen to the speech of those who appear to be friends and insiders in the Student movement, do not all of their slogans approve and promote chaos and law breaking?
Was this supposed to be the meaning of the Year of the Imam (1999, the 20th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution)? Do you think that this was the proper way to preserve his grandeur and legacy? And do you think that the inattention of a small group called “Hezbollah” constitutes permission for [the opposition] to break the head of every religious Iranian and destroying the respect of religion?
Esteemed Mr. Khatami, listen to the periodicals and radio stations of the world – does not the sound of the foreigners’ Daf and Dohol [two particularly upbeat Iranian musical instruments] come to the ear?
Esteemed President, if you do not make a Revolutionary decision today and do not fulfill your Islamic and national mission, tomorrow will be so late, and the problems so unsolvable, that it will be unimaginable.
In conclusion, with complete respect and endearment towards His Excellency, we declare that our patience has come to an end, and we will not permit ourselves any more tolerance in the face of your inaction.
Commanders and public servants of the respected people of Iran during the Holy Defense (Iran-Iraq War): Gholamali Rashid, Aziz Jafari, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Ghasem Soleymani, Jafar Asadi, Ahmad Kazemi, Mohammad Kowsari, Asadollah Naseh, Mohammad Bagheri, Gholamreza Mehrabi, Abdolhamid Riufinejad, Noor Ali Shushtari, Dr. Ali Ahmadian, Ahmad Gholampour, Yaghoub Zahedi, Nabiollah Roodaki, Ali Fadavi, Gholamreza Jalali, Amin Shariati, Hossein Hamedani, Esmail Gha’ani, Ali Fazli, Ali Zahedi, Morteza Ghorbani.
Speaker or Agency: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commanders
Title: The IRGC commanders’ letter to President Khatami
Language: English and Persian
Western Date: 9 July 1999
Persian Date: 18 Tir 1378
Physical/Electronic Location: http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdcftjydw6de.html
Citation or official document code:
Translator: Artin Afkhami
Date Translated: 24 May 2010
Tags: khatami, irgc, revolutionary guards, mohammad baqer qalibaf, mohammad khatami, qalibaf