In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
One of the blessings of this movement is the getting together of the `ulama' of this and that vicinity- the Shi`ah and Sunni `ulama' under one roof however small it be- in order to let their eminences hear the problems we have- and the opposite of which being disseminated.
As you might have heard, a telegram signed by eighteen prayer leaders of Mahabad, or Mahabad and its vicinities with copies to fifteen officials was received here yesterday. It pointed out to the concern of the people of Kurdistan, who had indicated," We, the people of Kurdistan shared this movement and toiled for it. And now some individuals have confused your mind and made you cynical about the people of Kurdistan; they mobilized you and all Iranians against Kurdistan!" Well, I do know that the `ulama' of that area would not say such a thing. As the matter stands, either they have put down the names of the prayer leaders without their own knowledge or they have been approached and were coerced by the force of bayonets to sign the telegram which they could not refuse.
We are anxious to know what issues have the `ulama' of Kurdistan and the people of Kurdistan as well as those of other cities' Sunni `ulama', whom we recognize as our brethren, have noticed within the past five or six months that the Islamic Republic exists. Has there been any action taken against the interests of Kurdistan, Balouchistan, Sistan, and other places? Or, have the people of Kurdistan and those of Balouchistan been discriminated in favor of the people of Tehran? The problem with you and other social strata of the country is that each observes only their own community surroundings and is familiar with their own difficulties and perhaps they are under the impression that the situation is different in other places.
Widespread problems in the country
During the time that I have been here, there have been various groups coming here from different areas. There have been groups coming from Kurdistan, from Bakhtiyari, and from Qashqa'i; there have been groups coming here from all those places and each claiming that no others have been the subjects of oppression as they have. And no others are as backward as they are." We have neither (potable) water, asphalt, electricity, nor anything else." And I told them," You gentlemen only notice your own surroundings and you better go and observe other places. And see for yourselves that they lack everything as you do." They all lack everything. In fact, it had been decided for you not to have anything. I do not urge you to travel a great distance and observe the faraway tribes. No, I tell you. Just go to Tehran and see the slams around Tehran- while I was in Najaf, someone wrote a missive to me wherein he had listed the names of the slams. As I recall, there were about 30 of such slams in Tehran- they have neither (potable) water, electricity, asphalt, nor any dwellings. Yes, not even a dwelling! If you watch TV- I watched a couple of times the TV programs that showed such a scene- they were showing seven, eight, or ten old and young were literally coming out of a hole, what some call a" dwelling!" There you would see literally a hole and a bunch of young and old people. And I was told that in that place, if a woman who was the mother of those kids wanted to fetch some water for those kids, she had to take a water jar and climb some fifty odd steps from that pit to reach a water faucet and fill the water jar and travel back. Just imagine a scene like that in the wintertime! So, you should not harbor the thought that it is only your surroundings that are destroyed. The destruction is everywhere and that is what we have inherited. In the Islamic Republic they are trying to build up. However, the devastation is so extensive that makes it difficult to build up very soon!
The attentions paid by the government to the deprived regions
Right now a four-hundred-and-fif budget has been approved for Kurdistan and a delegation is due to depart to that province. Also an equivalent of one-day income from the oil amounting to four hundred million- or perhaps four hundred and fifty million each has been allocated to every existing province such as Balouchistan, Sistan, and suchlike for the purpose of repair works. This will include the establishment of schools, fixing of lands, erecting of houses, activating agriculture, all of these are the issues that they (the authorities) have in mind. It is not that they are heedless; they are thinking about it. But again the Islamic Republic is now a five-month old infant or perhaps six. Calling to mind 2,500- year devastation to start with and add to that the recent fifty odd years that we all witnessed. Of course, by" all," I mean those of you who are of my age. Otherwise, you gentlemen would only remember the time of the son; only a few of you will remember the time of the father. To talk about destruction all of whom had united to pillage and steal and keep this nation backward and keep the culture backward and, what more can I say? To ruin the economy and keep the people unhappy, etc., etc. But, of course, they made much ado! They kept saying," We did this, we did that; we will do this! We will make such-and-such a country. We will have a" great civilization" in the making.
The nation must be kept informed of the government's services
I have told the Prime Minister several times- when they came over here with other ministers-" Gentlemen, you are accomplishing things but you do not talk about what you are doing; you do not advertise whereas others do nothing but advertise a lot! This cabinet is working but it is not advertising. They also do not talk about what they are planning to do; they do not say what they are about to do. For instance, it was only yesterday that the Prime Minister mentioned about the ratification of the one-day income of the oil, amounting to approximately four hundred million or four hundred and fifty million tumans. He mentioned it just now. It is not that they do not work, they do, they are busy, they all are busy and they do it with good will, too. However, there is such a confusion in the affairs that prevents them from doing their job. And then these Democrats «2» fabricated this paper; they fabricated that telegram. They had either forged the names of those prayer leaders or had compelled the prayer leaders to sign. And, surely they themselves will later nullify their own doing, God willing.
Why did we mobilize those people- for example, the (Revolutionary) Guards, the army, and the gendarmerie- to that place? Did we mobilize them to suppress the Kurds? We mobilized them to suppress those who had embarked on suppressing the Kurds? Had we mobilized those forces to suppress the Kurds, and then they should have suppressed those Kurds that were residing there! But how come those Kurds welcomed these forces with open arms? Both sides thanked each other for their mutual social intercourse. It was only last night when the radio had a show about Mr. Chamran «3» complimenting him for his kind behavior with those people. Well, this is the army of Islam and the army of Islam does not treat the people badly. They misbehave who intend to steal and pocket money for themselves and for their masters. Those are these parties and their heads that are in for such a thing. They were engaged in destruction and we dispatched delegates to stop their ruining things and to repair what they ruined. They are now crying out loud," What did you do in Kurdistan where Shi`ah and Sunni (are now well behaved)!"
Islam, the religion of brotherhood and equality
Putting the Shi`ah vis-a-vis the Sunni has no place in Islam; being a Kurd or a Fars is of no relevance. In Islam, all people are brethren. At this very moment that we are sitting here together we are all brothers. Are you our enemies or are we your enemies?! Neither is true. Islam is for brotherhood, for equality. Thus, if you see that there has been less work done, it is because of the fact that there are lots of works to be done. In other places, too, there has been little work done.
There are lots of works and there are lots of problems. There are plans for all these: both for your surroundings and for the vicinities of Kurdistan as well as Balouchistan and other places. There are plans and they have been approved, too, and by the will of God they will be acted upon only if these mischief-makers will give us a chance. Well, work has to be done in a peaceful atmosphere in order to be able to do something in Kurdistan. When they confuse the atmosphere the way they do; when they pour out and destroy a hospital and set the hospital on fire and decapitate the wounded, they killed so many people; they put so many people through hardship. Well, how could one perform under such condition? But when we have gotten rid of them and their mischief-makings, the works will begin by the will of God. And, by the will of God everything will be carried out as per the wish of you prayer leaders.