You Are Winning

Once again, this is another open letter to any of the brave Iranian protesters who may be reading.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I hope you are doing well. I hope you are all safe. I am sure there are still many of you feeling afraid or pessimistic about the current situation. While I certainly hope this is not the case, I feel I must say a few words in case you do have such feelings.

First and foremost, I must say this: You are winning. Now, I’m sure many people might feel I may be exaggerating or just plain naïve, but I am not. I have seen all that has happened in the past two weeks. I might not be right there with you, as I am halfway across the world, but I have seen the events as they have played out since the very beginning.

In the past two weeks, the firm hold the regime had upon its people has been shattered, destroyed as a result of their own unwillingness to listen to the voice of their people and their own acts of injustice. Their efforts to suppress the voice of the people have been cruel, inhumane in many cases, but they have not had the effect the regime wanted.

The regime wanted to silence those who disagreed with their decisions, but it has instead made even more people speak out against their numerous violations of human rights. Even many high profile clerics are speaking out against the Supreme Leader’s crackdown now. A prime example is the recent speech by Ayatollah Mousavi Ardabeli. Many other politicians and clerics have spoken out as well, some even joining the protesters in the streets, but still the regime continues with crackdowns. The more they continue, the more people are appalled, and the more people speak out. A rift has formed within the government that stretches to its very foundations.

All of this after just a two week period of time! Making such a huge impact in such a small amount of time is not easy (in fact, I’d say it’s downright unheard of) but you have done that, my friends. You are winning. It’s easy to think otherwise, seeing all the cruelty at the hands of Besij thugs and being fed demoralizing misinformation and lies from State TV…but the fact remains: You are winning.

The supporters of the crackdown are now cornered cats, clawing wildly in every direction. They are afraid. They are doing everything they can to stop you and it is simply not working. They are doing whatever they can to demoralize and depress you, but I know you will not give in. The world may seem dark at times, but at dawn, the sun will always rise. You are that sun, my friends. You and your hope for a better future will be the dawn.

Still, I’m sure many of you do not feel that way. Many of you have lost a lot over the course of the past few weeks. Many of you have had to endure heartache that no person should ever have to go through. Many of you probably feel that, in the end, this is a lost cause. While I can understand that feeling, I feel I have to tell you that you can win and, as I’ve said, you’ve already accomplished much.

I know sometimes it can seem that winning is impossible. It’s hard to see the people who have died, the people who are suffering, and not feel despair. It’s hard not to feel afraid all the time, to feel cold and empty as if your soul has left you. It is a terrible feeling, one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I am sorry you have to feel such feelings and I wish I could do more to take that pain away…but I’m telling you, even though sometimes you may feel like things are hopeless and can never get better, look at what’s happening. More people are speaking out against the crackdown and supporting the protesters.

The majority of the people within the country, including many citizens who previously supported president Ahmadinejad, are now disapproving of the unjust acts the regime is inflicting upon their own people. More of the hardliners within the regime are beginning to become nervous, making ridiculous claims that other countries such as Britain are behind the protest and overall simply refusing to accept that their time is coming to an end. The State TV and those supporting the crackdowns are unable to keep their own lies straight, blaming at least four completely different sources for Neda’s death, none of which are even close to being remotely believable. You have shaken the very core of the regime. You are winning. So please, please, never feel that things are hopeless. That is simply what the regime wants you to believe, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. You are not alone. You cannot be silenced. And you will win.

The Sea of Green is moving ever stronger. It’s gone beyond an election, beyond all of us. The Sea of Green now stands for all that is right, even in a world that can sometimes seem so wrong. Your voices all shout for justice, for a country where such cruelty cannot be committed against its own people, for a better future for you, your children, and your children’s children. Your voices are getting louder each day (the rally yesterday and the deafening chants in the night should be proof enough of that). You will never be silenced, no matter how much the current regime tries.

I hope this has been at least a little helpful to some of you. Please do not feel despair when you have already accomplished so much. I hope you and all those close to you will be safe. Never allow yourself to be silenced and never doubt yourselves. Take care.

Yours Faithfully,

Corey

We Believe In Iran: An American Perspective

This is sure to be a bit long, but I’m asking you to all bear with me. I feel this is very important to say. Even if you believe you don’t care much about the Iran issue or want to hear about it (especially if you don’t), I’m asking you to read this all the way though. All I’m asking for about five or ten minutes of your time. I feel that’s pretty reasonable.

I am an American. I have never been to Iran. In fact, as far as I know, I don’t even know anyone whose been to Iran. Still, like many people, I have been following by the news coming out of Iran. And it has affected me on a very personal level.

For those of you who do not know already, a concise summary of what sparked these events can be found here: http://blacklillian.deviantart.com/journal/25319378/

In a nutshell, a dictator was reelected into office, but the terms of his victory were suspect. People supporting the reformist candidate named Mousavi voiced their opinion that the election was rigged and took to the streets. People peacefully protested in the streets and the government sent forces to beat them, jail them, and even kill them, just for protesting in the street. Still, people continued to protest. The protests got large and larger until today, after a previous statement by the Supreme Leader of Iran, the government cracked down. It prevented people from getting to scheduled rallies, beat people, shot tear gas at them, and even killed them.

I’m sure many of you read that past sentence yet do not get the sense of what I am talking about. Many brave Iranian protesters have risked their safety to report what they are seeing on Twitter and other areas of the net, and many brave people from around the world are working around the clock to make sure as much information about this gets out as much as possible. Hearing the Iranians tell their stories, voice both their doubts and resolve, post pictures and videos of what’s happening in their country, is moving on a level that I cannot begin to convey…

I have seen photos of Iranian women whose heads have been smashed against the ground. I have seen pictures of men beaten and bruised to the point where they can not open their eyes. I have seen video of a woman shot and murdered in cold blood, guilty of nothing other than having an opinion different than that of the state. I have heard a brave Iranian see the violence that happened today and respond “I feel terrible and that is why I will go back to the streets.”

I had kept up on the news before today and, since rallies were scheduled after the Supreme Leader issued a stern warning to protesters, I knew something decisive would happen today. If it had been up to me I would have been on Twitter, posting and reteeting news that might be of some benefit to the Iranians…hell, if it had been up to me, I wish I could have been there for them somehow…but, I am sad to say, at that critical moment, I was at work. Doing a menial job that, in the grand scheme of things, served no importance at all.

I had been glued to news from Twitter and other sources for days. All throughout the day, as I performed the job, I could not help but think what was happening. When I could get a chance, I got to a computer and logged on at work, something I am not supposed to do at all. And I saw the violence that was happening, the horrors of it…and I saw that the people were still taking to the streets. I saw that people had doubts and were afraid, but they most still wanted to take to the streets.

The entire day, I felt like I was in a daze. The world seemed unreal. The day was one of the longest I ever experienced. Every moment I worked I was screaming at myself “What the hell are you doing? You should be doing something to help. I don’t know what, but dammit, do something!” I wanted to leave, and yet I could not. I barely remembered most of what I did all day, since my mind was focused on Iran. I did not feel like myself. I must not have looked like myself either. Several people asked me if anything was wrong. I lied and said I was fine. When they walked away, I wondered why I hadn’t told the truth. I told myself they wouldn’t have understood (I had tried to spread the word to several people before without much avail), but I still regretted not telling the truth. But even then I continued to lie…

I looked around and saw people going about their lives like everything was normal. Many probably had no idea what was going on. Many more, I suspect, must have heard something but was either decided not to worry about it, thinking it wasn’t worth their time to think about, believing it wouldn’t make a difference anyway. Of course, among them I am sure there were people who were just keeping up appearances, acting like nothing was wrong while their feeling ate away at them from the inside. People lying just like me.

There were points in the day when, after thinking about all those innocent people…many of them who could have been dying while I was doing totally purposeless shit...I found it was too much for me. I went to the bathroom, found a stall, and shed a few tears as quietly as I could manage. I would compose myself as quickly as possible and return outside, nobody appearing to notice any difference (or if they did, not asking about it). I had to do this more than once. By the end of the day, I felt so overwhelmed that I felt physically sick feeling like I could vomit.

When I was finally done with work, I returned home, finally able to get a good grasp of what was going on (at least as much as humanely possible from the info available). I felt unclean. People were dying half way around the world and I had acted like nothing was wrong. I am a liar, a fucking coward. I should have done something, said something to people. In my last hours at work, I tried to think of what I would say to people who asked what was wrong if I had any backbone. I tried to word it right then, knowing writing was the only thing I seemed to be able to do right, resolved to write it when I got home.

That’s where I am now. If I was not a liar, if I was not a coward, this is what I would tell people.

I would tell people that people are fighting for their lives and dying for the chance to live in a place where their voices are heard, where they can express their opinions without being beaten or murdered. They are fighting with the hope that in the future, their country can be a better place than it is now, where the government will not be able to treat people the way it is treating them now. Many of them are afraid and have doubts, but are fighting anyway, because in their heart, they know it is the right thing to do even if the government and their media tells them it is wrong. They are exhibiting more bravery than I ever knew existed. They are much stronger than I. They are heroes and my heart and prayers go out to them.

And they need support.

I’ve seen with my eyes that there must be people who either don’t know about this issue or, more likely, aren’t following it closely. I urge everyone reading this to do so. Educate yourself. There are places like http://iran.whyweprotest.net/ and http://www.twitter.com/protesterhelp where you can follow what’s actually going on. Human rights are being violated. This isn’t just about politics, this isn’t about an election, it’s about people having their rights violated and being killed for it. Most of them are in their twenties, college students, like a lot of us out there. They’re fucking kids and people are trying to murder them for wanting to make their country a better place. They’re not at all different from us and they’re getting killed. Look at the information out there. Look at the videos, look at the pictures. If you can look inside yourself and tell yourself that its not worth your time to take it personally, than go ahead. But if there’s one thing the support this cause has generated outside Iran has shown me already its that most people are basically good at heart and share the common ideals of justice and peace, so I doubt many of you will be able to tell yourselves that honestly if you looked at all the information out there.

Maybe you feel you can’t do anything, and that is a feeling I understand. But there is always something you can do. Just because you can’t be there fighting with them doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference, can’t do something. If you’re telling someone who didn’t know about this issue before and educating them about it to try to get the involved, you’re doing something. If you’re twittering news from RELIABLE sources to get the right info out there, you’re doing something. If you’re posting a piece of art or writing in an effort to spread awareness of what’s happening in Iran, you’re doing something. If you’re marching in a protest in your own country to support the cause, you’re doing something. If you’re posting a link to info about the cause, you’re doing something. If you’re spreading this piece around, you’re doing something (and feel free to do so if you feel it worthy to spread around. Link, post in journals or forums, blatantly steal, I don’t care what). If you’re wearing green clothes or wristbands and people ask why and you tell them, you’re doing something. If you’re calling someone in the US government or UN to do something about this, you’re doing something. Even if you’re following the news and telling others you’re doing so, you’re doing something. But for God’s sake, don’t do nothing. Don’t just forget about it. Don’t just lie to yourself and pretend this isn’t happening and it’s not important. You may come to feel bad about yourself like I have if you do so.

The people of Iran are not just changing their country. I believe they are changing the world. I used to believe people were desensitized to events and injustice far away from them, but I seen that is not the case. This could be the first step in making our generation rediscover our conscience.

Thank you for your time. If my tone has been too preachy, I apologize. If you have considered this worth reading, I ask you spread it around in any way you deem appropriate. If not, I apologize for the inconvenience, but still ask you educate yourself on the issue further.

After writing this, I do feel a little relieved. I feel a bit less like a liar and a coward now…but I still am not sure if it’s enough. But, then again, I’m the kind of person who feels like they can never do enough, I guess…

Yours Faithfully,

Corey

A Message to the International Community from Inside Iran

This was found in an undisclosed location. The text is as follows:

I apologise in advance for the tone and style of this letter to you. The people in Tehran of whom I speak on behalf are weak and tired. I hope you are able to clearly understand the message we are sending to you. This letter is a call to all people outside of Iran, both Persian expatriates and other people. At the present time this is very important for the fate of Iran. To quote Napolean: "There is but one step between victory and defeat." We in Iran are at the same critical step. Your help is of the most urgent importance.

Tonight I was just up on the roof. I was at home and began hearing the voice of a young girl crying out from her roof top, "Allahu Akbar!" I began to join in with her chant until I had no strength remaining to yell. "Allahu Akbar! We're all together!" For 30 minutes we cried out into the night together. Eventually I became a bit frustrated and nervous about being on the roof and came down. But the sound of the girl continued. She began chanting loudly, "Iranians join together! Support, Support!"

These words warmed the hearts of those of us within the range of her voice. The last few days I have been all around the city, demonstrating and chanting. This girls voice touched me most of all.
Here in Tehran people are scared. The rumors are swirling about people who are identifying demonstrators from pictures found online and then going to their homes at night and attacking their families. Yesterday CNN aired a video with a voice screaming from inside a house. The video showed darkness, but the sound of a woman begging Basiji to leave her home has galvanized us. People are scared!

Another video has also put fear into a lot of Iranian people. That is the video of the late Neda Agha-Soltan (the woman shot on the street who died). Neda's death has perplexed people. As foreign media has been removed from our televisions, we are dependent on Iranian State Television which is practising a severe psychological warfare with our minds. Now everywhere people go they are watching who is behind them. All over the streets of Tehran are clothes which have been left behind by those arrested by police and Basiji. Today I became downhearted when I saw only a few thousand at 7 June Square for Neda's memorial. God, we all have to get our spirits back! Right now, time is very critical! We have these immediate needs:

1. Please tell your governments that if they are seen as interfering or supporting our actions - then we have lost! I believe that if we can receive covert resources and support without prompting action by the regime, our enemy will be severely suppressed. Today we heard from sources outside of Iran that we can not win. Those who are saying this in the media please notice: You must also mention the success of the results thus far. For the sake of the spirit of our demonstrators, you must mention that we are making great strides. Your words have the power of giving energy to our cause. The actions against us will only escalate unless the legitimacy of this government is removed from popular opinion. We only have ourselves to depend on. Today the commander of the Tehran Police refused to implement the suppression orders sent down to him by the Government. This was a small success, however many were later arrested when the information became known to the Officials.
2. People are afraid to demonstrate without money or resources. Many are afraid that a general strike will drain bank accounts and thus cripple our efforts. Please be cautious when calling for demonstrators to remove money from banks, stop shopping and work. While it is effective for us to use these measures, please be cautious and regard that we are making necessary plans within our groups. Your information being sent en mass through public mediums is falling directly into the hands of our enemies.
3. Continue blocking Iran regime websites. We continue needing Firefox plug-ins, anonymous portals and IP devices. If you can find a way to provide those to us, it will be important in our efforts.
4. Iranian State Television is creating massive distorition of truths. Their reports are stirring fear and frustration in the people. They collect information from foreign media websites and report just the opposite, or design filtered propaganda to distress our efforts. The Iran television news is showing pictures that have been collected off websites of the demonstrators, and they are asking viewers to send in informative leads to who the face belongs to and where they live. Recently many have blanked out the face of the demonstrators before uploading our pictures. That is a great help to our cause.
5. The Regime is accusing foreign governments and Western media with unfounded charges. Their motive in doing so is to create chaos and diversion. They are provoking governments to take a position instead of well-thought passive defense. The State-Run News plays up the Western governments as imperfect and problematic - attempting to inspire people to stop these protests for fear of becoming like the Western nations. These allegations have been extremely critical of the USA and President Obama administration. What we feel is best would be the United Nations to call on Iran's regime to hold another election. We all have the courage to face this, so International Community, as your governments to pressure the UN to act on requesting a new election in Iran. Also continue to call on your governments in Europe and America to visibly appear neutral and do not show explicit support. The USA administration is doing that and it helps so much. President Ahmadinejad is very worried at this hour of the protests.
6. It is very likely that quite soon our leaders: Mousavi, Karroubi and Khatami will be arrested. It is also very likely many other political leaders will be detained. We call on the International Media to continue broadcasting fair information while remaining responsible.

Green Brief #3

(Reposted from the original site)

Hi,

I'm Josh Shahryar AKA NiteOwl and I've been immersed in tweets from Iran for the past several hours. I have tried to be extremely careful in choosing my tweet sources and have tried maximally to avoid listening to media banter. What I have compiled below is what I can confirm through my tweets to have happened in the past day and in the past week in Iran. Remember, this is all from tweets. There is NOTHING included here that is not from a reliable tweet. No news media outlets have been used in the compilation of this short brief as I would like to call it.

These are some of the happenings that I can positively confirm from Friday, June 19 and early Saturday, June 20 in Iran.

1. Khamanei – the Supreme Leader of Iran – today at the Friday prayers announced that the protests were unacceptable and were a direct result of meddling in Iran’s affairs by Zionists, the evil UK and the US. He said that unless the protests stop, they will result in bloodshed. He called upon the protesters to stop protesting because elections have winners and losers. According to him, if there were any complaints, they were going to be heard through legal channels and that these protests were results of plans from foreign countries that’d been waiting for a chance for years. He said that if the protests did not stop, protesters and their leaders must ready themselves for the consequences.

2. He candidly hinted that he had been an Ahmadinejad supporter before the election, but the people shouldn’t had been influenced by his decision, thus, he didn’t publicly declare his support. He blamed the youth of being fooled by foreign spies and turning into thugs. Yet he claimed that by going back to spirituality, the nation’s problems could be solved. For a transcript of Khamenei’s speech please check this link: Khamenei's Speech in English - Why We Protest - IRAN

3. It is to be noted that neither Mousavi nor Karoubi joined Friday prayers under Mr. Khamanei, according to our reliable sources. But they had already decided not to hold a protest on Friday. It has also been confirmed that a large number of people were brought from the more religiously conservative rural areas of central Iran in order to fill the mosque and give the country a false sense of unity. Our sources also confirmed that many reform activists who had decided not to go were promptly arrested even as the Friday prayers were being held. The number of these people soared after the end of the prayers.

4. Reports of Mousavi being in danger have been refuted. His office was not burned or trashed as reported on main-stream media. According to my sources, he was been threatened to not say a word to his supporters, but he was not arrested by the IRG (Iranian Revolutionary Guard). He is safe and free and is preparing for tomorrow’s protest. Saturday’s rally that was planned in Tehran will take place at 4 PM near Enghelab Field. This is at a time when the government has officially denied Mousavi and Karoubi’s request to hold a rally on that day. Sources, though, claim that he has given the go ahead for the protest to be held on Saturday and urged all his supporters to participate in the similar fashion as before.

5. SMS is now working inside Iran, though, foreign news outlets; social networking websites and messengers still don’t work. Though sources have indicated that most twitter users have said that this is a potential trap so that the government could more easily be able to find out what their identities are and arrest them.

6. Large numbers of Basij and IRG troopers have been stationed within the city. There have been reports of attacks on the Basijis by armed Iranians. Sources claim that Basijis are being arrested by these men who seem to have some level of support by the police. Although confirmed by several sources that the young men are getting organized and call themselves the National Iranian Resistance, this Brief will not go so far as to confirm it entirely. Please wait for confirmation by either us or MSM.

7. Sources have also confirmed that several high-ranking IRG members have been arrested today. They join several other members who were arrested in the past two days. At the same time, it is being reported that a few members of the IRG were seen laying down their arms around isolated pockets of protesters, telling them they won’t fight fellow Iranians and had gone home. Sources also claim that the military is currently the only body that has not taken part in arrests, violence or other abuses. But according to them, Ahmadinejad has the support of the IRG and the Basji at this point.

8. It has been also reported that the IRG has been given full authorization to suppress the protests. Even though confirmed by twitter sources, again, this is too important a piece of information to be taken lightly. Coupled with Khamenei’s statements today, it potentially sets up a violent crackdown on any protests that will take place on Saturday.

9. Negotiations are ongoing within Qom between leading clerics to determine what they should do in case protests continue. Sources have not confirmed anything beyond this, though in the past, multiple high-ranking clerics, including Ayatollah Montazeri and Ayatollah Sanei had called on the government to negotiate with protesters. This seems to put Khamenei in a position where he lacks support from two very revered clerics.

10. Reformist activists are still being arrested in large numbers. The number of people being arrested now stands upwards of 5,000. Sources indicate that some key reformists have been tortured and are being forced to sign confessions stating they were guilty of inciting violence.

11. Twitter sources that have been able to tweet have told us that they will be most definitely joining the protest tomorrow even though it is very possible that they might be injured or killed. Some have even indicated that they are fully prepared to die as they are simply too tired of living under a repressive regime with little to no rights that they desire.

12. Protests are planned for many other major cities in Iran, including Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Mashhad and Qom. After the call by Mousavi, other protests are currently planned around the world to show solidarity with Iranians.

Finally, a bit of inside journalism from myself…

13. Anonymous and the Pirate Bay are working as hard as they can to provide proxies to people so they can at least use twitter to get us what is happening. At the time of the writing of this brief, the majority of helpers involved in helping Iranian voices to be heard have not slept for days or very little. One helper confirmed that he hadn’t had warm food until today since the protests began on Saturday (Although he’s a n00b and we don’t care about him much, j/k ). But still, fully half of the sources who were used in compiling the past two Green Briefs and this Brief have gone quiet, left Tehran or have been arrested as their identities are being found by the government. The paramedic who made people cry by his distress about his missing daughter that he found has left Tehran and is in a safe place now. Our hearts and thoughts go to all those who are bravely going to participate in tomorrow’s protests.


Finally a few words to those who are reading this:

Iranians who are trying to connect to twitter or other sites and need a way to connect please visit this website: Why We Protest - IRAN - View Single Post - Using Tor in Order to Surf Anonymously

Images and vids and instructions on how to send them to us: https://trancy.net/iran/

For my announcements, see @iran_translator

People Outside Iran: This is as clear and concise as I can be. I have not included ANYTHING that I have sensed to be remotely fishy, but human error will always manifests itself in even the most flawless of non-mathematical things. However, this includes nothing from the Western media, including the BBC which I have been generously using to inform people and I laud them for their courageous journalism.

People Inside Iran: Don't believe a WORD of what I am telling you. Do what you think is best, keeping everything in mind. I know LITTLE of what you know so make your decisions based on your OWN judgment.

People Who Want to Send Me Tweet Links: You don't need to find me, I will find you. Don't hassle yourself. Your voice will be heard through millions of others like me.

People Who Want to Hunt Me Down: I'm an Afghan. If you ever tried to attack me, you'll see my back only after your back has met the ground.

P.S. Please post this around and tweet and retweet. I promise to make the next one faster than this one. I had to wait to make sure everything was as accurate as humanly possible.

Translation of Ayatollah Khamanei's Speech

This is a transcript translated from Farsi by our own translator:

(He first started by praying and speaking about purely religious matters and then got to the real point.)

[01:26] (Ayatollah Khamanei) Remember god,
[01:28] (A. K.) Iran has gone through a lot since the revolution
[01:28] (A. K.) Any of them could have put us in turmoil
[01:28] (A. K.) Even from our neighbors
[01:31] (A. K.) (Allah o Akbar)
[01:33] (A. K.) Our youth are in a materialistic world
[01:33] (A. K.) In a time of turmoil
[01:33] (A. K.) They don't know what to do,
[01:33] (A. K.) They need to understand spirituality,
[01:34] (A. K.) They need to get back to spirituality,
[01:34] (A. K.) But they don't know how,
[01:34] (A. K.) It's been two centuries since the west has destroyed cultures,
[01:34] (A. K.) But our nation wants to regain that spirituality back.
[01:34] (A. K.) So that the revolution can be regained.
[01:36] (A. K.) I swear to the holy Imams,
[01:36] (A. K.) I ask you O god give us more faith
[01:36] (A. K.) O God, I ask you to give us a calm and peaceful heart
[01:37] (A. K.) O god, these oppressed people, give triumph over the enemy.
[01:37] (A. K.) Protect them,
[01:37] (A. K.) O god we do everything for you and only for you,
[01:37] (A. K.) O God take our Salams and greetings to Mahdi (the hidden Imam)
[01:38] (A. K.) (Praying in Arabic)
[01:39] (A. K.) I would like to say to our dear brothers and sisters,
[01:40] (A. K.) I would like to speak about the issue of the election which is the important issue in our country
[01:40] (A. K.) I have three issues to talk about,
[01:40] (A. K.) In three different parts
[01:40] (A. K.) I do have some things to tell the people.
[01:40] (A. K.) One issue will be for the political members of the politicians,
[01:41] (A. K.) I would like to also talk to the western countries,
[01:41] (A. K.) And the leaders of their media
[01:41] (A. K.) First issue is for the people,
[01:41] (A. K.) I will only thank you,
[01:41] (A. K.) I don't like to talk too much,
[01:41] (A. K.) I don't like to use nice arguments only
[01:42] (A. K.) Even if I do exaggerate, it won't be enough to say what i have to say,
[01:42] (A. K.) The elections of June 12 was a fulfillment of the nation's responsibility
[01:42] (A. K.) It was a proof of participation of the people that was a show of the love towards their system
[01:43] (A. K.) It is similar but better than the democracies in other countries,
[01:43] (A. K.) BUT
[01:43] (A. K.) Those countries don't have a democracy as good as ours.
[01:43] (A. K.) The constitution of 1988
[01:44] (A. K.) This is the largest number of people that have taken part in an election in Iran since the founding of the republic
[01:44] (A. K.) And the passing of the constitution,
[01:44] (A. K.) I would like to deeply thank you
[01:45] (A. K.) The youngsters in our country showed especially,
[01:45] (A. K.) that they are partaking in the political process since the beginning of the revolution.
[01:46] (A. K.) Now we'll see the same responsibilities from them that we saw during the Iraqi Aggression War
[01:46] (A. K.) As for elections some people want one person others want someone else
[01:46] (A. K.) This is natural
[01:46] (A. K.) We saw everyone, men women, the young and the old,
[01:47] (A. K.) People participating from all over the country to make this a success,
[01:47] (A. K.) This election is a political defeat for your enemies,
[01:47] (A. K.) For your friends all over the world a celebration.
[01:47] (A. K.) A historic one,
[01:47] (A. K.) People are showing love and loyalty for their Imam and martyrs
[01:47] (A. K.) And for the system
[01:48] (A. K.) This election was a religious democratic event
[01:48] (A. K.) everyone saw it
[01:48] (A. K.) It was a showing against the dictators and oppressive regime
[01:49] (A. K.) And FOR a show of support for the religion and system.
[01:49] (A. K.) We can see the results of the exams
[01:49] (A. K.) Also another point about the election
[01:49] (A. K.) The election of June 12 showed that people with beliefs and hopes and joys is living in this country.
[01:49] (A. K.) The enemies are using it,
[01:50] (A. K.) If our young didn't have any hope,
[01:50] (A. K.) They wouldn't partake in the election
[01:50] (A. K.) If they didn't feel freedom, they wouldn't vote.
[01:50] (A. K.) Faith in the system has been shown by the massive participation.
[01:50] (A. K.) The enemies target the belief and trust of people on that system
[01:51] (A. K.) This trust is the biggest investment of the Islamic republic
[01:51] (A. K.) They wanted to take it from us
[01:51] (A. K.) They want it to shake our trust in this system
[01:51] (A. K.) The enemies of the people of Iran will succeed when people won't participate.
[01:51] (A. K.) The system will be questioned.
[01:51] (A. K.) Only when no one partakes in it.
[01:52] (A. K.) We couldn't compare that to anything that happens.
[01:52] (A. K.) The enemy wants to make people believe that they have been fooled
[01:52] (A. K.) It started 3 months ago.
[01:53] (A. K.) I have been hearing enemies saying repeatedly that the elections will be fraudulent.
[01:53] (A. K.) They had been preparing months in advance
[01:53] (A. K.) This 30 year old system has not come about without sacrifices and hard work.
[01:53] (A. K.) And people have a firm belief in it.
[01:54] (A. K.) But the enemies want to shake that very belief.
[01:54] (A. K.) The third point is,
[01:54] (A. K.) These rivalries, between different candidates were transparent.
[01:54] (A. K.) They were clean and clear cut.
[01:55] (A. K.) And transparent
[01:55] (A. K.) The enemies are trying through their media - which is controlled by dirty Zionists.
[01:57] (A. K.) The Zionist, American and British radio are all trying to say that there was a competition between those who support and those who didn't support the state
[01:57] (A. K.) Everyone supported the state
[01:58] (A. K.) I know everything about these candidates
[01:58] (A. K.) I have worked with them.
[01:58] (A. K.) I know all of them
[01:58] (A. K.) I don't believe in everything that they say
[01:58] (A. K.) some of their views and practices can be criticized
[01:58] (A. K.) I believe that some of them are better in serving the country
[01:58] (A. K.) BUT the people have to make the choice.
[01:58] (A. K.) It's not my will
[01:58] (A. K.) My choice wasn't told to people,
[01:59] (A. K.) And they were not asked to follow my views either
[01:59] (A. K.) They decided on their own who to follow
[01:59] (A. K.) So this is a competition within the state
[01:59] (A. K.) It is not acceptable to change the appearance of the issue
[01:59] (A. K.) this is evil if someone does that
[01:59] (A. K.) there is no fight between people and state
[01:59] (A. K.) No revolutionaries and anti-revolutionaries
[01:59] (A. K.) This is between the state parties
[01:59] (A. K.) people voted for these people with belief in the state
[02:00] (A. K.) they came to the understanding that will be better for the state
[02:00] (A. K.) then voted
[02:00] (A. K.) These competitions and debates were very interesting.
[02:00] (A. K.) It was very transparent
[02:00] (A. K.) It was a blow in the face of those who say that this competition is just a formality
[02:01] (A. K.) Forgetting that the candidates actually sat and talked.
[02:01] (A. K.) positive aspect of the debates was that during the debate and TV conversation everyone spoke explicitly and openly
[02:01] (A. K.) saying what they believed
[02:01] (A. K.) Then some criticized the candidates
[02:01] (A. K.) They had to respond to the criticism
[02:01] (A. K.) They began to defend themselves
[02:02] (A. K.) The positions and stances taken by people and groups were presented without any ambiguity
[02:02] (A. K.) So people could hear what every candidate had to say
[02:02] (A. K.) So that people could see all of this
[02:02] (A. K.) So people could judge them all accordingly
[02:02] (A. K.) People felt that in the Islamic state, they are not stranger
[02:02] (A. K.) We don't have US and THEM
[02:02] (A. K.) Everything was open and transparent before the people
[02:02] (A. K.) Everything was presented clearly
[02:03] (A. K.) It became clear that people's vote would rely based on the same judgments
[02:03] (A. K.) People wanted to make their choices willingly
[02:03] (A. K.) And according to their own tastes
[02:03] (A. K.) Thus, the number of votes increased
[02:03] (A. K.) People were able to have a better understanding of the views of the candidate
[02:03] (A. K.) they were able to decide better
[02:03] (A. K.) the debates were even extended to the streets and homes
[02:03] (A. K.) So this added to the power of choice of the people
[02:04] (A. K.) Such debates will strengthen the minds
[02:04] (A. K.) to Help make better choices
[02:04] (A. K.) BUT
[02:04] (A. K.) They shouldn't get to a point where they lead to major differences
[02:04] (A. K.) Otherwise adverse effects follow
[02:04] (A. K.) It would be good to be kept to the extent to which it existed during campaign
[02:04] (A. K.) If it leads further, it will cause problems
[02:05] (A. K.) it will be better to have such debates at the administrative level
[02:05] (A. K.) We should carry these debates
[02:05] (A. K.) to the administrative level
[02:05] (A. K.) They should describe their policies
[02:05] (A. K.) Defend themselves against criticism
[02:05] (A. K.) People will have a chance to do that,
[02:05] (A. K.) But we should try to overcome the negative aspects
[02:06] (A. K.) Criticisms will be heard during the four years of a president's term
[02:06] (A. K.) We should try to address the negative aspects
[02:06] (A. K.) We could see that people became irrational and emotional sometimes.
[02:06] (A. K.) They tried to destroy the other side sometimes
[02:07] (A. K.) Even we saw that the practice of the past was being questioned.
[02:07] (A. K.) rumors were mentioned
[02:07] (A. K.) accusations were leveled
[02:07] (A. K.) Some statements made were not fair
[02:07] (A. K.) government and governments of the past were criticized in an unfair manner
[02:07] (A. K.) the entire 30 years were criticized unfairly
[02:07] (A. K.) people became emotional
[02:07] (A. K.) they said some unpleasant and unacceptable things
[02:07] (A. K.) I watched the debates on TV
[02:08] (A. K.) I enjoyed freedom of speech
[02:08] (A. K.) i was happy that Islamic republic was there to help people make this choice
[02:08] (A. K.) YET
[02:08] (A. K.) the negative aspects made me unhappy
[02:08] (A. K.) for their supporters this was also not good and they were disturbed by the unfair criticism
[02:08] (A. K.) We saw this on both sides
[02:09] (A. K.) In this Friday prayer sermon
[02:09] (A. K.) I should mention of the realities of both sides
[02:09] (A. K.) both sides can be criticized for such negative aspects of behavior
[02:09] (A. K.) ON the one side, the president was insulted,
[02:09] (A. K.) EVEN BEFORE the debates, 2, 3 months ago,
[02:09] (A. K.) I used to see insulting statements against him,
[02:09] (A. K.) Accusations were leveled against the president
[02:09] (A. K.) against the legal president
[02:09] (A. K.) he was wrongly accused
[02:10] (A. K.) the president who is trusted by people was accused of lying
[02:10] (A. K.) Are these good?
[02:10] (A. K.) Fake records were made and then distributed around the country
[02:10] (A. K.) we were aware of the situation
[02:10] (A. K.) we knew what was published was not true
[02:10] (A. K.) they insulted the president
[02:10] (A. K.) said he was superstitious
[02:10] (A. K.) they falsely accused the president by such words
[02:10] (A. K.) so they trampled over ethics and fairness [02:10] (A. K.) on the other hand,
[02:11] (A. K.) Similar things were done against the outstanding record of the Islamic Republic
[02:11] (A. K.) Some important figures of the state were mentioned
[02:11] (A. K.) People who have spent their lives for the state
[02:11] (A. K.) I have never have mentioned names during prayers on Friday before but I have to now
[02:11] (A. K.) Rafsanjani and Nateq Noori's names have been mentioned
[02:11] (A. K.) These gentlemen have not been accused of financial misdoings
[02:12] (A. K.) But their relatives.
[02:12] (A. K.) If you have anything against them, prove them legally through the courts
[02:12] (A. K.) Unless it is proven, no one can be accused.
[02:13] (A. K.) I have known Rafsanjani for a long time
[02:13] (A. K.) he is one of the most prominent members of this revolution
[02:13] (A. K.) he was one of the major fighters before the revolution
[02:13] (A. K.) after the victory,
[02:13] (A. K.) he was one the most influential members of the Islamic state
[02:13] (A. K.) still is
[02:13] (A. K.) he walked with the Imam
[02:13] (A. K.) Still walking with him
[02:13] (A. K.) he was almost martyred several times
[02:14] (A. K.) he spent all his money on the revolution,
[02:14] (A. K.) they young people should know about this fact
[02:14] (A. K.) he has had many responsibilities now
[02:14] (A. K.) president, leader of parliament
[02:14] (A. K.) he has not made money out of the revolution for himself.
[02:16] (A. K.) Same with Mr. Nateq Noori
[02:16] (A. K.) he has also served this revolution
[02:16] (A. K.) He has rendered great services
[02:16] (A. K.) there is no doubt about it
[02:17] (A. K.) but the live TV debates are good
[02:17] (A. K.) but these shortcomings should be removed
[02:17] (A. K.) after the debates I talked to the president and warned him
[02:17] (A. K.) he said he will listen to me.
[02:17] (A. K.) the admin has a clear stance on corruption
[02:17] (A. K.) It should be fought anywhere it is found
[02:18] (A. K.) Yes there is corruption within our system.
[02:18] (A. K.) YES there are people who are corrupt.
[02:18] (A. K.) But at the same time,
[02:18] (A. K.) It is one of the one of the healthiest system in the world as well
[02:19] (A. K.) but then accusing the government of corruption because of Zionist reports is not the right thing
[02:19] (A. K.) questioning the credibility of the government is not corrects either.
[02:19] (A. K.) Everyone is obliged to fight corruption.
[02:19] (A. K.) If it is not brought under control, it will spread like it has in some western countries
[02:19] (A. K.) They are up to their ears in this corruption
[02:20] (A. K.) this is part of their scandal
[02:20] (A. K.) it goes way beyond than it is publicized
[02:20] (A. K.) Let me talk to people
[02:20] (A. K.) To make this absolute victory a failure,
[02:20] (A. K.) is some people's goal
[02:20] (A. K.) To not let you enjoy
[02:20] (A. K.) to not let the world register the highest rate of turn out
[02:20] (A. K.) but it has been registered
[02:21] (A. K.) The highest rate of turn out has been registered in your name
[02:21] (A. K.) The race has ended
[02:21] (A. K.) whoever has voted for these candidates will receive divine reward.
[02:21] (A. K.) they all belong to the state
[02:21] (A. K.) they have gotten closer to god by voting, they have
[02:22] (A. K.) there were 40 million votes for the revolution,
[02:22] (A. K.) not just 24 million for the winner
[02:22] (A. K.) The people have trust
[02:22] (A. K.) Their votes will not go in vain by the people.
[02:22] (A. K.) The legal mechanism in our country won't allow any cheating.
[02:23] (A. K.) Those are involved in the election process are aware of this fact
[02:23] (A. K.) Especially if there is an 11 million votes difference
[02:23] (A. K.) If it were little than that, we would say there's doubts,
[02:23] (A. K.) but how can 11 million votes be replaced or changed?
[02:23] (A. K.) At the same time
[02:24] (A. K.) I said this and the guardian council believes that whoever has doubts can present proof to the legal channels.
[02:24] (A. K.) I will not accept any illegal initiative.
[02:24] * A. K. is now known as A. K.
[02:24] (A. K.) Today,
[02:24] (A. K.) If the laws are broken today,
[02:24] (A. K.) No election will be immune in the future
[02:25] (A. K.) in every election,
[02:25] (A. K.) there are losers and winners
[02:25] (A. K.) no other election will ever be trusted if you take other avenues.
[02:25] (A. K.) thus, all legal procedures should be observed
[02:25] (A. K.) If there are any doubts, the issue should be followed by legal procedures
[02:25] (A. K.) we have laws
[02:25] (A. K.) the candidate's representatives had the right to inspect the ballot stations
[02:26] (A. K.) And to make complaints
[02:26] (A. K.) through the legal procedure
[02:26] (A. K.) If they have doubt, it should be recounted - the individual ballot boxes.
[02:26] (A. K.) Today is a very sensitive moment in our country
[02:26] (A. K.) look at the Middle East
[02:26] (A. K.) look at the economic situation in the world
[02:26] (A. K.) look at Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan
[02:27] (A. K.) VERY sensitive juncture in history, we are in.
[02:27] (A. K.) we should be careful to not make mistakes
[02:27] (A. K.) the voters' duty was to take part in the elections in the best possible manner
[02:27] (A. K.) but we have a bigger responsibility
[02:28] (A. K.) political party leaders should be very careful about what they say and do
[02:28] (A. K.) if they do anything extremist, their radical moves will moves will take them to where it won't be solvable
[02:28] (A. K.) we've seen this happen before
[02:28] (A. K.) when extremism is forced upon a society, it leads to another one
[02:28] (A. K.) if political elite want to fix someone at the cost of another thing
[02:29] (A. K.) to BREAK the law
[02:29] (A. K.) they would be responsible for the bloodshed
[02:29] (A. K.) And any form of unrest
[02:29] (A. K.) I would like to advise all these gentlemen,
[02:29] (A. K.) All my brothers and friends
[02:29] (A. K.) Just observe the hands of the enemy
[02:29] (A. K.) They are hungry wolves
[02:30] (A. K.) ambushing and removing the diplomacy cover from their faces
[02:30] (A. K.) Don't underestimate them.
[02:30] (A. K.) I will tell you,
[02:30] (A. K.) diplomats of other countries in the past few days have taken away their masks and showing their true image
[02:30] (A. K.) The most evil of them all is the British Government.
[02:31] (A. K.) I should tell these brothers,
[02:31] (A. K.) you are responsible before god
[02:31] (A. K.) you will be asked questions
[02:31] (A. K.) remember the last will and testament of the late imam
[02:31] (A. K.) the law determines what should be done
[02:31] (A. K.) elections are held so that any difference should be settled at the ballot box
[02:31] (A. K.) it should become clear there.
[02:31] (A. K.) what people want and what they don't want
[02:32] (A. K.) not on the streets
[02:32] (A. K.) if after every election those who haven't gotten votes start to have street camps and invite their followers to come to the streets,
[02:32] (A. K.) And the winners' followers take their followers to the streets,
[02:32] (A. K.) Then why did we hold elections to begin with?
[02:33] (A. K.) what have the people done wrong?
[02:33] (A. K.) They live on these streets
[02:33] (A. K.) That we want to show them we can do such things
[02:33] (A. K.) For terrorists it is different
[02:33] (A. K.) infiltrating terrorist will hide behind these people.
[02:34] (A. K.) if you make covers for them, then who's responsible?
[02:34] (A. K.) people have been killed from ordinary people and the Baseej
[02:34] (A. K.) Who's responsible?
[02:34] (A. K.) The issues is that some people have killed Baseeji forces and killed other people,
[02:34] (A. K.) who should address this issue?
[02:34] (A. K.) Who should react?
[02:34] (A. K.) attack at universities,
[02:34] (A. K.) Good students were beaten up
[02:34] (A. K.) not the ones who were involved in riots.
[02:35] (A. K.) then they chant slogans of supporting the leader.
[02:35] (A. K.) Then you become unhappy and your heart is hurt to see all this.
[02:35] (A. K.) street wrestling is not acceptable after the elections
[02:35] (A. K.) this is challenging democracy and election
[02:35] (A. K.) I want both sides to put an end to this
[02:36] (A. K.) then the responsibility of the consequences should be shouldered by those who aren't putting an end to it.
[02:36] (A. K.) by thinking that by turning out onto the streets that you can pressure the officials your demands is wrong.
[02:37] (A. K.) first of all.
[02:37] (A. K.) it will not be acceptable to submit to illegal demands
[02:37] (A. K.) this would be the start of dictatorship.
[02:37] (A. K.) This is a miscalculation,
[02:38] (A. K.) If there are any consequences, they would directly affect the leaders behind the scene
[02:38] (A. K.) the people would know them in due time as well.
[02:38] (A. K.) I call on all these dear friends, brothers and sister to observe the law
[02:38] (A. K.) to follow the legal code
[02:38] (A. K.) the law welcomes you
[02:38] (A. K.) legal channels are there for you
[02:39] (A. K.) i hope that almighty god will help us all to follow the legal channels.
[02:39] (A. K.) don't allow the enemies to destroy and ruin the celebration of our elections.
[02:39] (A. K.) If there are people who choose other paths, I will come and talk to people even more exclusively.
[02:40] (A. K.) now, third
[02:40] (A. K.) I want to talk to the media leaders and leaders
[02:40] (A. K.) I have witnessed the statements of American and EU countries' leaders and listening to them.
[02:40] (A. K.) I have monitored their actions and reactions in the past few weeks,
[02:40] (A. K.) Before and after the elections,
[02:40] (A. K.) Their behavior was different
[02:41] (A. K.) First, before the elections, their media orientation and their statements made was they wanted to
Cast out the hearts of the people a feeling that the election was useless to cut the turn out,
[02:41] (A. K.) They could guess the results,
[02:41] (A. K.) but they never expected 85%
[02:41] (A. K.) 40 million voted
[02:41] (A. K.) they never believed this
[02:41] (A. K.) after they witnessed this, they were shocked
[02:42] (A. K.) they learned what a great development in Iran has taken place
[02:42] (A. K.) they found out they had to adjust themselves to this new situation
[02:42] (A. K.) to the Middle East, Iran and the world
[02:42] (A. K.) they learned that a new chapter has opened in connection related to the Islamic Republic.
[02:42] (A. K.) This great turn out was observed
[02:42] (A. K.) they reported it time and again
[02:42] (A. K.) they were all surprised since Friday morning
[02:43] (A. K.) some of the reactions and feedback to these correspondents were also noticed
[02:43] (A. K.) when they saw objections by some candidates, they saw an opportunity
[02:43] (A. K.) they used it from Saturday to Sunday
[02:43] (A. K.) their tone changed
[02:43] (A. K.) they slowly saw these protests
[02:43] (A. K.) which were held by the invitation of the candidate
[02:43] (A. K.) they became hopeful
[02:43] (A. K.) their masks were removed
[02:43] (A. K.) they saw a way
[02:43] (A. K.) they revealed their true nature
[02:44] (A. K.) a number of heads of states and other leaders of EU and America made statements that clarified the true nature of those leaders.
[02:44] (A. K.) it was said on behalf of the US president that he was waiting for a day that people came out to streets.
[02:44] (A. K.) Inside the country
[02:44] (A. K.) their agents started their action
[02:45] (A. K.) they started to cause riots in the street
[02:45] (A. K.) they caused destruction
[02:45] (A. K.) burnt houses,
[02:45] (A. K.) theft and insecurity prevailed.
[02:45] (A. K.) the people felt unsafe and insecure
[02:45] (A. K.) this has nothing to do with supporters of the candidate
[02:45] (A. K.) this is the servants of the westerners
[02:45] (A. K.) Zionist agents and their servants.
[02:46] (A. K.) What was clumsily done inside Iran by some, made them greedy
[02:46] (A. K.) they thought that Iran is Georgia.
[02:46] (A. K.) An American Zionist capitalist some time ago claimed that he had spent ten million dollars and created velvet revolution in Georgia
[02:47] (A. K.) They are comparing the Islamic Republic with GEORGIA!?
[02:47] (A. K.) What do you think we are?
[02:47] (A. K.) You don't understand us.
[02:47] (A. K.) What are you talking about?
[02:48] (A. K.) what is the worst thing to me in all this
[02:48] (A. K.) are comments made in the name of human rights
[02:48] (A. K.) and freedom and liberty
[02:48] (A. K.) made by American officials
[02:48] (A. K.) they said that we are worried about Iranian nations
[02:48] (A. K.) The wars and bloodshed
[02:48] (A. K.) Who is crushing Iraq under its soldier's boots?
[02:48] (A. K.) in Palestine?
[02:48] (A. K.) Who supported the Zionists?
[02:49] (A. K.) even inside America
[02:49] (A. K.) During the time of the democrats
[02:49] (A. K.) Time of Clinton
[02:49] (A. K.) 80 people were burned alive in Waco?
[02:50] (A. K.) Now you are talking about human rights?
[02:50] (A. K.) Well,
[02:50] (A. K.) I believe that the officials of America and EU should feel some embarrassment
[02:50] (A. K.) shouldn't say anything like that
[02:50] (A. K.) Islamic republic supports oppressed people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine
[02:50] (A. K.) we support all those who are oppressed
[02:51] (A. K.) we are supporting the flag of human rights
[02:51] (A. K.) flag of humans is raised in this country by Islam
[02:51] (A. K.) we don't need advice about human rights
[02:51] (A. K.) My speech about the election is over.
[02:51] (A. K.) (VERY ABRUPTLY)

This was translated via a text chat program as the typer listened.

The translation is clear: Khamanei has lost his credibility and is trying to make himself look better.

This translation recently made it to the Anonymous Iran forums, as well.