The Man Who Could Beat Ahmadinejad: Mousavi Talks to TIME

مصاحبه آقای میر حسین موسوی با مجله تایم قبل از انتخابات

•   اکنون دیگر روشن شده است که جریان اصلاحات اعتراض های خیابانی که بعد از انتخابات در تهران شروع شد را از قبل تدارک دیده بودند از آغاز سال جدید رنگ سبز در ایران مد شد ودر انتخابات این مد به اوج خود رسید تدارکاتچیان انقلاب رنگی برای مقابله با قدرت حاکم در وهله اول تلاش کردند که قدرت را در دست بگیرند و در وهله دوم که از قبل هم انتظار آن را میکشیدند تقلب در انتخاباتی را پیش کشیدند که مثل روز روشن است که بازنده اصلی آن بودند ولی در این سناریو تلاش کردند با موجی که ایجاد کرده بودند در صحت انتخابات تشکیک ایجاد نموده و مردم را به خیابان بیاورند آقای موسوی دردوازدهم ژوئن در مصاحبه با مجله تایم  در پاسخ به این سوال که قدرت در ایران در زمینه سیاست خارجی وامنیت ملی در دست رهبری است شما چه میکنید گفت بطور اساسی ساختار قدرت را تغییر خواهد داد تظاهرات خیابانی رهبر را مجبور میکند به افکار عمومی توجه کند او در پاسخ به این سوال که آگر رای نیاورد چه میکند میگوید رای بخشی از تغییر است بخش دیگر تغییر (بخوانید اعتراضات خیابانی)ادامه خواهد یافت . در ادامه متن ئکامل این گفتگو را به زبان خود مجله تایم مطالعه فرمایید:
  • The day before Iran went to the polls, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the leading reform candidate, agreed to talk to TIME magazine. The interview was held in a building that Mousavi, an architect and artist, designed himself, part of an art school and gallery complex in central Tehran. Mousavi — who is not overwhelmingly charismatic, but seems every bit the artist-intellectual — strolled into a bare conference room, with little security and only a few aides, dressed in a dark suit and blue-striped shirt. He seemed to understand the questions posed in English, but he answered in Farsi.

He also criticized, as he did during the campaign, Ahmadinejad"s incendiary rhetoric on international issues like Israel and the Holocaust: "In our foreign policy we have confused fundamental issues ... that are in our national interest with sensationalism that is more of domestic use." Mousavi was unexpectedly candid about his willingness to negotiate the nature of Iran"s nuclear program. He said there were two issues: peaceful nuclear uses, which was Iran"s right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and possible weaponization. "Personally, I view this second part, which is both technical and political, as negotiable," he said. "[But] we will not accept our country being deprived of the right to [peaceful] nuclear energy."

As President, Mousavi wouldn"t have nearly the power that the Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, does, especially in the areas of foreign and national-security policy. But he did express a belief that the remarkable street demonstrations of the past week would basically change the nature of the power structure — in effect, forcing the Supreme Leader to pay more attention to public opinion. We asked what would happen if he lost. "Change has already started," he said. "Only part of this change is about winning in the elections. The other part will continue, and there is no going back."

TIME: You were part of the revolution. How do you think the country has developed since then, and how would Imam Khomeini [the founder of the revolution] see all these developments
Mousavi: Imam Khomeini always welcomed change. He usually accepted changes and then tried to manage them.

Have the developments in this country surprised you, and are they what you expected at the time of the revolution
These are both fundamental internal and international changes. But because some of these changes were repressed, they have now appeared somewhat suddenly.

Did you expect them to happen so suddenly
I said in my first lecture at Tehran University that people are Janus-faced. They can have this duality. They both respect revolutionary values and look forward to modern changes. If you look at Vali Asr [Tehran"s longest and most famous street], from all the way north to the south, there are people from all sorts of backgrounds and with all sorts of different dress codes and outfits, but they"re able to gather together for one cause.Which side of this Janus face would you say is more prominent currently in Iran?
This face currently exhibits an oppositional stance. If it is embraced, it can lead to good opportunities for our country. If it is rejected, it could turn into a threat.

Have you been surprised by the kind of campaign President Ahmadinejad has conducted against you and your wife, and what"s your explanation for his behavior
He has a particular [style], but I didn"t think he would go this far.

And why do you think he did
I think he went beyond our societal norms, and that is why he created a current against himself. In our country, they don"t insult a man"s wife [to] his face. It is also not expected of a President to tend to such small details. It is also expected that he speak based on statistics and numbers.

This interview will be published after the election, and you may be President at that point. The last reformist President, Mohammed Khatami, who supports you now, had a difficult time getting along with the leader. Do you think it will be different for you than it was for him
There are different pillars of power in our system that must interact properly. This is the reality in our system, and I"m willing to have this interaction both in dialogue and in performance of my legal responsibilities. I believe I can balance this interaction

Do you think the reformists went too far and did not respect this balance
Khatami"s rule came to an end after eight years, but if he had stayed in government, who knows, maybe that balance between the [Supreme] Leader [Ayatullah Ali Khamenei] and other powers would have eventually been reached. But we have a particular system of division of powers in Iran. The Leader has certain powers, and the President has other powers, and balance between these powers is possible.

You and the Leader are both sons of the village of Khameneh. When you were Prime Minister, you were known to have friction in your relationship with the Leader. Do you think this could lead to problems if you become President
The problems we had then were based in the constitution. But now, of course, these responsibilities are much more clearly spelled out in the constitution, and there is much more room for harmony.

You haven"t spoken much about foreign policy during the campaign. If you"re elected, will your foreign policy be different from the one that exists now, especially toward the U.S.
The meaning of foreign policy is not just relations with one country. The U.S. is one of the countries in that group. The criticism that I"ve had is that we have not used the vast potential that we have to create good foreign policy. In our foreign policy we have confused fundamental issues and matters that are in our national interest with sensationalism that is more of domestic use.

With a change in government, do you think there may be a change in Iran"s stance on its nuclear energy program
We may change our methods. In regard to nuclear energy, there are two issues. One is our right to nuclear energy, which is non-negotiable. The second issue is related to concerns about the diversion of this program toward weaponization. Personally, I view this second part, which is both technical and political, as negotiable. We will not accept our country"s deprivation from the right to nuclear energy.

Do you think Barack Obama is more serious about wanting better relations between the United States and Iran? And how do we go about achieving this if you believe it"s possible
Obama has repeated his concerns several times, and this in itself has created a suitable atmosphere for better consideration of these matters. We are hopeful these talks will continue with practical action. (See pictures of the world reacting to Obama"s election win.)

What kind of action would you like to see?
I heard that he expressed regret over the coup d"état of 1953, and that itself is a positive step because it will assuage people"s negative mentalities in the country.

Four years from now, if you"re elected President, what do you want people to say about Mousavi? What do you want to have as a legacy
I was a villager. When the revolution happened, it pulled me forward, and now too people don"t see me as separate from them. If I become President, I hope that people will have the same feeling toward me now that they had toward me as their child then. Someone who with sincerity is doing his best to work for them. I have tested this: more than caring about results, people care about honesty.

If you don"t win, what do you say to all those young people who"ve been out in the streets, smiling and dancing and so happy? What do you say to all your followers if you don"t win
My message has already reached them. Change has already started. Only part of this change is about winning in the elections. The other part will continue, and there is no going back.

In your Cabinet, how many women will you haveI don"t know the number, but there will be women Ministers. I will announce them if and when I am President.

Will your wife perhaps have one of those positions
My wife runs away from official posts. I don"t think she"ll be interested in the least in having a political position. But of course, she has always been by my side as my adviser, and always will be