The Terror Masters in Moussavi's Campaign Team

I was once told by a wiseman in Iran that more than finding out who the candidates are in Iranian politics, one should find out who their backers and friends are.

Taking on that advise, lets not even go into the fact that Moussavi was the Iranian prime minister during the 80s, the worst years of repression and terror, and the massacre of Iranian political prisoners in 1988. Lets give Moussavi the benefit of the doubt and say there were special circumstances because of the war and he could not interfere in the massacres. Let us not even consider that Moussavi's cabinet in the 80s consisted of some of the most brutal henchmen like Reyshahri, Asgaroladi, Rafighdoost, Velayati etc. Lets just look at his team members today.


One of them is Moussavi Tabrizi who accompanied Mir Hossein Moussavi on his recent trip to Tabriz. In the early 80s when there were continuous armed street clashes between MeK members and the regime, the dailies printed long lists of those who had been executed or killed during the clashes. I remember the Headlines in the papers which sent shivers down my spine, they were quotes from Moussavi Tabrizi saying 'Those who are injured during the clashes should not be taken to hospital but executed there and then!'

Moussavi Tabrizi was criticising taking the injured to the hospital and said 'One of the edicts of the Islamic Republic is that whoever stood in the way of the Just Imam, Killing them becomes mandatory and those wounded should be made more wounded until they die. This is not a new thing, this is the directive of Islam'

Such was the terrifying atmosphere of the 80s and to give you more of a feel of how bad things were, I remember a friend of mine who had nothing to do with MeK whatsoever, he was arrested on the pavement as he was watching an MeK demo. He was executed without trial by Khalkhali simply because Khalkhali was keen to execute a round figure of 100 that night and so my innocent friend was included in the execution list, purely to make up the numbers. Khalkhali's justification was if they are innocent then they will go to heaven any way.

When I see figures like Moussai Tabrizi in Mir Hossein Moussavi's campaign team today, the terror years of the 80s just resonate in my thoughts.

During this election campaign, Moussavi was first asked about his role in the massacre of 1988 by the students at Babol university. On that occasion, Moussavi, chose not to answer. He was asked again at Kerman, and by then his advisors had prepared him to give the following answer,
'It is said that when those executions took place, I was the prime minister and I did nothing to stop them. I was the head of the executive branch and not the judiciary, you can ask me about anything related to the policies and track record of the executive branch.'

In other words blame it on the judiciary and not on the Prime Minister. The question that comes to mind of course is, could you not have resigned?

Looking at Moussavi's agenda today, I see no radical plans, no substantial programs, just a lot of Khatami type mumbo jumbo behind a shy smile. I know a lot of people are excited by Iran having a First Lady for the first time, but at the very best, I feel Moussavi will be another Khatami. A path, already tried, tested and failed, why go down the same path again?

Finally I have a rule of thumb in Iran politics and that is whoever the pro-Soviet Communist Tudeh Party or their remnants today back or recommend will be a disaster for Iran. The Tudeh Party backs Moussavi today, they also backed Khalkhali in the 80s for his 'decisiveness in executing revolutionary justice'!

Most Communists always think they are more intelligent and they know more because they have read a couple of books by Marx and Lenin, yet I see nothing more stupid than backing a candidate who was the prime minister at the time when your comrades were executed. Where is the wisdom or intelligence in that?