The Liberation of Bread Prices Begins

The newspaper Etemad reported with the headline "Pure Speech" that on Sunday "Ali Motahari's remarks about house arrest were interrupted by the protests and shouts of 'Death to the Seditionist' from some representatives." Abed Fattahi, the representative from Urmia, wrote a note in the newspaper Shargh detailing the events of tension in the Majlis on Sunday, stating that "a number of representatives rushed towards Ali Motahari, who was nearly knocked down but did not fall, only his left hand was slightly injured." The newspaper Kayhan emphasized what it described as the "widespread praise from anti-revolutionary media for Ali Motahari". It also posed questions to Motahari in its editorial, asking: "What relationship do his views and opinions have with those of the martyr Morteza Motahari?" and "If his relative connection to the martyr is ignored, what remains?" The newspaper Javan referred to Ali Motahari as a "blasphemous representative" and stated: "This blasphemous representative must understand that he is acting outside his mandate and that responsible authorities must make it clear to him that this trend could be subject to legal and judicial follow-up, as he seeks to disrupt the judicial process regarding the leaders of the sedition." This newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, wrote: "The fact that Ali Motahari refers to the ninth of Dey, which is the peak of the Iranian people's insight, as 'Satan's Day' is not something that can be easily overlooked. It is up to the representatives of the people to question his credentials and introduce Motahari as unqualified for representation, as he has deemed the movement of a nation as satanic to save a few seditionists." Mehdi Mousavi Nejad, a representative from Dashtestan and one of the "first protesters" against Ali Motahari's speech on Sunday, told Etemad: "If Motahari repeats this, we will confront him again." However, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, in a note in Etemad, attributed the "noise" from representatives supporting the former government to their confrontation with "embezzlements and other violations" and wrote: "Some staunch defenders of Ali Motahari's political views may not agree with some of his cultural views, but this does not prevent us from supporting his political opinions." Hojjatoleslam Habib Boroumand, a member of the clerical faction in the ninth Majlis, wrote in the newspaper Iran: "On the one hand, this criticism of Mr. Motahari is valid for insisting on continuing his speech in such a specific situation, but on the other hand, the behavior of the protesting representatives is by no means defensible." The newspaper Shahrvand published a report about "the most unprecedented archaeological excavation in southern Tehran" with the headline: "A skeleton changed the history of Tehran." The newspaper Kar-o-Kargar reported on the beginning of "the liberation of bread prices," quoting the head of the Stonebaker Union about "the liberation of Sangak bread production in 34 bakeries in Tehran." The newspaper Vatan-e-Emrooz published statements from the deputy commander of the police force regarding "the priorities of the police in combating smuggling," stating that dealing with "security and cultural contraband, including weapons and alcoholic beverages," is at the top of the police's priorities. Etemad's report on the moments of tension and turmoil in the Majlis states that "Ali Motahari was himself yesterday; half a full-fledged principlist and half a full-fledged reformist. When his speech began, the representatives' 'Bravo' and 'Well done' also began. His criticism of the government was sweet to his colleagues, just as his praise for the Ammar Film Festival was. However, this is Motahari's principlist side. His other half is something that his opponents cannot tolerate for even a moment, just as they could not yesterday." According to Etemad, "the last two minutes of the speech were where Ali Motahari showed his other side again" and said: "I consider the house arrest of Mr. Mousavi, Mr. Karroubi, and Ms. Zahra Rahnavard, after the end of the street riots and without a judicial order, to be contrary to multiple principles of the Constitution..." But "the opponents became restless in the blink of an eye, first their shouts of 'Death to the Seditionist' rose to the sky, and then their slogans disrupted the Majlis. Those who were behind came forward, and those who were more principlist shouted louder." The reporter of Etemad noted that "the repeated requests of Abutalebi, the head of the session, had no effect. He warned several times; gentlemen, please allow. But the gentlemen did not allow. They were restless and angry. Among them, one person was calmer; Motahari himself." Abutalebi preferred to speak with that one calmer person rather than with the representatives: "Mr. Motahari, you are in the real space of the country, and what has been done regarding these individuals has been done with the utmost Islamic compassion and with consideration for national interests, and if the system's will was not for compassion, it would certainly have been done differently. When you are aware of this reality, such discussions that provoke public objection from all representatives of the people are not acceptable, and the representatives of the people are also representatives of the dear nation. These are the things that must be observed. You are expected to respect national interests, Islamic laws, and the Constitution." Etemad wrote that "Abutalebi's words also went unfinished. Down there, the noise was escalating. Some wanted to persuade Motahari to stop continuing; among them were Abed Fattahi, Nader Qazipour, and Gholamreza Mesbahizadeh, and it was at this point that Mehrdad Bazrpash spoke: 'Two minutes have passed. Mr. Motahari has two minutes left. Please Mr. Doctor, summarize.' However, Ali Motahari continued his speech and said: 'First, I have two minutes left, and Mr. Abutalebi should have spoken after my speech.' However, Abutalebi was not convinced, saying that Motahari's remarks disrupted the order of the Majlis and that he should not speak like this. However, Motahari's point remained unchanged: 'A representative is free to express his opinion.' According to the newspaper, after "the shouts rose again, the mediation of a few representatives such as Abed Fattahi and Abdulkarim Hosseinzadeh in favor of Motahari had no effect. The fire of the protesters was hotter than that. On the other side, Motahari was just as determined." Thus, with the continuation of Ali Motahari's speech, "some protesting representatives had come to the podium to dissuade Motahari from continuing his remarks. First, it was Seyyed Mehdi Mousavi Nejad, followed by Aziz Akbarian and Fathollah Hosseini. Neither their shouts nor the hand that Motahari placed on Akbarian and Hosseini's chest calmed them. The atmosphere was heating up more and more, but Motahari continued his speech, stating: 'I believe that in this regard, the Supreme National Security Council, chaired by the President, and the Judiciary have been negligent; everyone knows.' Etemad wrote that in the final minutes of Ali Motahari's speech, while "the podium of the Majlis was surrounded by Motahari's protesters, a few, including Abed Fattahi, prevented them from pulling Motahari away from the podium. They had become his bodyguards. The slogan 'Death to the Seditionist' echoed in the space; Abutalebi called Motahari several times. However, he wanted to continue his speech. It seemed he was thinking of nothing else. The first opportunity he found, he continued his unfinished sentence, saying: 'Everyone knows that I have no attachment to Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karroubi, and in the 2009 elections, I voted for Mr. Rezaei. My aim is to defend a bigger issue and humane behavior towards critics of the government.' The reporter of Etemad noted that at that time, 'the situation was out of control for everyone.' Abutalebi could neither calm this side nor that side. No one was listening to him; everyone wanted to go their own way. Motahari wanted his legal speaking time, and the protesters wanted the end of his speech. There were still two minutes left. For the first time in the history of the Majlis after the revolution, the head of the session declared the session non-public right in the middle of a representative's speech. Now, this commotion had to continue behind closed doors, away from the eyes of the media. Away from the eyes of the observers." Etemad emphasized that "the bell that Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi rang to signal the end of the session in the middle of Motahari's speech was just the beginning of the clashes. Away from the eyes of reporters and photographers," it recalled that "not a single photo was published of the representatives' clashes with Ali Motahari and the disruption of his speech. The reporters were also not allowed to observe the outcome of this clash." The newspaper referred to the minutes when the public session of the Majlis was suspended at the request of the head of the session, Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi, as the minutes of "tension, behind closed doors" and wrote: "Ten minutes after the session was declared non-public, the door of the chamber opened and closed briefly. The large monitors still showed Ali Motahari behind the podium, but no speech was in progress. A few were around him, mostly reformists like Abed Fattahi. Mohammad Mahdi Zadeh was also going to join them. The doors closed," and minutes later when the door opened and closed again, "Ali Motahari was speaking." According to Etemad's reporter, after this scene, there was no news of the doors of the Majlis chamber opening and closing for ten minutes, but "just at the moment that reporters were waiting for it, the doors opened, and for a moment a new image of what was happening in the chamber came before their eyes; a tight circle of several dozen representatives surrounded Ali Motahari, who was no longer at the podium. Following him, Abed Fattahi had opened his arms to create space for Motahari. The protesters, with flushed faces, were shouting things at Motahari, and this was the last image of the commotion that the reporters in the Majlis saw. On a day when no photos were published of those moments of tension." Abed Fattahi, the representative from Urmia, wrote a note in the newspaper Shargh detailing the events of tension in the Majlis on Sunday, stating: "Yesterday, during Mr. Ali Motahari's speech, in the moments when the head of the session announced a break and the reporters were also directed outside the chamber, Mr. Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi insisted that Mr. Motahari's speech should not continue, but Mr. Motahari believed that the speech should finish, and indeed he did so. However, in the last moments of the speech, a wave of protesting representatives rushed towards the podium and actually pulled him down." According to the representative from Urmia, in the "last seconds" of Ali Motahari's speech, "one of the representatives went towards the podium to tear up Motahari's speech paper, and behind him, a number of representatives rushed towards Mr. Motahari, who was nearly knocked down but did not fall, and only his left hand was slightly injured." Abed Fattahi wrote in the Shargh newspaper: "I also considered defending the freedom of the Majlis podium my duty, and from the moment the protests began, I tried to defend Mr. Motahari and continued to do so until the last moments, but ultimately Mr. Nader Qazipour, by saying 'I have a personal issue with you,' pulled me down from the podium, and if he had not done so, I would have shielded myself until the end to allow Mr. Motahari to finish his speech because I believe that Mr. Motahari's remarks should have been defended until the end." The representative from Urmia in the ninth Majlis emphasized in this note that "every representative has the right to deliver their speech, and after delivering their speech, anyone who has an objection can express their objection, but preventing someone from speaking will lead to a new precedent, and anyone who wants to say something may be surrounded by a group that does not let them speak. This is an event that, in my opinion, is not worthy of the Majlis and its podium, and silencing the Majlis podium is not in anyone's interest." Abed Fattahi pointed out that "just as we all consider ourselves obliged to respect the system and the Majlis, we must also respect the rights of our opponents, and they must respect our rights as well," he wrote in the Shargh newspaper: "Mr. Motahari's speech in the session on Sunday, January 21, recorded a historic day in the history of Majlis speeches. It is true that the opposing side was expressing their feelings, but I believe that if the Majlis podium is attacked and its sanctity is violated, this trend will continue. Later, others who want to speak or criticize an issue may be silenced by similar methods; in this case, the freedom of expression of individuals will be endangered. I think this day was not a good day for the Majlis podium, and I hope this event does not happen again."