Head of Basij Organization: Anyone Who is Not with the Leader is No Different from Shimmer

The head of the Basij Organization of the Oppressed says, "Anyone who is not with the leader" is no different from Shimmer, who sat on Imam Hussein's chest. According to the website 'Entekhab', Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar, speaking at the 22nd 'Wilayat Plan for Sisters of Universities in the Country' in Mashhad, added: "The ground has been prepared for you to be among the special people of the right, and the measure of truth and falsehood is the extent of our connection to the Guardian Jurist." He further stated: "Some of the special people who were with Imam (Khomeini) turned into a deviated front of the revolution after his passing and directly opposed him." Morteza Kazemian, a journalist and political analyst residing in Paris, referring to the head of the Basij Organization's description of those who are not with the leader, told Radio Farda: This statement "indicates the serious efforts of a political faction to establish a totalitarian regime in Iran that is determined to reproduce despotism and intensify religious tyranny; a perspective that shows disregard for the fundamental rights of all Iranian citizens regardless of their beliefs." Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar, in part of his speech, referred to the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, stating that "some of the special people brought the revolution to the altar during the 2009 sedition and brought it to a point where nothing remained of the revolution." Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and his supporters refer to the protests against the 2009 presidential election results as sedition. It seems that the head of the Basij Organization's reference to "special people" refers to Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the leaders of these protests, who held significant positions in the Islamic Republic. Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karroubi, along with Zahra Rahnavard, have been under house arrest since February 2011. Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar stated that "the leader of Islam is the embodiment and translation of pure Islam, which has nothing but revolution to say," adding: "If there is connection, good things happen; for example, we become good enemy identifiers and then understand what has happened to us in society." Mr. Kazemian pointed out that the head of the Basij has "unintentionally revealed his anger over the lack of a social base for the ruling bloc," believing that "in a situation where there is an increasing expectation for change among the leaders of the Green Movement after the recent presidential election, the statements of the head of the Basij indicate the continuation of an authoritarian outlook and serious obstacles to achieving national reconciliation." He adds: "On another level, the statements of the head of the Basij show the importance and position of the protest movement that emerged after the 2009 electoral coup. This senior military-security official reveals how much the central power is disturbed by the Green Movement and how much it still fears its consequences." According to ISNA news agency, a few days before the head of the Basij's statements, Ahmad Khatami, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran, had asked the ministers of the twelfth government on August 27 not to appoint supporters of the protests against the 2009 election results to 'key' positions. The leader of the Islamic Republic also called for 'boundaries' with what he termed 'sedition' during a meeting with members of Hassan Rouhani's government. Previously, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the secretary of the Guardian Council, and Friday prayer leaders in various cities of Iran have repeatedly emphasized that they will not allow supporters of the protests against the 2009 presidential election to hold managerial positions.