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I Just highlighted some of Rp's comments which I found pertinent below :

Comments by Reza Pahlavi to a Group of Prominent American Business Leaders in New York City

This is a continuation of Reza Pahlavi's engagements internationally with governmental and business leaders, journalists and others to amplify the voice of the Iranian people in their ever Green quest for human rights and dignity.

"…Since the election, the people’s movement – today dubbed as the “Green Movement” – has been embraced by Iranians of all walks of life and political persuasions. Its nature is pluralistic. It defines itself as a movement which is not just advocating the merits of freedom, but also as a movement which is willing to pay the price for freedom. As such, in the spirit of pluralism and democracy, it values the importance of defending everyone’s rights to their opinions…"

"…Time is of the essence, however. On the immediate horizon, the world is contemplating further sanctions against the clerical regime. On this note, I have regularly emphasized in my talks around the world, the importance of targeted personalized sanctions against the regime's leadership, rather than the Iranian people. As Iran inches closer to achieving nuclear capability, the private financial fiefdoms of the clerical regime continue to provide economic and material support for terrorist groups, both regionally and beyond. It is their dangerous pocketbooks that must be sanctioned. The imposition of smart sanctions that specifically target the assets of key decision makers, and the means of the Revolutionary Guards to oppress the people, can prove effective. The critical goal, therefore, must be to weaken the financial power of the oppressive forces inside Iran…"

"…In closing, as with so many fronts in this modern-era, in the end, it is all about communications. I encourage investment in technologies that increase communication with the Iranian people. America in particular needs to increase the available mediums of dialogue with the Iranian people by strengthening the ability of the Iranian people to access news and information and to overcome the electronic censorship and monitoring efforts of the Iranian regime…"

MOOSIRvaPIAZ Thank You for Proving my Point ;0)

It's not because You Failed your Entrance Exam for qualification as a genuine and sincere Opponent to the IRI simply because you did not do your homework that you need to blame me or Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi ?

You claim to be in exile ? I would like to know when as an exiled Iranian you ever expressed outrage over the cold blooded execution of Iranian exiled Opponents to the IRI be it Shahpour Bakhtiar and his secretary ? Or that of Fereidoun Farrokhzad or Shahriar Shafig to name a few ?

The Iranian Opposition never ceased to express their sympathy for the assassination of the Forouhars or Zahra Kazemis or the massacres of 1988 and alert international opinion in that regard noor the intimidation of Shirine Ebadi by the Islamic Republic thugs.

I rarely heard the same support the other way round !

So YES I reiterate my assessment : No there was No Democratic Opposition to the IRI prior to the Post Election Protests but simply Reformists.

That Does not make them an Opponent to the IRI !

La Preuve:

Khatami, Democracy, & Islamic Republic

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUza-yhd9dM

Notice that Ebadi on the otherhand for the first time disqualifies the REGIME and NOT MERELY THE GOVERNMENT of Iran ...

That in itself Speaks VOLUMES on Her Sudden Change of Heart ! ...

You are Free to think otherwise !

Thank you for your interest in this debate.

Best,

DK

"Prior to the Post Election

"Prior to the Post Election Protests There Was No Democratic Opposition
to the IRI !"

This shows how clueless you people truly are. 

MOOSIRvaPIAZ What Democratic Opposition ?

Prior to the Post Election Protests There Was No Democratic Opposition to the IRI !

Those YOU Call the Democratic opposition aka Khatami, Moussavi, Karroubi, Rezaei were all Part of the System they oppose now.

Do Your Homework before Talking Nonesense as Usual just like Your Joon Joony Hamid Dabashi "Most Iranians don't demand Regime Change" :

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJw7bGr6qvA

At Least Ebadi has done hers by now :

ABC's Jim Sciutto: Nobel Prize Winner Says Iran's Regime Won't Last

Best,

DK

I have shared some of my

I have shared some of my own blunt observations regarding the attitude
of both Akbar Ganji and Shirin Ebadi towards the exiled Opposition they
seem to vilify and present in a negative light nearly systematically in
their public speaches or public stances.

Please Read my Comment here:

//iranian.com/main/2009/dec-9

I believe that some of the behavior displayed by both Akbar Ganji and
Shirine Ebadi illustrated their lack of political vision
and flexibility while paradoxically claiming to have the credibility and
moral superiority to speak on behalf of the Iranian people and
translate their demands for the international community.

You speak as if the exiled opposition (some of them) has always been in the right and have never done anything to jeopardize  the tireless efforts of democracy movements inside Iran. I have lost count on the number of times they have "crashed" conferences, damaged reputations, got activists in trouble inside iran with their stupid actions.

Personally I think they do warrant criticism and I understand if Shirin Ebadi or anyone else even "vilifies" them. Speaking as an exile myself.

Dear Patriot

You are absolutely right to post this blog and I was happy to be able to read about it. My criticism ( I hope constructive) was targeted towards the author and not the messenger. But I totally agree with you.

However I think that much of the hostility that has been directed towards some fellow "reformists" however condemnable is also due to their own ambiguous not to say arrogant attitude towards the exiled opposition they want to reduce to Neo Con War Mongerers which is just as bad as if they called them traitors.

Then the same people are upset when they are targeted in turn with the accusation of being IRI apologists ...

I have shared some of my own blunt observations regarding the attitude of both Akbar Ganji and Shirin Ebadi towards the exiled Opposition they seem to vilify and present in a negative light nearly systematically in their public speaches or public stances.

Please Read my Comment here:

//iranian.com/main/2009/dec-9

I believe that some of the behavior displayed by both Akbar Ganji and  Shirine Ebadi illustrated their lack of political vision and flexibility while paradoxically claiming to have the credibility and moral superiority to speak on behalf of the Iranian people and translate their demands for the international community.

I am sorry to say this but its not because Akbar Ganji Bravely risked his life with a Hunger Strike or that Shirine Ebadi was confered the Nobel Peace Prize that they are necessarily right in their assessments or that they are politically genius'.

If that were the case they would have gathered a large concensus around themselves and their persona today and represent a serious threat to the Islamic Republic in the same way the late Ayatollah Khomeiny represented a serious threat and alternative ( alas however disastrous in its consenquences ) to the Imperial Regime of the Shah.

None of the current leaders or figureheads be them inside or outside Iran have been able to gather a large coalition around their person or their would be program for change.

I am a monarchist but I am also a realist and my observation above also applies to Crown Prince Reza ...

I do not necessarily share EVERYTHING that the Crown Prince may say or suggest. I am  however in general agreement with much of his positions and propositions but that does not mean that I have to blindly accept Everything as coming from Gods Lips ...

As I have tried to explain before what I respect is the Institution of the monarchy and it's constitution. However important the Crown Prince who embodies it remains in my view point secondary for I do not see him as a Leader but as a possible Catalyst for Change !

Something like a Secular Pope if we were to draw parralels with Poland's Solidarnosc movement in which the Pope John Paul II was simply a moral companion of a just cause and its international spokesman.

The Real representatives of this movement however were people like Lech Walesa or other members of the Polish intelligenstia.

As such the Pope's Support and Public Endorsement was simply and extra Asset to the movement and not to focal point of what Solidarnosc and its leaders accomplished ultimately ... 

I also know that the prospect of a Restoration of the Monarchy may not be the final choice of Iranians regardless of my own preferences for this possibility. So all doors and possibilities should be considered and open if we truly wish to make a difference.

If a Monarchist like me is ready to consider the Republican ( Jomhury)  alternative then a Republican ( aka Jomhurykhah) should be open minded enough to also consider the possibility of a Restoration of the Monarchy ( obviously in its Constitutional form and Not Absolute nature) as one of the two forms of regime change options. That does not mean that we have to fall on our knees in adoration but to simply be open minded enough to study the pros and cons of each of the two alternatives.

Otherwise we are simply behaving as demagogues and not realists !

So this brings us to the real question and that is what Political blueprint could we aspire too in order to achieve that COMMON GOAL which is a bloodless transition towards Democracy and Human Rights in IRan ?

It appears clear in my mind that we cannot expect a common ideology to unite us but we can and must share a common  behaviour that could lead to a better understanding of what each group stands for or wishes for his or her country without jeapordizing the aspirations of the other groups in question.

That in itself is not an easy task. It requires coherence, patience and of course mutual tolerance and not simply discipline and good will.

I do not have the answer or solution to this problem ! However I do believe that the public figureheads and potential leaders or representatives of these movements also need to set the example in order to be respected.

I think we can blame the Crown Prince for many things except for not extending a friendly hand to his political opponents including people who belong to Iran's civil society such as Mrs. Shirin Ebadi or Akbar Ganji both of whom have refused to take it nor ever acknowledged this in public.

So to see Akbar Ganji show up with Googoosh the emblematic Product of the Pahlavi era or Mrs. Ebadi who despite having been named the First female Judge in Iran under the Imperial Era display such disdain and lack of recognition for the Pahlavi Family but ready to shake hands with foreign dignitaries or fellow Islamic Reformists seems to me quite hypocritical and may explain if not excuse some of the frustrated reactions expressed towards them particularly after the elections in Iran.

That said I sincerely hope that as a community in exile we will learn to cope with one another and behave much more tolerantly than we may do today.

Were we living in a Democratic Iran such behaviors could not be tolerated but the fact remains that the regime which is running our country is not democratic and that leads many to believe that its all fine to speak about democracy and human rights but if it means to repeat the same failed approach or policies that put us in the current situation then maybe its time for these people to shut up and listen for a change to what others have to say ... 

That does not mean that I share this assessment entirely but that is how I believe the critics of  Shirin Ebadi, Akbar Ganji or Trita Parsi and other pro Reformists think about them and their "failed" solutions.

I am confident that some consensus will be reached between all democratic forces ultimately but for that to happen sooner it will require concessions on BOTH Sides !

But to see some activists repeatadly hide behind the mask of the "victim" in order to overlook their own responsability in their own predicament tends to become an old record that fails to convince most  people who are looking for solutions and not just complaints.

My humble opinion.

DK

Ok Kadivar!

Ok La'nati, it feels good to make you squick here and there, but I watched that idiot's (Talebi's) video sometime back. .... there are fanatics in all sides specially among the majority.

Mr. Kadivar

I am not a monarchist, but I don't have any ill feelings toward Reza Pahlavi.  I posted this article just to share it.  I do believe there are excesses on both sides.  Some people hate Reza Pahlavi blindly, but there are also groups who take advantage of his name, too.  Excess on all sides is a bad thing.  Nobody should disrupt anybody's speech or any other form of public expression of opinion.  It is a bad trait some Iranians have and it should be curbed and corrected.  The day Iran is free and democratic, everybody should have a chance to participate in referenda and elections which would put the one with the most votes in power but which would also ensure the civil and human rights of everyone. 

kharmagas Jaan Thank You But EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME ;0)

But BOOK: EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME By Afschineh Latifi ( A Memoir )  ...

we can do without YOUR SAVAMAI's Help ...

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1APokqF1Zg

LOL

In support of fellow monarchists!

Dear fellow greens, please be gentle with our fellow monarchists. Some of these these guys are former SAVAKIis, and for many years have not been able to find someone to kick around .... please be sympathetic to them.

Shoma Takleefeh Khodetoon Roh Aval Roshan Kohneed ...

Don't Do to Others What You don't Want to see done to you ! ... 

Green Protestors Tear Up Iranian Sun and Lion Flag and Insult Monarchists demonstrating peacefully in LA:

//www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-273363

Now Should I conclude That ALL Green Protestors are Intolerant Bastards for that matter ? Or Ask Their So called ( unelected ) Spokespersons to call upon their sense of responsability ?

Maybe Some legitimately don't want to see their Voice be Highjacked by a group of unelected spokesmen turned into last minute Opponents of the Islamic Republic 

Cookoo Babak Talebi Do You hear ?

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=och26QdEEF8 

Cookoo Hamid Dabashi Do You Hear ?

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJw7bGr6qvA

Now if Akbar Ganji has faced hostile demonstrators be them MKO or Monarchists or Left Wing activists in Sweden who are demonstrating on their own initiative. I find that indeed unfortunate. But What does that have to do with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi ( Crown Prince in My Book so don't espect me to use Your Aghayeh Reza Pahlavi diminutive to begin with ... ) ?.

Crown Prince Reza Has been VERY CLEAR including with his own traditional Constituency of monarchist supporters :

//www.rezapahlavi.org/audios/?id=361#361

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has Clearly Condemned Violent Protestors including those who claim to be Royalists or his supporters who displayed intolerant behaviors towards other protestors :

//iranian.com/main/2009/oct/reza-pahlavi-green-movement 

He has been unambiguously  supportive to all democratic forces regardless of their political or ideological stand points.

REZA's CALL: An Iranian Solidarnosc... By DK  

It Seems SO CONVENIENT these Days to blame Everything on Reza Pahlavi or the Monarchists when Your Own Supporters behave with Equal Prejudice.

Respect Has to be a Two Way Process Don't You think ?

Best,

DK