Interviewer: A reporter of the Onita (?), the organ of the Italian Communist Party
Question: [Our country, Italy, is following with keen interest the attempts of the Iranian nation against the dictatorship of the Pahlavi dynasty. At the same time some press reports indicate that the Islamic government is one step behind the modernization of Iran by the Shah. What is your opinion?]
Answer: According to your confirmation, it is more than fifty years that the Pahlavi dynasty, that is, the Shah and his father, have been ruling over Iran with their dictatorship; they have not spared any crimes, with the help of the colonial powers, against the Iranian nation. They have given the control of Iranian resources, particularly oil, to the aliens. They have muffled any cry for freedom and any protest against dictatorship with the help of the bayonet. This dynasty has committed frequent massacres during these fifty years. Freedom in all its aspects has been taken from the people. The people have never had any right to elect. The orators and writers have either been killed or imprisoned or they have been banned from writing and lecturing. The press has been banned from writing the truth and in sum, they have destroyed all the fundamental institutions of democracy. The Shah and his associates have confessed to all of these during the current year. Now my question is: what is the meaning of modernization for such an oppressed nation with such a dictatorial sultan? Does modernization mean the plunder of our black gold and in lieu of that stockpiling of weapons worth billions of dollars? Does modernization mean the establishment of assemblage factories with foreign investment and the investment of their domestic allies including the Shah who is turning the country into a full-fledge colony, providing them with the services of the Iranian workers on low wages? They have destroyed the agriculture and instead they have imported about ninety percent of the wheat, rice and other foodstuff requirements of the country. Does that mean the modernization of the country? They have filled the prisons with our educated people, from students, to doctors, to engineers and other experts and intellectuals and have imported doctors and engineers from abroad. In the Shah's logic and in that of the press that are paid by him, these measures mean modernization of the country. Is our argument, that is, the establishment of the Islamic government- in the light of which we want to put an end to all those crimes and treacheries- tantamount to being one step behind? No. It is putting an end to the 2,500- year-old rotten reactionary monarchy.
Q: [Do you think that you are linked to all the liberation movements in various Arab countries that on the basis of various methods and under peculiar conditions are struggling for independence- like the Palestinian nation- autonomy, political, economic, and ideological freedom?]
A: The current sacred Islamic movement in Iran does not have any organized ties with any group outside the country. However, since the Iranian nation has always supported the struggle of all the freedom-fighters, particularly that of the Palestinian brothers against the aggression of Israel and since for the past fifteen years we have always acknowledged their struggles in our statements and lectures and supported them as much as we have been able to do, we hope that they- and other freedom-fighters- of the world support the righteous struggles of the Iranian nation. We hope that they do so as much as and as soon as possible.
Q: [In the struggle against the Shah, the religious force is a source of unity among different layers of the political forces. What is your opinion about the participation of the united popular combatants of the revolutionary movement, some of whom are Marxists, but do not confess?]
A: Yes, today, Islam, as a progressive school of thought, capable of fulfilling all the demands of man and solving his problems, has drawn the attention of the Muslims of the world, particularly that of the Iranian Muslim nation. More than ninety-five percent of the Iranian people are Muslims and seek the establishment of an Islamic government and the execution of the progressive Islamic laws. All the strata across the country are unanimous and united in seeking these demands. If a group of people, whose number is very limited, raised a slogan other than Islam, they are either biased or take orders from foreign powers, if they are not the agents of the Iranian regime, or it may be because they do not know Islam and what they have heard about Islam they have got it from wrong diversionary propaganda. Hence they have taken refuge in other schools of thought and we believe that with the implementation of Islamic law, they will return to the bosom of Islam.
Q: [Most of the newspapers in Italy and France speak of the danger of a civil war and believe that the only optimistic solution is compromise, election of the constitutional Parliament and referendum in order to prevent confrontation between the people who listen to you and the army. Is the gap between the army and the people really wide? Here we are talking of the top brass army officers who are in the service of the Shah?]
A: First of all compromise with the Shah means compromise with an oppressor and traitor. And this compromise is itself the biggest treason, which does not fit in the culture of Islam and that of a real Muslim. Secondly, throughout the reign of this dynasty, compromises have always been accompanied with bitter experiences and the Iranian nation is wakeful today and will never be deceived by this ploy. The press that talk about civil war should know that a long time back the Shah had launched such propaganda in order to ward off the movement of the Iranian nation, frightening the people of Iran's disintegration into several small states. «1» He used to say that his opponents wanted to disintegrate Iran. This is only a hollow threat and the nation will not be deceived by it. As for the army, the Shah knows well that he cannot pin his hopes on this army. Nowadays we receive the news of the mutiny of the army personnel. The soldiers desert the barracks; the young officers disobey their commanders. The army personnel, except a few personnel who are the relatives and mercenaries of the Shah, are Muslim and sooner or later will join the nation and the Shah will not be able to continue his rule.
Q: [All the observers believe that the great demonstrations on last Sunday and Monday [people's massive demonstrations on Tasou`a and `Ashoura, 1978] were a referendum against the Shah and in favor of the Islamic government. They have also accepted to recognize the great maturity of the Iranian nation who listen to you, but the domination and power still continue, for the Shah does not intend to step down and therefore under what other form can the popular struggles against the Shah continue?]
A: The combatant nation has undermined the foundations of the Shah's house of cards, which was built by himself and due to this very reason his power cannot continue anymore. It was the very same Shah who said a few years ago, when he established his absurd party [the Rastakhiz (Resurrection) Party, established in February 1976] that anybody who does not cast his vote for him will be either placed in jail or will be allowed to leave the country.
Today, you see that the Iranian nation has forced him to accept the fiasco of the failure of his nominal party. It was the very same Shah who believed that the political prisoners should stay in the prison until they languish and die, but we see that the pressure of the nation has forced him to release some of them and accept tens of other failures caused by the pressure of the nation and by the grace of the Almighty God they will remove him from power forever. They use any possible means in this way. If the Shah does not leave through peaceful means, he and his supporters will have to pay a heavy price.
Q: [You are informed about the fact-finding group demanded by Carter. Your Islamic government can sever its relations with the powers that have economically or politically exploited it or have undermined its interests. Have you envisaged bilateral talks with the United States, of course, on completely equal footings?]
A: We will not accept any negotiations so long as the Shah is in power and has not abdicated. In case an independent Islamic government based on the people's votes comes to power, then we can negotiate with any willing government in various fields. In our relations with other countries, we will neither allow oppression against ourselves nor will we commit any inequity against others. And if a country follows such a policy and does not depend on any of the colonial powers and maintains its total independence, it will definitely face economic, political sanctions in today's world. The Shah and his illegal government do not have any ties with the people and are doomed to be overthrown by the nation. Therefore, he inevitably accepts whatever the foreign powers impose on him in order to preserve his power.
Q: [The Italian workers are on the side of the Iranian nation in their struggle. This feeling exists in other places as well. The governments think differently and it can be said that your holy struggle has traversed the Islamic borders and is recognized by the nations. What is your opinion?]
A: As the diabolic powers have got united in plundering the weak nations today, the nations too must support each other in their struggles to vindicate their own rights. We hope that at this crucial juncture, all the freedom-loving people of the world support the courageous, heroic Muslim nation of Iran. The Iranian nation intends to stand on its own legs without relying on the East or West and rely on its own religious and national assets. Contrary to the trend of the governments, the nations of the world support this approach and will support it.