Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
Iranwire – Mehdi Karroubi, a veteran reformist cleric and leader of the Green Movement who has been under house arrest in Iran for more than 10 years, has used his first in-person public address to reassert his belief in the reformist cause.
This week Karroubi was allowed to attend an event at the home of Gholamhossein Karbaschi, secretary-general of the Executives of Construction Party, to mark the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad’s death and that of the first Shia Imam. In a speech at the ceremony, excerpts of which were published on October 5 by Ensaf News, Karroubi emphasized that the foundations of the Islamic Republic should be “preserved” and the shortcomings addressed.
Karroubi said he had attended the event with the blessing of “gentlemen” and “officials”. He then spoke of Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, declaring: “His leadership, his magnanimity, his prudence and his piety were able to overthrow a regime that was unprecedented in a thousand years, and he was able to create the Islamic Republic.
“God willing, the path created by the Imam [Khomeini] will continue, the basis of the system will be preserved, and God willing, its flaws and shortcomings will be eliminated.” He went on: “God bless you all. I’m so glad to see you. It is human nature to want to see your friends.”
Ensaf reports that a number of seasoned Iranian politicians were present at the speech: the first Karroubi has given since he was first placed under house arrest in February 2011 as the Ahmadinejad administration moved to quell mass pro-democracy protests. His fellow Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard were also detained and put under house arrest, where they have remained ever since at the behest of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In June 2018, Karroubi asked the Central Committee of the National Trust Party, which he had formerly led, to agree to his resignation.
