I have had a heart for the Persian people for quite a while now. It started when I found out about how the students were being dragged out of their houses, beaten, and thrown in prison. Evin prison is nothing like Gitmo. They really do torture you there. Several times a week, if not several times a day.
I find this appalling. This happens because these people commit the most terrible crime of actually desiring liberty and freedom and a republican form of government–frequently misquoted as democracy. Imagine that? No, I guess you cannot, because you want to free the jihadis in Gitmo. You are not the people I am writing to. Go away.
These people are not jihadis. They don’t want to harm anyone, and they desire to have human rights such as women’s’ rights (to live, to not be stoned to death because of someone else’s crime against them, etc), free and fair elections, and good riddance to the evil regime that stole control of their country. These are good people. Even if they do not want to live as we do, so what? I don’t like the way most of you live either! lol.
While this is one letter from one person, I can assure you there are many more voices in Iran that agree with him. Here is the letter the former political prisoner has written to President Barack Obama:
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A Letter from former Iranian imprisoned student activist to President Barack Hussein Obama.
Dear President Barack Hussein Obama,
We congratulate you and the American people on your election as the 44Th president of the United States. Your historic victory is cause for celebration for those who seek freedom and equality around the world. It is a triumph of democratic values and equal rights, a vindication for those around the world at the forefront of the struggle for civil rights.
The democratic institutions that enabled you, an African American, to become the highest ranking official in your country has awed people around the world. As you noted in your inauguration speech, the fact that the child of a man who, 60 years ago, may not have been permitted to enter a restaurant because of the color of his skin is now serving as leader of the nation, is testimony to the sacrifices of so many others during the painstaking historic progress of your land.
Mr. President, you ran your campaign on a promise of change, for both American domestic and foreign policies. Regarding your administration’s policy to Iran, you stressed the need for open and direct dialogue. As you know, Iranians are in the midst of a courageous fight for their most basic freedoms. The democratic movement in Iran, led by students, women’s rights activists, workers and human rights defenders, is violently repressed by the regime. The Iranian people, a majority of whom live in poverty despite their country’s natural resources, seek to determine their own destiny. They form a resilient base of support for the civic groups calling for a democratic Iran, respectful of the human rights of all Iranians.
The political structure of the Islamic Republic monopolizes power in the hands of one almighty Supreme Leader, a cleric appointed to lead for life. The system does not allow for peaceful change through legal means. The function of the president is reserved for Muslim Shi’a men, and only those among them who believe in the theocracy are elected through a process marred with fraud.. The president, whose function is merely administrative, implements the leader’s decisions and is unaccountable to the Iranian people.
We former student activists wish to address you as a progressive social reformer. In your policy making regarding Iran, you will contend with the whole gamut of ways Iran is a problem for the US: from the regime’s nuclear ambitions to its regional influence and support for terrorism around the world.
We call on you to pay special attention to the repressive, unaccountable nature of the regime that creates these problems and to keep focus on the Iranian people’s demands for democracy and human rights.
As the president of the United States of America, you must defend the interests of your country. We are certain you know that in this increasingly interconnected world, the long-term interests of your country can never be fully secured when others in foreign lands do not enjoy freedom.
Mr. President, you marked your first day in the White House by ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison. But in our country, many Guantanamo exist, only our Guantanamo are home to students, women’s rights activists, labor organizers, political activists, and journalists. We, as former student activists who spent time in Iranian prisons under inhumane conditions, call on you and all those who defend human rights, freedom and equality to express solidarity to the people of Iran as they wage their struggle for freedom.
– Akbar Atri, BA in Political Science from Alameh Tabataba’i University and MA in Political Theory from Mofid University in Qom University; member of the executive committee of Daftar Tahkim-e Vahdat, the umbrella group for Islamic student associations in Iran. He was tried and sentenced to seven years in prison by the Islamic Revolutionary Court for his pro-democracy activities.
-Ahmad Batebi, BA in Social Sciences from Payam Noor University and former member of Jebheye Motahed Daneshjoo’I (a secular student group). He was arrested during the July 1999 students protest and sentenced to death. His sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison.
– Farzad Hamidi, MD from Oroumieh University. Former student activist member of the Iran Demorcratic Front, he was arrested several times and spent three years in prison.
– Hamid Alizadeh, MD from Tehran University and former member of Jebheye Motahed Daneshjoo’I (a secular student group). He was arrested during the July 1999 student protests and spent one year in prison.
– Kianoosh Sanjari, student of Art in Sama University of Sari and member of Jebheye Motahed Daneshjoo’I (a secular student group). He was banned from university because of his pro-democracy activities. He was arrested 9 times and spent two years in prison.
– Koorosh Sehati, student of Agricultural Engineering and member of Jebheye Motahed Daneshjoo’I (a secular student group). He was a student activist during the July 9, 1999 student demonstrations. He was banned from university and spent two years in prison for his pro-democracy activities.
-Manouchehr Mohammadi, student of Economy in Tehran University and Head of Ettehadieh Melli Daneshjooyan va Faregh ol Tahsilan (a secular student association). He was expelled from the university for his pro-democratic activities and arrested during the 1999 student protest and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He fled from prison after 8 years of incarceration.
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As for you, President Obama, do not meet with Ahmadinejad. Stop apologizing to foreigners for America. Take a moment to ponder this question: “What would the world look like if America had never existed?”
You have an opportunity here to do something great, help the people of Iran. President Bush had Congress pass the Iranian Accountability Act. There is money in that account that was never spent, because it went to the State Dept. This is one more reason I hate the State Dept. It is NOT for the spread of condoms, it is for the spread of a repuclican form of government and freedom. They get to determine the final say as to how the government is run. The government is supposed to be by the people, for the people and responsive to the people. This is what we should be promoting.
Use this money in a way that these human rights groups and activists in Iran can unite against their evil regime. They will make sure there is no nuclear weapon, and they will become free, maybe even an ally. They hate those mullahs, the same ones you are going to try to appease. Please don’t do a Jimmy Carter. You are making us appear weak. They cannot afford America’s shame by us jimming up their evil dictator. Our country cannot afford it either! Thank you.
For my readers: I remember writing many letters and signing several more petitions to see these people released. Batebi is also an escaped prisoner. He managed to escape a few years ago.
I’m not asking you to sign any petitions. I’m not asking you to write any letters. I am asking you to open your eyes to understand that we could face an Iran with nuclear weapons or we could face an Iran that is peaceful. Probably even our ally. Yes, they do like America. That’s the dirty little secret the press does not want you to know.
These people do not want us to invade their country. No. They just want the assistance so they may do this on their own in their own way. They want the life that you and I share. We are that shining light upon the hill. I’m asking you to care, pay attention, get educated. If you have any questions, e-mail me. I do what I can to help you. Thank you for your time.
Source: This letter was sent to me through a mutual friend, Winston.
May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.
Cross-posted @ Talon, The Conservative Underground, SmartGirlPolitics and Rosemary’s Thoughts. 
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