AUTHOR:  Mir Hossein MOUSAVI  Translated by  Kourosh Ziabari

Don't allow the unworthy and sinister to confiscate the priceless treasure of your Islamic Revolution

 In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful

"Allah (the Almighty God) doth command you to render back your Trusts to those to whom they are due; And when ye judge between man and man, that ye judge with justice: Verily how excellent is the teaching which He giveth you! For Allah is He Who heareth and seeth all things. " (Holy Quran, 4:58)

 To the honorable and intelligent nation of Iran

 In these days and nights, a turning point is emerging in the history of our nation. Among themselves and of me, people ask that what should be done and which direction should be tracked. It's my responsibility to share with you what I do believe in, to talk with you and to learn from you, hoping that we don't neglect our historic mission and don't evade the duty which the destiny of generations and ages have bequeathed us.

Some thirty years ago and under the flag of Islam, a revolution triumphed for the sake of freedom, a revolution for the renewal of human's stateliness, a revolution for sincerity and honesty. In this period and especially during the lifetime of our luminous Imam [Khomeini], immense sources were invested on the consolidation of this auspicious foundation, and valuable achievements have been accomplished as well. A luminescence and delight which we had not witnessed theretofore surrounded our society and our people fulfilled a new life which was palatable for them in spite of the most menacing difficulties. What the people had obtained were freedom, dignity and the glimmers of noble life. I'm sure that those who have experienced those days would not be satisfied with the fewer blessings [than what they had experienced].

Have we, the people, been losing merits that weren't able to experience those delightful spaces again? I had come to utter that it's not so, it's not too late yet and we are not that much far away from that shining space. I had come to demonstrate that it's possible to both live a spiritual life and live contemporarily, as well. I had come to reiterate the cautions of our Imam about petrifaction. I had come to say that escaping the law will lead to tyranny, to recall that taking the people's dignity into consideration would not enfeeble the bases of our system, rather fortifies it. I had come to say that our people demand honesty and sincerity and many of our predicaments have emanated from lies. I had come to say that destitution, poverty, corruption and injustice is not our fate. I had come to invite to the Islamic Revolution, as it was, and the Islamic Republic, as it should be.

I was not eloquent in my invitation; however, the gracious message of Islamic Revolution was so delightful, even in my humble words, that enthused the young generation; the generation which had not witnessed those days and was feeling a gap between itself and that invaluable legacy, and reconstructed the scenes which we had only experienced during the days of movement and the Holy Defense. The self-directed movement of people selected the color "green" for its symbol. I confess that I was their follower in this move. And the generation which was being accused of separation from the religious principles, reached to Allahu Akbar (God is greater than it would be imaginable) and relied on the name of Imam Hossein, Imam Khomeini and "Nasro men-Allah va Fath-un qarib" (Patronage from God and the victory is imminent) in its slogans to demonstrate that once this enchanting tree bears fruit, its fruits are similar under the same circumstances. Nobody, but the teacher of nature (Almighty God) had taught them this rhetoric. Verily unfair are those [people] whose insignificant benefits make them call this miracle of the Islamic Revolution a "production of foreigners" and "velvet revolution".

Howbeit, as you know, on the path of this national revitalization and the fulfillment of the aspirations which have grown roots in the hearts of our young and old, all of us encountered fraud and lie, and what we had predicted of the consequences of unlawfulness, appeared in the most conspicuous way as early as possible.

The extensive salutation which the last elections received was firstly due to the efforts which had been made to create confidence and hope among people, [promising them of] providing appropriate responses to the administrative crises and the widespread social dissatisfactions whose accumulation could target the foundations of our system and our revolution. If the sincerity of people is not responded through the protection of their votes or if they would not be able to react civically and peacefully to defend their rights, perilous paths will be opened and the responsibility of being propelled to these paths is up to those who don't tolerate peaceful actions.

If the widespread fraud and vote-rigging which has ruined the confidence of people would be introduced as the witness and evidence for the lack of manipulation, the democracy of the state would be slaughtered, and the idea for the inconsistency of religion and republicity will be proved. Such a destiny would gratify two groups; one which from the very beginning of the revolution, campaigned against Imam [Khomeini] and considered the religious government the "tyranny of decent people", and according to its falsified notions, wanted to propel the people toward the heaven forcefully; the other group is the one which under the pretext of defending people's right, considers Islam and religiousness an obstacle for the fulfillment of republicity. The astounding astuteness of Imam Khomeini was to nullify the tricks of both dualities. By relying on Imam Khomeini's path, I had come to annul the efforts of magicians who were strengthened again.

Now, the officials of the country, with the confirmation of what occurred in the elections, have undertaken its responsibility and specified limitations for the outcomes of further investigations in a way that could not invalidate the results and annul the elections, even if in some 170 constituencies, the number of cast votes is more than the total number of eligible voters.

It's being asked of us to pursue our complaints through the Guardian Council, while this council has demonstrated its lack of impartiality, both before and after, and even during the elections, and the foremost pillar of judgment is impartiality.

I still believe strongly, that the request of elections' annulment and holding another election is a definite right which should be examined impartially by a trusted committee, not being ruled out primarily, or with the probability of bloodletting, people be prevented from rallies and demonstrations, or the country's Security Council put the blames on the others' shoulders and hold other accountable for the recent tragedies instead of responding the legitimate questions about the role of plainclothes in the assaults being aimed at the individuals and public properties or the creation of revulsion in the popular movements.

As I look into the stage, I find it designed for further purposes rather than imposing an unwanted administration to the nation; actually, the imposition of a new style of political life to the country. I, as a companion who has seen the beauties of your green wave, would never allow myself to endanger one's life because of my demeanors, meanwhile, I insist on my strong belief on the invalidity of the elections, and my demands to regain the rights of people, and despite having little capabilities, believe that the motivation and creativity of you, the nation, can still pursue and realize your legitimate rights in new civic faces seriously.

Be sure that I'll stand by you perpetually. What this brother suggests you, especially the youths, in finding new solutions, is to disallow the fabricator and sinister to snatch the flag of defending Islamic government from you. I suggest you to disallow the unworthy and impure confiscate the precious treasure of Islamic Revolution which is built up on the blood of your truthful fathers. With reliance on God and hope to future and dependence upon your abilities, follow your social movements hereafter based on the freedoms expressed in the constitution and the principle of non-violence. We are not facing the Basij militia in this path; they are our brothers. We are not facing the Revolutionary Guards in this path; they are the defenders of our revolution and system. We are not facing the army; they are the protectors of our frontiers. We are not facing our holy system and its legal structures; this structure is the sentinel of our independence, freedom and Islamic Republic. We are facing deviation and fabrication, and looking to correct them; a reform with reference to the original principles of Islamic Revolution.

We recommend the officials to not only provide the possibility of holding peaceful demonstrations, according to the Article 27 of the constitution and so as to govern calmness and stability on the streets, but also to encourage such gatherings and extricate IRIB from vilification and unilateralism. Allow the voices to be flowed, corrected and moderated in the format of debate and reasoning, before they're turned into scream. Allow the newspapers to criticize, publish the news as they are, and eventually, create a free environment for the people to express their agreement and disagreement. Let them call "Allahu Akbar" and don't consider it a dissension with ourselves. Evidently, in such a situation, there will be no need to the presence of military and police in the streets, and we will not be seeing and hearing about the incidents that will injure the hearts of all of those in love of revolution and country.

 Your brother and companion – Mir-Hossein Mousavi