To the blessed presence of the Supreme Leader,
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei, may his shadow remain.
After greetings and respect, and wishes for the acceptance of your devotions,
On this Sunday’s assembly with members of the parliament, you stated during your address:
“My humble self’s embarrassment over a young person returning home jobless and empty-handed is no less than his own.”
Perhaps you are aware that this part of your remarks has had widespread coverage in the media and especially in cyberspace. The broad reflection of these words might be because, for the first time, we heard from your tongue that you felt embarrassed about something, and you expressed your embarrassment in such a way that everyone could hear. For people who have long seen in your speeches the emphasis on fighting the enemy and confronting global arrogance, hearing these phrases with such language was significant.
Essentially, unemployment and lack of money are topics related to the geography of our country and are tangible and understandable for most people. Speaking of unemployment and lack of money and expressing embarrassment this time in the words of the Leader might indicate a warning siren has sounded, and the Leader has heard it. Moreover, this time, these words come from someone who cannot be accused of darkening the situation or being an enemy of the regime.
Hearing these statements, which were novel in the Leader’s rhetoric, raises many questions in one’s mind. Besides unemployment and lack of money, are there other shortages, mistakes, or incidents for which the Leader might feel embarrassed? For example, might the Supreme Leader soon say that I am embarrassed for the addiction of several million Iranians, the disintegration of many families, the destruction of the spirit and body of individuals, women’s and girls’ prostitution, the high rates of divorce and depression, the crowded courts and prisons, being first in brain drain statistics, first in execution numbers, roadway massacres, the setback from nuclear ambitions, the injustices, insufficient salaries of teachers, and the bankruptcy in the country’s economy, and my embarrassment in these topics is no less than that of the afflicted and the troubled?
With this expression of embarrassment, will there be a change in the situation of the people and especially the youth in the future? Has the negligence of statesmen and officials over the past 27 years and their disregard for the Leader’s advice caused embarrassment for the Leader in front of the people? Have the mistakes or errors of the Leader himself contributed to these embarrassments? If so, what is the extent of the Leader’s mistakes in this matter?
Continuing this letter, I request from the dear Leader that now a significant change is evident in your words, if a new phase of accountability for shortcomings and events has opened, measures should be taken such that for three major events in the country, two of which occurred during your leadership, the necessary news and information for clarification and enlightening of public opinion are provided to the people.
1) The mass execution of political prisoners in summer 1988
Clarification on the reasons for the executions, their quality, the number of executed individuals, the burial methods and locations, how families were informed, the role of families in the burial ceremonies, the possibility or impossibility of holding mourning ceremonies for families, the reason for keeping this subject hidden until now, and why it hasn’t been addressed on any occasion or in any domestic media.
2) The chain murders
The reasons and motives for the murders, the exact number of murders, how they were committed, the perpetrators, the commanders, those who issued fatwas for these murders, those aware of the murders, and the state of their trials.
3) The bombing of the Imam Reza Shrine in June, 1994
How the incident’s perpetrator was discovered, the manner of Mehdi Nahvi’s killing, and the detailed aspects of the incident. (If possible and advisable)
In closing, I emphasize that erasing the issue and avoiding accountability is counted as not having convincing answers and keeps the rumor market warm, which not only is not to the regime’s benefit but precisely to its detriment. For instance, in the case of the execution of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, perhaps only two thousand or four thousand people were executed, yet the rumor market makes the number of fourteen thousand instead of four thousand ingrained in the public’s mind. In this case, who is responsible for this mistake?
Undoubtedly, the responsibility for this mistake falls on those who have made futile attempts to conceal this event and have not even engaged in defending themselves or the regime about the numbers.
Mohammad Mahdavifar
Deminer and Diver of the Sacred Defense
20th of Khordad 1395 [June 9, 2016]