Speech [Necessity of cultural-economic independence of the country]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I would like to remind the gentlemen of a point. We must struggle to be self-sufficient in all areas. It is impossible to achieve ndependence prior to economic independence. If we stand in economic need, we would also be dependent in other things. Accordingly, if we are dependent in trms of culture, we would be deopendent in fundamental things. Regrettably, the propaganda carried out in the course of history since the time these foreigners found their way into eastern countries has triggered the eastern people to imagine that whatever development has to be found in the west. This attitude caused eastern people to be alienated in the face of the west and the US. Everywhere, there is talk of the west and overseas. If a medicine is produced even in our country, it is presented to the Iranians in the name of foreign drugs. If Iran makes a quality cloth, it should be sold to people in the name of English serge! Whatever you look after, we are told should be supplied from them. One of the now dead former Majlis speakers or member of the senate had recommended that we should basically imitate England in every respect. He was a stooge of England. This mentality encouraged by way of extensive propaganda in Iran said has caused us not to trust ourselves and rely on the west, being stripped of intellectual independence.

If we want to be independent, we should be able to do without reliance on the west in all respects. We should launch the struggle as of today when the country is in our hand and the grip of foreigners curtailed hopefully forever. The treacherous people are gone, only their decaying roots remaining. We should serve our country as our home. From now on we should work to do without reliance on the west and east.

Rest assured that the West and the East do not bring any benefit to any Islamic or eastern country. Whatever they offer us is either of no use for themselves or things that are useless for us. If they offer some know-how, they would give things that would not yield any profit to us. If our youth go there for education, the knowledge they impart to our youth is reserved for colonial schools. Their schools are different from what are offered to Third World. They see the Third World in a different light. Basically, they do not grant anything to the Third World. In fact, they hold no respect for Third World people. The respect they hold for animals there are greater than their treatment towards people living here! The medicine that is banned to use there is authorized to transfer to the Third World. The doctor who is banned to practice medicine there is transmitted to here. It is permissible for such a doctor to practice medicine here! The doctors graduated from there and granted certificates there are not predominantly authorized to practice medicine there; they have to return to their countries to practice. You are not authorized to practice medicine here. This attitude is due to the fact that they maintain no prestige for Third World people or borrowing their words colonized countries. Whatever they desire for themselves is completely different from what they want for us. They give us something different.

I have already said that when we were in Paris, the young students studying in Germany came to us and complained that they were banned from ascending the higher rungs of education. They said they were impeded from reaching a certain level or make progress. Regrettably, they had infiltrated into our universities and blocked the growth of our students could achieve. Some of the university professors were stooges delegated not to let our students make sound progress. If you want to gain independence and real freedom, you should struggle to achieve self-sufficiency in all aspects of life. You should be free from need. Farmers must work such that we no longer st and in need of wheat from abroad. University students should struggle so that we would not need foreign doctors. We should not also stand in need of engineering from abroad.abroad. The constantly concluded contract with foreign companies and entrusted road-making to them. Our experts in making road were marginalized. Our workers were given menial labor with meager wages, while their engineers with so and so pays lording over us. Our country was presented as dependent, coolie and wretched. They fetched an engineer from abroad with 100 thousand or so salary, whereas ours were better than theirs, subordinating the latter.

The situation of our country in this span of time, particularly in the past 50 years was as stated. We should rid ourselves of this condition. If we want to live in an independent country, we should work assiduously to become self-sufficient. Our patients should not go abroad for medical treatment. We should make things we can. When there is a will, there is a way. We can meet all our needs. In the past, however, we had been instilled the idea that we have nothing and that we know nothing and therefore should import our requirements from abroad. If such is the case, it is a disaster; if not and we have been raised to believe it is true, it is also a tragedy.

Our universities must endeavor to train and educate students to help the nation to be relieved of foreign need. Our physicians should be domestic; we should not stand in need of foreign doctors or flying overseas for operation of tonsil. In the former regime, the Shah wanted to get the tonsil of his child or a relative and brought physicians from abroad to do it. They wanted us to be in such situation and showing the world that we do not have even a tonsil surgeon. However, we have it. They wanted to portray such a picture overseas. They were agents to depict such an image that we are a people who are basically unaware and that people in our country cannot cover a street with asphalt or make a road and building. The Eastern buildings such as this theological seminary you observe in the door leading from the Faydiyyah School to the compound, there is a fringe over there with tile works. It was long time ago that I have not observed. When we were in Qum some 30 or 40 years ago when such events had not taken place, I was quoted that foreign experts came and visited this place. They said such tile works to make was impossible to produce anymore because a special heat is needed to make such colors. If the heat is excess, the color would be destroyed and if slight such color would not be produced. Such were our experts. Our masons and tillers were such that even foreigners have confirmed and confessed that they had not their likes. The medicine practiced by Abu `Ali Sina and Razi are being taught in Europe even today. Unfortunately, we have put them aside and clung to them! We cannot claim we have an independent country unless we rid ourselves of dependence.

You, young adults, and you who educate the younger generation try to deprogram the mind of the youth that has been filled with western materials. Make them understand that they have their luminaries and everything. Have them understand that they should do their work by themselves. If we have something that is defective, it is better than stretching our hands before our enemies to get a perfect one. I regret that we have to go to our enemies and seek their help to meet our necessities. If we stood in need of our friendly countries, it would be of no matter. However, the countries you observe today such as France that has taken Bakhtiyar- Iran's enemy- under their wing, writing and speaking against Iran with police backing him. Now, if our youth want to raise a voice, the French police would stop them. Our number one enemy «1» is kept in the US under the color of treatment. They either want to treat her or taken him under the pretext of treatment to conspire against us. Now, should we stretch our hands before the US for wheat or before England to give us so and so? It is truly regretful! We are all regretting that we stand in need of our enemies.

We must be self-sufficient. We should train and help our farmers to join their hands and enhance agriculture to a level we can export our products. Our country used to be export-oriented. Now, we have been entangled in this difficulty. In our country a single Azarbayjan or Khorasan is sufficient to meet the demands of the entire country if agriculture is ameliorated. The excess should be exported. Unfortunately, under the pretext of land reforms, we have been ruined as you see. Such is the case with our other things. We should gain independence in everything. Independence is not attainable along with dependence. If our culture is dependent, we cannot have dependence. If our economy is dependent, we cannot achieve dependence. First, we should correct these. Economic independence! We should primarily mend this so as to call our country independent.

I hope that our youth, teachers and university professors, writers and intellectuals are awakened and notice the negligences. We had been beguiled up to now; our minds had been converted. We should join our hands; writers should contribute to this revolution, speakers should help this revolution, newspapers should back this revolution. I see some newspapers, excluding the leading ones, carrying materials detrimental to the nation. Among these newspapers, some presume that their interests lie in the rule of westerners over our country or coming to power of the like of these treacherous ones. Those newspapers that are not such and the youth who are not without defect because in time of the former regime they were not involved in activities to be brought up like them should think out a way to make real human beings. We have our culture; we can educate our people; we can work to improve the country. It is the beginning of the work that the hands of the criminals have been virtually curtailed from our country. The grip of those who ransacked the country is now curtailed as well. We should think out how to construct our country. First and foremost, our youth should be mended. The youths who should protect the country in future and run it should be raised properly.

May God grant success to you, sisters and brothers, to serve this country! May God grant you health!