Open letter 1 – to Mr Khatami

Written by ACI in 22 June 98

Ref: 20 / M / 90
Date: 22 June 1998

To Mr. Khatami, the popularly elected president of the Iranian nation

Mr. President, without doubt your election was the result of a stifled and repressed nation under immense pressure crying out for change choosing you to:

  • Establish a civil society – one of your particular slogans – and create an open political environment where there is freedom for political parties to form and operate
  • End the chaos, and disorder and the seditious activities of certain groups in the country and create a stable and ordered society.
  • Clearly and openly report the results of your government’s actions and policies to the nation and inform them of the true nature of events.

Yesterday your Mayor and member of your government and today your chosen Interior Minister have been dragged through the courts and sacked by a certain group calling themselves the nation’s representatives. The question is which nation do they represent. Are they chosen by the same nation who elected you? Without a doubt, this question can be put to the people themselves.

Do not forget the famous saying that ‘the parliament is where the people are’. If the parliament is not the nation’s home, it is not a parliament and has no legitimacy. You must make your position clear before the President becomes the third deposed person. You must either resign or put the issues to the nation.

Dr Hossein Ladjevardi
President, ACI.