Mousavi: Wave of Protests Will Not Subside

Simultaneous with Seyyed Mohammad Khatami and the Assembly of Combatant Clergy’s proposal to hold a referendum to vote on the legitimacy of the Ahmadinejad’s government, Mir-Hossein Mousavi reiterated his position in a meeting with families of recent detainees: “A new nation has been born.  Imprisoning individuals cannot eradicate this awakening.”

At the meeting, Mousavi blasted the policy of forcefully extracting so called confessions from imprisoned detainees: “This scheme is a defensive means for those who are afraid of people desiring freedom, and those who seek to create excuses to confront people and detainees by accusing them of collaborating with foreigners.  Who doesn’t know what the real reasons for these arrests are?” 

“People witnessed corruption during the election process and spontaneously poured out to defend their rights.  This wave will not subside with the arrest of several thousand or even tens of thousands of people,” he warned.

Expressing sympathy for the families of detainees, and noting that “The road to building a better future is difficult, Mousavi said, “We accept the hardships and must pay the price for having a better future.  Of course we must also try to reduce the costs.”

People’s Trust Must Be Regained By Holding a Referendum

Mousavi’s remarks during his meeting with the families of detainees were published while on Sunday, former two-time president seyed Mohammad Khatami said, also at a meeting with families of detainees, “Public trust must be revived.  This is necessary for the durability and progress of the nation.  We said from the beginning that legal channels are available for reviving this trust, but no attention was paid to that.  I openly say again that the way to exit the current impasse is to rely on people’s votes and hold a legal referendum.” 

Mousavi and Khatami’s emphasis on reviving public trust comes after the Association of Combatant Clergy released a statement similar to Khatami’s proposal on Sunday: “According to the clear mandate of the Constitution, the only solution to the current crisis is to a hold a popular referendum.” 

In its statement, in addition to the referendum proposal, the Association emphasizes, “The referendum, of course, must be held not by institutions and agencies that brought the recent election to this point, but under the supervision of a trustworthy and fair institution.”

Not long after Mousavi’s remarks denouncing the plan to extract confessions were published, Hossein Shariatmadari published an editorial in today’s hardline Kayhan daily, attacking Mousavi, Khatami and the Assembly of Combatant Clergy, accusing them of collaborating with foreigners, including the United States.

Shariatmadari who acts as ayatollah Khamenei’s representative at the Kayhan foundation likened Khatami’s recent proposal to a similar proposal by American politician Michael Ledeen, claiming that the reformists’ proposal was immediately welcomed by American, European and Israeli officials and media.

In the last part of his editorial, Shariatmadari accused supporters of the referendum proposal of being “provocative” and “fanning the flame of tension,” threatening “Khatami’s gang” that “A storm will rise from the wind that they are making on enemy’s orders that will destroy the new hypocrites like those of the 1980s” [referring to the opposition groups that the government crackedown in the 1980s].