Speech [A comparison between the Islamic Republic and the monarchial regime; condemning those who use their pens to dampen down the spirits of the nation]

At the top of the erstwhile monarchy were Mr. Aryamehr «1» and his relatives; the deposed Shah and his relatives. Let us compare Mr. Bani Sadr «2» with him since the highest post in the Islamic Republic is that of the president. Let us make a comparison between these two individuals and their families and let us see if, as they claim, the Islamic Republic is the same as the previous monarchy. Even though not in absolute terms, the one who is heading the government today is certainly different from the ex-Shah. I am not saying that the officials today are absolutely ideal but I do want to highlight the extent of the unfairness of these claims by making a comparison between the officials today and the officials of the Pahlavi regime and reveal the truth about their lifestyles and their financial exploitation and how they pilfered off the wealth of this nation into their own foreign bank accounts and how they lived out here and the large amounts of property that they had accumulated in this country and the simple lifestyle of the President of the Islamic Republic today. Are these two comparable in any way?! That one was an all-powerful" His Majesty" who ruled despotically over this entire nation and pilfered off all the income of this nation for himself as well as his relatives, doling out our oil to the foreigners, much to our loss. Has our nation expelled one" His Majesty Aryamehr" only to replace him with another" His Majesty President"?! Are the systems of both these the same? Is this President a plunderer like the erstwhile Shah was? Does this President's family enjoy a lifestyle anywhere similar to that of the ex-Shah's? And mind you, you and I hardly have any information about their lifestyles. But you have all seen their palaces in Tehran. And they had similar palaces in other places, too; and also abroad. Even if" His All-Powerful Majesty" wished to spend a few hours in a year in any particular city, elaborate arrangements would be made for his comfort with the wealth of this nation; just because "His Majesty" wished to spend a few hours somewhere each year! Now check out if this also holds true in the case of Mr. Bani Sadr. Have any elaborate arrangements been made for his comfort in every city with the wealth of this nation, for him to spend a few hours in luxury? Does this person even own a house of his own except for the one that he had- as I have heard- inherited from his father? Is his family in any way comparable with that of the erstwhile royals? Does he have someone like Ashraf Pahlavi «3» in his family? Does he have someone like Farah «4» in his family? Does he have someone like Shams Pahlavi «5» in his family? Does he also have brothers ruling this country that we are unaware of? Let me ask those who claim that nothing here has changed except in name, if the system of the Islamic Republic is the same as that of the erstwhile monarchy. Can they not see the lifestyle of the highest official of the Islamic Republic? Can they not see how he has dedicated his life to the service of this nation; something the monarchs did not do even for a single day! So such is the situation as far as our President is concerned.

Another body that was common among both the governments was the office of the prime minister and his ministerial cabinet. Is the government system of the Islamic Republic the same as that of the earlier monarchy with just a change in name? Can Mr. Raja'i «6» be compared with Azhari, «7» or Mr. Bakhtiyar «8» or Mr. Sharif Imami, «9» all of whom placed this nation under fire and committed countless crimes? Or is that Mr. Raja'i also has some secret set-up that is massacring this nation without our knowledge, which these unfair writers are aware of?! Are the lifestyles of Mr. Raja'i and the other ministers like the Interior Minister and the others anywhere similar to the likes of the Azharis and the Sharif Imamis and the Bakhtiyars? Is he also committing crimes like them under the banner of the Islamic Republic? Is that so? Does our nation believe this about Mr. Raja'i? Do those who claim that nothing has changed believe Mr. Raja'i to be like Bakhtiyar, who issued an order for massacring the masses even as he was fleeing the country? Do they consider him to be like Azhari? Has nothing really changed except in name? Is Mr. Raja'i just like Sharif Imami and does he operate just like him? Have we deceived the people by appointing him as the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic although he is exactly like the prime ministers of the ex-regime? Do they really think so? Go and take a look at the lifestyles of the Prime Minister and the other ministers who are busy serving the nation and compare it with the lifestyles of the ministers of the ex-Shah's regime. Compare their actions with those of the earlier ministers and check out if the Islamic Republic is just like the monarchial regime! There is a world of difference between the two. And even if the people do have some grievances against this government, they are very different from what our enemies are claiming. They are claiming that not much has been done by us. They accuse us of failing to rectify the problems that were created for this nation in the past fifty-odd years within a few days! In other words, they accuse us of having been unable to perform such a miracle! Neither Mr. Raja'i nor anyone of us have ever claimed that this government can perform miracles. But yes, you can see how they are all serving the nation and you are all witnessing how they are striving hard. You are also aware of their simple lifestyles. And you can well see that what is actually happening is quite different from what these gentlemen are sitting in their homes and writing as regards the Islamic Republic.

Let us now examine the condition of the Majlis. The Majlis is one of the bodies that existed during the ex-Shah's regime and it also exists in the Islamic Republic. I have a great deal of knowledge of what transpired in the earlier parliaments and am sure that you, too, have some idea of the same. Is the earlier parliament and are the speakers of the earlier parliaments in any way comparable with the present Majlis and its speaker «10»?! Do you think that the conditions of the present Majlis and its members who have been elected from among the people are similar to the taghouti personalities who formed the erstwhile regime's parliament? Are they saying that the Iranian nation has voted for those same taghoutis and have granted them positions with which they are now occupied with the same illegalities that they were rampantly engaged in during the regime of the ex-Shah? Is the Majlis of the Islamic Republic the same as the ex-Shah's parliament with only a change in name and is it that we have only changed its name from the National Consultative Assembly of the Aryamehri Monarchy to the Islamic Consultative Assembly of the Islamic Republic? Is this what the nation believes? Or is it that these writers are simply spreading such stories because the Islamic Republic is not working out to the benefit of their personal vested interests and they, in reality, wish for the same old monarchy to prevail so that they can continue to reap the same benefits that their counterparts did during the previous regime? Are they saying that our nation had united and expelled the monarchial regime only to replace it with another monarchy?! Are not they trying to question the self-respect of our nation by making such accusations? Do they think that this Islamic Republic which has been established with the votes of the people and whose President has been elected by the people, and whose members of parliament have also been elected by the people's votes, and whose ministers have taken their offices through the people's votes is just the same as the monarchial regime? And is it that this nation was simply craving to sacrifice its youth and to be left with a considerable number of war-injured and handicapped people only to replace a monarchial regime with another similar monarchy? Do they think that our nation would wish to sacrifice its own youth only to re-establish the same monarchy with another name? The truth is that these people are simply squandering away their time and resources to their own humiliation. Is the speaker of our Majlis just like the speakers of the parliament of the ex-monarchy who all claimed to be very" nationalistic" but were in fact from among the so-called aristocrats who lived highly luxurious and extravagant royal lives? Are the claims made by these people true?

Now let's come to the judiciary. Are the judiciary council, the judges, and the heads of the judiciary bodies of the Islamic Republic the same as those of the monarchial regime? Are Dr. Beheshti «11» and Mr. Mousawi Ardebili «12» like the judges of the previous regime? Don't our people know about the judicial conditions of those days? Of course, there were a few exceptions among them and those judges are still in office today. Compare those who have been dismissed with those who are in office today. Is Mr. Mousawi Ardebili, who led a powerful Friday congregational prayer a few days ago with such sincere concern for the people, like the public prosecutors of the earlier regime? And do you believe that the people who prayed behind him in the congregational prayers- something they had never done with the earlier public prosecutors- just wanted to fool the world or fool themselves?! Is it that one taghouti was removed only to be replaced by another one? Are they claiming that our people have removed one undeserving judge to replace him with another undeserving one? Have they removed one chief justice only to replace him with another taghouti one? Are they the same people? Do they operate in the same manner? Are their lifestyles similar in any manner? The nation really needs to check out if things are as they are portraying them to be. Is this nation trying to take the whole world for a ride? Or is one group of people from this nation trying to fool another? All these matters need to be evaluated so that we can check out whether their claims of our having replaced one taghouti regime with another taghouti one are justified. Such is the case as regards the judges. I do not want to get into a description of the judges of the previous regime and I do not need to remind you that some of them were also communists. The judges in an Islamic state who were supposed to judge on the basis of the laws of Islam were actually communists, and even worse! Is this true of today's situation? Are the members of our judiciary council like the judges of the previous regime? Are our courts of law today the same as they used to be in those days? I am not claiming that all the judges of our country are ideal people. No, I am certainly not saying this. What I am pointing out is that the claim that only the name has changed and that this is the same monarchial regime needs to be examined and verified. Are we trying to make any false claims? Were the people of our nation stupid and uncultured enough to remove one monarchial regime and bring another one to power with their own hands? Is this how it is?

So this was another issue that I wanted to draw your attention to. Of course, there are some judicial shortcomings all over the country but matters are still nowhere close to what prevailed in the previous regime.

Next let us evaluate the conditions of the radio and television. Even though the radio and television of this regime has not yet succeeded in reaching its desired goals, is it anywhere like the radio and television of Rida Khan's and Muhammad Rida's regime? You have all experienced the radio and television of Muhammad Rida's days. Now would you all say that today's radio and television is the very same radio and television of the ex-regime and that all that we have done is to give it a different name? Are the programs on radio and television similar to the programs, shows, and films that were broadcasted and telecasted during the erstwhile regime? Or no, there is a difference between the two! Although we have not yet managed to achieve all that we have set out to do, are the radio and television of today the same as what you had all experienced in those years? Are they the same radio and television of the times of the taghout except for a change in name? Or no, it is these writers that are deviated.

Let us now move to the Armed Forces. Let us begin with the Army before we come to our friends who are present here today. Is today's army and are its commanders anywhere close to the army and the commanders of the Shah's regime? Are the lifestyles of our generals today similar to the lifestyles of the generals of those days? Do we have anyone like Major Gen. Batmanqilich «13» in our army simply under a new name? Did our people unite to throw out one Batmanqilich only to replace him with another one? Are the conditions within our army just like they used to be in the previous regime without any difference whatsoever? Or is there a vast difference between the two? And even if there are some shortcomings, you can be assured that attempts are being made toward their rectification. So you can see that it is not as if the commanders of our army are just like the commanders of the army of the ex-regime. There is a world of difference in their ways of thinking, acting, and in their daily lifestyles. So even these are not the same, for the deviated writers to claim that the difference is only in name.

The gendarmerie of those times was such that even when Rida Khan entered one of its garrisons he put his hands into his pockets to prevent anyone from picking them, notwithstanding the fact that he was the biggest thief of them all! All those who have had an experience of the gendarmerie of those days and have had an encounter with them know the truth of the matter. Can they say that things are the same today or are they otherwise? Is the gendarmerie of this regime also busy looting and robbing people? Did our nation jointly throw out a group of looters and thieves only to replace them with other plunderers or is it merely that these deviated writers cannot bear to see the success of this Republic? There are various motives behind the foul attempts of these vile people.

Well, now what about the police force? I have had some personal experiences of the police force and the police stations of those times in my youth. And I am sure that all those of you who have had personal experiences with those police stations of the previous regime know what I am talking about and how they used to treat people. Such was the condition of the constables who were supposed to protect this nation! Is it the same today? Do the constables today also throw their weight around our people? Just one of them could terrorize the entire Tehran Bazaar to a close! Today, would even their entire force be able to do something like that? The police force has the consent of our people today. During those days people were even hesitant to go to the police stations with their own complaints lest they got into trouble. The people were as afraid of the police stations of those times as they were of the thieves and the ruffians. Is that the case today and are the people in this regime afraid of police stations and the police force? Are the conditions of the police force and the police stations like they used to be in the earlier times? Or is it simply that these wicked writers are wishing in vain for a reversion to the older days?

Why were there no real "guards" [pasdaran] at that time? No one from the people could think of rising up as guards, simply because the taghouti regime did not really have their consent. A true guard can never side up with oppression and tyranny. There were no true guards from among the people because the nation was against the monarchial regime and the taghout and because they considered it religiously unlawful to support the taghout! They considered it against Islam as well as the Qur'an. Following the Revolution, these forces emerged voluntarily from among the masses in order to protect this country and are in service of it now. Are they, too, the same taghouti forces under a different guise? Are the chiefs of the revolutionary guards like the chiefs of the Shah's guards? Are the pasdars today the same plunderers under a different name? Is this what the nation believes? I am not claiming that all the pasdars all over the country are ideal since I, too, have complaints against some of them and want to seriously draw their attention to the fact that these venomous pens are waiting for them to make the slightest mistake so that they can blow it out of proportion in their writings. So we can see this about the pasdars and how they were non-existent during the ex-regime because they rejected the taghout. After the elimination of the taghout, a number of committed believers emerged in order to maintain law and order in Iran. It is not as if all of them and all of you present here are the same taghouts of yore who have emerged under a new name.

Now let us check out if the nation is the very same one as it was during the previous regime or if it has actually seen a major transformation. As regards this nation, there are various aspects that need to be addressed but I will suffice by mentioning a few. We are talking about a nation that could not dare to refuse to place flags on its shops if commanded by a mere constable during the celebrations of Aban 4. «14» And if anyone did not comply by their orders they were sure to be detained and harassed. What transpired for this nation to literally arise and to hold demonstrations in order to declare their rejection of the Shah's monarchy? Please do not underestimate this move. It is not a small achievement to overthrow a monarchial regime that had ruled over this nation for more than 2,500 years with all its might and wickedness. Even the monarchs from among them who are now famous for their" justice" were some of the worst criminals of history. In our own times, we have all witnessed what crimes they committed against this stifled nation. What transformation dawned upon this nation for it to stand up powerfully and hopelessly overpower a 2,500- year old mighty regime supported by major powers like America and the Soviet Union as well as other big powers?! Do they say that the spirit of this nation is the same as it was during the monarchial regime excepting for a change in its name? Or has some major transformation actually taken place? There was a time when a single constable could petrify the entire Tehran Bazaar to close down and then there came a day when the same Tehran Bazaar, along with the entire nation, fell out on the streets boldly rejecting a monarchial regime in spite of all their threats, their tanks, and their machine guns. The entire nation- men as well as women- came onto the streets with the courage of their human dignity and ousted the monarchial regime.those same brothels? Are those earlier bars still anywhere to be found all over Iran? Are the conditions of our cinema today the same as they used to be? Is it really as if there is no radical change except for a change in name? Who are these writers trying to fool? Are they trying to fool this nation that was actively involved in all the affairs right from the beginning? It was not as if the nation was sidetracked with simply a certain group taking over the reins of power and the destiny of the country in their own hands without bothering to take the nation into consideration. Does this look like a nation that came into the warfronts with full awareness and even sacrificed their own children, their youth, and their brothers with full awareness only to replace one taghouti regime by another taghouti one? Do you still see our streets lined with those same bars to be able to justify that everything is still the same except for the name. Are those centers of corruption that were rampant during the Shah's regime still open here albeit under a different name?

The fact is that these writers simply sit within closed walls and write whatever they wish to, either to please their friends and allies, or then to conspire against us. Yes, we are well aware of all their conspiracies. These are sick people and it would be better if they came up with their actual problems. Yes, their main grouse is that with the coming of Islam, they have lost access to all their vested interests. What their actions are actually saying is that we are frustrated with the Islam that has deprived us of gaining our vested interests. It is not as if I believe that you brothers as well as this nation are not well aware of all these matters; I just feel that it may help to draw our attention to them. It is quite possible that there may be some people who may not be aware of all these conspiracies and may fall prey to them. These so-called" writers" are actually trying to play tricks on us and their pens, too, are devious. They want to rob the enthusiasm of this nation by hook or by crook and by telling this nation that nothing has changed here except the name. What they are trying to say is that you people who have jointly voted for a president and for the Islamic Republic as well as the members of the parliament have simply brought those same old people back into power who are still doing exactly what they did in the earlier monarchy! Although I am sure that all of you are well-aware of the lies in all this but I am only worried about those who may be caught unawares and fall prey to these tricks by believing some of their lies.

I repeat that there are shortcomings and that there are many shortcomings but you cannot expect us and the country to succeed in rectifying all the problems that have been imposed upon this country throughout history and during these past fifty years in particular, in order to make this country dependent and to bring about its overall corruption and destruction, in a couple of years time. Especially with all these great conspiracies against us and with all the problems of this imposed war. By the way, we have in our midst some of our war-ravaged brothers who have taken the trouble to be here today. You all know that they have ruined this huge country. They have destroyed its agriculture in the name of land reforms. They have forced our entire industry to become dependent upon alien technology. Everything in this country and our entire nation, including our culture, economy and our army, were all made dependent. Considering all this, whatever you have succeeded in achieving thus far has been a miracle in itself. The achievements that this nation- which has been a great support for the government and the government bodies- has made so far have all been miraculous. This country faced a lot of destruction in the past fifty years even though some negligible civil work was done, while in the last two years, a lot of work and service has taken place in this country, especially in the rural areas which had been completely forsaken. Today, many things have been achieved or are in the process of being achieved in most of these rural areas.

These writers only wish to de-motivate this nation. Despite the fact that the entire nation is participating actively in all areas, they still publish and spread their false tales about nothing having changed! They are claiming that even this Islamic Republic has proved to be fruitless and that there is no hope even in Islam. This is what they wish to spread outside our country so that those who live there, unaware of our real situation, believe in their lies. They are happily trying to spread such false stories with the hope of duping the foreigners into believing them and with the hope of attracting some support from them, in order to revert Iran back to its earlier days so that they can once again get busy doing whatever they want in this country.

I have bothered you with all these obvious details simply in order to draw your serious attention to them because these parasites, who wish to eliminate Islam and the Islamic Republic, mainly because it has harmed their personal interests, are now busy spreading such false stories among our people, our youth, and our schools. Their biggest insult to the dignity of this nation is their claim that this country has eliminated one taghout only to replace it with another one. This indeed is a big insult to this nation because no one has imposed the Islamic Republic upon it!

It is you who have yourselves voted for the Islamic Republic. Nearly 22 million people voted for the Islamic Republic. Are they trying to say that these 22 million people took all these pains merely to establish an Islamic Republic in name, and to actually have the same ex-regime in operation?! Or were these 22 million people fooled into casting their votes and that all they wanted was that the Islamic Republic should pick up from where the old monarchial system ended. Were these 22 million people fooled by one, or two, or maybe a hundred or two hundred people to the polling boxes? The biggest insult to this nation is to tell them that they have been duped by a couple of people! Who were those" handful" of people that have cheated this entire nation?

In any case, our eyes and ears need to be kept wide open. Do not think that these foreign powers and their internal parasites will leave us alone so soon.

We can expect years of struggle against them. Equip yourselves powerfully to develop your nation. It will be worth all the effort for us to work hard for ten to fifteen years in order to make our country independent and to liberate it from the clutches of these man-eating wolves.

May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.