SOURCE: Iran Daily, 5/4/04
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TEHRAN, May 3--President Mohammad Khatami in a letter addressed to the Iranian nation on Monday discussed a wide range of issues, as he had promised earlier.

According to ISNA, part of this 47-page missive reads, "Perhaps our youth have not had close links with many other officials in the same way that they have had cordial bonds with their president. One of the greatest assets during my tenure as president is the letters, notes, paintings, poems, messages, praises and criticisms that the brave youth and the young adults of the country have sent me. I have tried to reply to all of these, either briefly or in an extensive manner, as far as possible ... However, in view of the governing climate I felt necessary to write a letter to all my beloved children, whose kindness and fury are both precious to me. I have called this missive "a letter for tomorrow". Now that I am approaching the end of my tenure, I wish to reestablish this interaction. This letter does not contain all that I have to say. Nor does this letter intend to respond to all the questions and criticisms addressed to me. It merely serves as a tool for establishing dialogue. This is because my heart has always beaten for the souls of the great youth of this land and the youth of the world."

Khatami stressed that no group of people can choose its future by ignoring its past while the future of every group depends upon its alertness and determination.

"Our past was filled with despotism. In fact, being overshadowed with despotism is the chronic syndrome of our society. Despotism takes away self-confidence from the people and intimidates them. When despotism prevails, people from different walks of life try to make ends meet in every possible manner and hence hypocrisy and impiety are promulgated ... We have been doomed to despotism for many centuries. This despotism has at times even been justified through philosophy and religion ... In this climate of despotism, each and every bloodsucker was described as "the shadow of God" and he found the opportunity to abuse God's creations in the name of Allah," he said.

The president recalled that under such a climate, Iran established contacts with the West, which also endeavored to free itself from the dictatorship of the church and feudalism by giving the slogan of freedom and equality.

"In our confrontation with the West, we pursued two types of attitude, namely humiliation and intimidation. These two attitudes create hatred and passion, and block independence of thought ... Hatred and passion were our biggest agony in contemporary history. This is while the unsuccessful confrontation between traditionalism and modernism over the past 150 years has affected out culture in an adverse manner," he said.

Khatami then referred to the historic demand of the nation in the past three decades for the fulfillment of freedom, independence and progress, and talked about freedom movements in this period.

"Imam Khomeini was the epitome of the nation's dignity. He revived hope and self-confidence among people who craved for freedom and liberty, but who had become pessimistic because of the hegemony of imperialist powers. People, who sought freedom and political independence, got to like the spiritual and religious values promulgated by the Islamic Revolution under the guidance of the Imam. This is how the most popular movement of the 20th century became victorious. Irrespective of the school of thought we attach credence to, if we are fair, we will respect the Imam as a distinguished and great personality," he said.

He added that some try to promote traditional interpretations of religiosity in the name of Imam and hence close their minds to all other interpretations.

"These people want to deprive the society of free thinking in the name of Islam. Some people try to exaggerate the Imam's support for the Guardians Council while they ignore the warnings that he gave to the GC during his lifetime so that they can give the impression that the GC is people's guardian rather than a supervisory organ," he said.

Khatami pointed out that the line of thought that came to the fore in the wake of the 1997 presidential race was received enthusiastically and in an unparalleled manner, especially by the youth and intellectuals.

"This line of thought underlined loyalty to the authentic guidelines of the Islamic Revolution, the democratic nature of the Islamic system and encouraged reforms in all arenas," he said. Referring to currents that have resisted the reform movement, he said, "Due to this opposition, some of the people's legitimate demands have not been fulfilled. This especially applies to the demands of the youth and the intellectuals. What is worse, it was inculcated that public demands will not be fulfilled. Unfortunately, this type of attitude led to people ignoring the great achievements of the reform movement. In this process, various internal and external parameters have tried to make the society pessimistic about the status quo as much as possible," he said. Elsewhere in his letter, the chief executive clarified that the point is not that the government can fulfil all public demands and development plans.

"The point at stake is rather that we identify the obstacles to establishment of democracy. Therefore, we must understand various issues fully before we can make critical comments," he said

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