In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

“There should be a group of you who would invite people toward good and prohibit vice and they are the people who will be saved.”
May God’s greetings be on the Prophet of Light and Mercy and his progeny and we salute the great reformers, especially our late Imam (Khomeini) as well as respectable martyrs treading whose path is our honor and who guided us by laying down their lives.
I consider inauguration of the 10th congress of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, which coincides with the 10th year of its political activities and is attended by prominent social and political figures, experienced university and seminary teachers, scholars as well as those active in arts, cultural and economic fields, representatives of various parties, civil and guild-related groups, active members of women community and members of IIPF from across the nation as a good omen and believe it to be a first step for institutionalization of political parties in the country. We appreciate your auspicious presence and thank all of your.
It is apparently our political destiny that no annual congress is held without one of our members being in prison. I use this opportunity to commemorate Hojjatoleslam Hadi Qabel, the active member of IIPF, who has fallen victim to factional and political grudges. His empty seat in this gathering and his void in the political field of the country is evident to all of us. I ask the Almighty God to get him and other innocent prisoners including university students, political activists, civil activists and members of guild unions back to their families as soon as possible
Ten years of continued political activities of the party under fluctuating political conditions in Iran; from when it held a majority in parliament up to the present time of anti-party ideas when our party is under enormous security and intelligence pressures and is deprived of a public tribune or financial resources, have raised new hopes about growth and prosperity of civil institutions and organization of children of the Islamic Revolution and Muslim reformist personalities. Despite efforts made by populist politicians who are against political parties, due to eight years of relative reformist rule, civil society has become so robust that it can withstand such violent, but temporary, storms. Anyway, more than 100 years of efforts to institutionalize political parties to attain freedom, independence and progress, clearly indicate that there is no way less expensive than realizing rule of people and promoting democracy in all social areas and this goal cannot be achieved unless through strengthening civil society and helping parties thrive. It is to the benefit of our religion, country and nation that all elite and people and even those in power should try to promote and develop political parties.
As a product of May 23, 1997, we are honored to be protecting reformism, free thinking, rule of law and principles of the Islamic Revolution; a revolution which relied on people’s demand for independence and freedom to promise establishment of a new government based on justice, ethics, tolerance, fairness, free thinking, development and progress. “The Islamic Republic” as conceived by Imam Khomeini was a form of governance of Islam whose legitimacy arose from people’s votes; an Islam which does away with ignorance and gives appropriate answers to questions of any generation in any land according to their needs; an Islam, which due to efforts made by free thinking intellectuals and clerics, is harbinger of Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) conduct, Imam Ali’s (AS) justice, Fatemeh’s (AS) role and Hossein’s (AS) high-mindedness and delineated its end-of-the-world waiting (for reappearance of Imam Zaman (AS)) as an endeavor to establish peace and respect for human rights. About 30 years after victory of the Islamic Revolution, unfortunately, we cannot hide our apprehension about distortion of sacred revolutionary concepts and announce that we are witnessing the reduction of “justice”, this perennial need of all human beings, to the level of trivial and sometimes ridiculous matters while “freedom” has become a tool for foreign publicities. Anatomy of the injustice done to revolutionary cause and concepts will reveal that it is nothing but injustice to religion, nation and revolution.
Not a unified and specific political current has dominated destiny of our country. More than two and a half years of governing an executive power which avail of unbridled support of other powers, has clearly changed basic political, economic, scientific, social, and cultural trends. The country’s international standing has become shaky and many political, economic and international opportunities and achievements have been lost due to domination of radicalism, determinism, delusions, self-centeredness and restriction of legal and legitimate freedoms. At the same time, this period was a good opportunity to assess two contradictory, but parallel lines of thought, both of which yearned for snatching the power reins of a unified and totalitarian government. A line of thought, which has used realization of revolutionary rule of 1970s as a pretext to purge the political and executive bodies of all figures who were considered as “disloyal” by them. Another line of thought which sought to bring the Islamic Revolution to a deadlock and intended to do so by materializing the rule of the most reactionary, most radical and most anti-freedom parts of political forces in the Iranian society.
Unfortunately, we have witnessed partial realization of those dreams during this period. We are living in conditions which is unique after the revolution because the government has never been as unified as it is now, so that, even friendly groups have been rated according to their proximity and relation to the power source.
What our country is currently facing is collapse of a moral society, spread of lies and pretention, wastage of social assets, destruction of economic foundations and increasing isolation of Iran in international arena due to adventurist pictures that has been depicted of our country and, in short, an alarming outlook which leaves no room for hope. If no solution is thought for this crisis, reformists and fundamentalists, leftists and rightists, Islamists and liberalists, religious and secular, and in short, public and elite, will suffer alike. The current situation in the country shows that undemocratic political methods, regardless of the political group which promotes them, will not help the society and only add to problems. An undemocratic policy will not lead to economic and social development, even when oil reaches historical high prices exceeding 80 or even 90 dollars per barrel. Social and economic justice cannot be realized through undemocratic methods even if political and executive bodies are purged from dissident elements and the government tried through propaganda and coordination of all its forces to show that Iran’s national and international situation is ideal. Undemocratic rule cannot lead to internal cohesion and order even when a top manager or minister is changed every other day and apparently revolutionary decisions are made overnight, or when they try to instill social and political security through security and police methods and terrorizing people.
We must accept that undemocratic rule cannot assure peace and security of the country, especially at international level, even when we are equipped with the most modern tools to defend the country and pass over some of our national interests to find friends in the world. It is our religious obligation to defend justice and right in the world, but unfortunately, declining international status has turned into political reality of our country.
Radicalism and tunnel vision will lead to passivity, rather than initiative, and we would lose new international opportunities instead of availing of them while Communism, which as put by Imam should have been sought in history museums, becomes focus of our international interactions and we give priority to Communist governments as our new friends.
A review of achievements of the ninth government and the seventh Majlis will clearly show that neither those who are imposing a unified, undemocratic government on the country at any cost, nor those who become recluse in the hope of new changes following social movements are helping realization of the country’s national interest and what they do would only lead to backwardness of the country in all fields; severe backwardness whose compensation would not be easy for any political force.
This claim is easily confirmed through a brief review of performance of the most radical section of the ruling totalitarians.
What our people currently see through heavy propaganda launched by official and unofficial media about unrivaled achievements of the country in all fields is excessive prices, unbridled inflation, reducing economic growth, declining standards of living and loss of hope in future.
Our society will never forget that the reformist government, which had no claim to economic success, took the most effective steps in this field and its correct policies improved people’s livelihood and raised hopes about further upliftment of the economic situation despite all criticism and expectations. Our people were hoping that the government would help them by a house by controlling liquidity, reining inflation, boosting economic growth and providing needed facilities. They hoped that their youth would be able to find jobs and live honest lives. According to the 20-Year Perspective Plan, our country could have turned into a major economic hub of the region provided that all measures were taken along logical and nation-oriented development plans, not illogical, temporary measures and personal propaganda.
Today, our people see a mirage in front of them in which there is no housing, no job or job security, and no livelihood comparable to growth in inflation. They may even give up their faith as a result of extreme poverty.
Economic statistics clearly reflect this predicament.
Management crisis should be added to economic mismanagement. Purging almost all experienced managers and replacing them with those who are not attuned to official policies, but have accepted to work with the government without having the least faith in those policies, has led to exceptional and regretful conditions in the country. The result of such policies is not only frequent changes in top managers, but implementing those changes to middle and lower managerial ranks and even to experts, thus creating closed management circles in political, economic and scientific fields and domination of military and semi-military at various political, economic and industrial levels. Naturally, such system of management has led to establishment of an intelligence-based relationship between managers and civil society.
The same is true about social and cultural situation. Economic statistics, which have been officially published, clearly attest to this economic collapse. Despite the fact that oil revenues have reached about 120 billion dollars in 2005 and 2006, and while past investments have also born fruit, economic growth rate has been reported at 5.4 percent and 5.3 percent for the said years, respectively, which is lower than average economic growth rate during the Third Economic Development Plan, that is, 5.55 percent. At the same time, government’s proceeds through oil and gas sales had added up to 120 billion dollars during the five years of the Third Economic Development Plan.
Ratio of investments to production in 2005 and 2006 does not show any meaningful difference compared to figures related to the Third Economic Development Plan. In better words, despite being awash with unprecedented oil revenues, the Iranian economy is still suffering from shortage of investments needed to create jobs while number of the jobless has increased to 3 million and poverty is widespread. One hundred percent increase in liquidity during the past two years, during which the ruling party chanted slogans about fixing prices and controlling inflation after they took over the seventh Majlis, has caused inflation to increase from 15.3-percent figure of 2004 after a short period of decline. According to official report issued by the Central Bank of Iran, inflation rate stood at 15.8 percent in late September 2007 and is expected to hit, at least, 20 percent before the year-end. Cost of housing has accounted for the biggest share of expenses of Iranian families during the past two years and has risen by about 100 percent, so that, having a house has become a remote dream for most young couples.
Despite tremendous pressures put on nongovernmental organizations as well as guild-related, political and student formations, establishment of consolidated management, expansion of state-run and semi-military bodies, our universities are witnessing tensions which not only undermine educational environment, but also threaten the best and most efficient youth of our country.
Inattention to independence of universities and reducing the role of faculty members, appointing non-specialists as managers of the most important universities, securitizing universities, expelling, imprisoning and suspending students and similar actions show that the consolidated management of the country only accepts universities which are tools to realize political ends. Naturally, this situation cannot last for long and in addition to dealing severe blows to scientific activities; they lead to political, cultural and social tensions and crises.
Expelling prominent professors whose scientific rank is quite evident, is carried out so unscrupulously and on trivial pretexts that there is no doubt that they intend to restrict science and knowledge unless when it serves their own purposes.
Continuation of this trend in social affairs, especially pressures put on the civil society, has created a similar situation in the society.
Despite many promises and slogans and the fact that the ninth government is backed by the national and other media and while pressure groups are continuously incriminating past governments, the society is grappling with a host of cultural and social crises including addition, murder, various crimes, prostitution as well as administrative and economic corruption is raging on and even terrorist activities have came to life again after many years of dormancy. Unfortunately instead of tackling causes of such crises, escalating pressure is being put on social and civil activists who can be instrumental in solving the existing problems.
“Velvet revolution” is used as enough ground to slander and arrest active political figures in the absence of acceptable reasons. They are first introduced as main clues to foreign interventions before being released after a lot of political propaganda. However, real activists of Iran, both men and women, are subject to the most severe pressures.
This policy will be more comprehensible within framework of dominant viewpoints which are opposed to civil institutions. They consider such institutions as their enemies and reckon organized and lasting awareness of people as discrediting their populist programs. Therefore, it makes no different to them whether they are opposing a political party, a guild-related association or a civil or gender-based movement. The result of these policies is failure of national unity in Iran, whose signs have already appeared such areas as religious, ethnic, women, youth and civil institutions.
Naturally, under these conditions, establishment of justice in all fields as well as observing human rights and basic legal rights of citizens which have been stipulated in the constitution, will be faced with serious hurdles. Although the president unbelievingly scoffs at democracy inside the country, he becomes the biggest advocate of democracy for the American nation once outside the country without making serious effort to realize justice and equality inside the country. While all free thinking personalities are under unprecedented pressures in the country and are denied the right to leave the country freely without any legal grounds, the president plays the role of a liberator for nations who are enchained by new colonialism, especially the European and American nations.
A political current who claimed that the main problem with the reformist government was giving priority to political matters has chanted the most numerous slogans which cause political tension both inside and outside country during the past three years and has did its best to control political activists inside the country and impose serious censorship on dissemination of information, print media, books, films and music. It should be admitted that as much as the government has failed to achieve its economic goals, it has been successful in the above fields. It is most unfortunate that they are trying to hide their failure to realize election promises such as fixing prices, controlling high prices and fighting economic corruption and those who abuse their powers, under the cover of new claims and frequent slogans about saving the world.
Iran’s international standing needs no comment. If basis of foreign relations for any country is to take timely advantage of international opportunities to develop its national interests, who can claim that Iran’s foreign policy has been successful during the past two years? Closure of the country’s doors to knowledge and technology as well as capital, experience and expertise, and most importantly, regulating foreign relations on the basis of confrontation instead of constructive interaction and dialogue has raised concerns about whether there would be a possibility to make up for all that we have lost? Are we authorized to sacrifice our national interests for issues which are not priorities in our foreign policy? Are we authorized to use uncalculated words and phrases, which can help us hit international headlines for a while, but create a violent and warmongering picture of the Iranian nation in the world? Are we allowed to let our nation suffer from more strict sanctions through illogical and unreal self-glorification and making outwardly revolutionary and overnight decisions and, more importantly, entering into regional and international equations which are only beneficial for the opposite party?
There is no doubt about aggressiveness of the United States as well as occupations nature and illegitimacy of the Zionist regime, but there is also no doubt that protecting interests of the Iranian nation takes precedence over anything else. We are not authorized to jeopardize present and future interests of the Iranian nation for the sake of our own political ends. If we seek a world based on justice and devoid of injustice, we must think about share of the Iranian nation in such a world and intend to build a powerful Islamic Iran which will be adopted as a model for all freedom and justice seeking people of the world as an independent, free, developed, and democratic nation bestowed with all material and spiritual bounties.
It is a cause of happiness that the Muslim nation of our neighboring Turkey, which has been ruled by laic and anti-democracy military men for many years, has come up with a new model of government, which both presents a merciful picture of Islam and is also democratic and has offered people with greatest achievements on economy and welfare. If a laic and anti-democratic system gives birth to a religious, yet democratic and developing state, shouldn’t we be concerned that due to irrational conduct of a small groups, one of the biggest liberating revolutions of the second half of the 20th century which is known to be Islamic would give birth to backwardness, increasing restriction of legitimate freedoms and spread of poverty?
Our Islamic Iran has many historical as well as material and spiritual assets to become pivot of the Islamic world and developing countries and can also present the humanity with a suitable political, cultural and civilizational role model. The model made its debut after victory of the Islamic Revolution and became more prominent under the reformist government, attracting attention of Muslim and even non-Muslim countries and nations. It is regrettable that due to tunnel vision and waste of opportunities by domestic officials, that opportunity has been totally lose and regional countries are now looking toward Turkey.
The Islamic Iran Participation Front maintains that regardless of the political current which is at the helm, the Iranian nation has a long and difficult way to go. Our people have come to realize that their country cannot prosper unless through a democratic policy and a realistic plans to realize public participation. To assure welfare of future generations, we must work incessantly at various levels to make up for past shortcomings and work should be the main motto of our citizens. The main responsibility, however, should be shouldered by statesmen. Unfortunately, nothing can be done in our country without cooperation from the government and what we and other people expect from statesmen is justice, democracy and realism. They should believe that Iran belongs to all Iranians, observe basic rights of people and instead of launching smear campaign against their political rivals, analyze their own performance. The country should be run by experts and the government should dissuade adventurism, serve people in the most suitable manner and before thinking about and presenting recommendations to other nations and leaders, review its wrong policies toward its own people.
This cannot be realized unless by improving the government’s relationship with nation, empowering people and encouraging good governance. This is a task for reformists. We have a long and difficult way to go. While raising serious criticism of existing policies, we would never forget to defend independence and territorial integrity of our country and realization of legitimate rights of the Iranian nation even for a second. We also consider pursuing revolutionary goals, continuation of reforms and enforcing nation’s right to self-determination as a national exigency and necessity.
We are expecting an important election in the year, which has been called the year of “national unity and Islamic solidarity.” The election will be a good test of loyalty to their promises for government and state bodies in charge of holding elections. Undoubtedly, government’s trust in nation will be responded in kind and what is a better manifestation of trusting nation than considering them capable of differentiating between bad and good and servants from opportunists. The biggest blow to people’s trust would be when some authorities try to play the role of their guardians and the best sign of trust in people is respecting their free votes and accepting election results.
At a time that domestic and foreign crises have evolved into threatening dimensions, holding free elections can be a turning point in making up for the past and help the government weather those crises with the help of the Iranian nation.
The Islamic Iran Participation Front, therefore, asks the government and the Guardian Council to arrange free and healthy elections in which coalition of reformists will take part within framework of its programs and policies and whatever the result, it would benefit the nation and be respected by us.
The opposite of this expectation is to obstruct the political atmosphere and let a single voice to be heard. Such a trend, as has been proved during the past two years, will result in nothing but exacerbation of economic crises, social anomalies, and international pressures as well as waste of social assets and loss of opportunities for developing the country.
We call on those who put Iran at the top of their priorities, to understand the existing historical conditions and do their best to realize national unity, eliminate foreign domestic and foreign threats and protect the country against future crises. We extend our hand of friendship and brotherhood toward all those who are ready to work within framework of the constitution and announce that we are ready to help them without asking anything in return for our own party and group.
We ask the Almighty God to bestow knowledge, sincerity, understanding and high spirits on us and help us through the difficult path which lies ahead of us.

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