We must struggle for creating a democratic system that is dedicated to democracy and human rights.
AKBAR GANJILet me begin by saying not only you can’t have democracy with $75 million. You can’t even have it with $750 billion.
More Akbar Ganji Quotes
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When I’m speaking, I’m speaking only for myself. At the same time, I know that these ideas have wide support among the Iranian population.
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Iran is going to get between $50 to $55 billion in oil revenue, which is unheard of in the history of the revolution.
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Recently, we witnessed massive demonstration by Iranian woman in the 7th of Tir square, and it was brutally suppressed.
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The number of the opposition has certainly increased [in Iran].
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Let me begin by saying not only you can’t have democracy with $75 million. You can’t even have it with $750 billion.
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It began early in the revolution. It was a process that was unfolding on a daily basis. We expected the system to be dispensing justice, but every day that passed by.
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When I talk about secularism, I’m talking about theories today. To give you for example, one example: Those who consider themselves followers of Mosaddeq today are adamantly against federalism.
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There is no possibility of a public demonstration [in Iran] of such defiance, but these defiant acts are certainly going on.
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Religion is separate from the institution of the state.
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The issue has two dimensions. One is the legal dimension and the other one is the issue at the realpolitik. [In the] legal realm.
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I could witness that as a result of Ahmadinejad, they lived in a dream. They believed that paradise is around the corner and that all their demands shall be met.
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There is more disgruntlement, but because there is no media, the voice of this opposition is not heard outside Iran.
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Three of our provinces have seen mass uprisings. The three provinces are Khuzestan, Azerbaijan, and Kurdistan.
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We should put away the militaristic outlook.
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It is not clear what they have bought, how many secondhand materials they have bought. I am very worried that something like Chernobyl will happen to Iran.
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Religion is the private affair of an individual…be present in the public domain, but state has to be clearly separated from religion.
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We’ve had 60 years of intellectual development in Iran. How can we have the same system?
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The solutions to the problems of the distraught lower strata of society are problems that can only be solved in the context of an overall political, cultural, economic development.
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Even theories of secularism are constantly being revised and changed.
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You cannot bring democracy to a country by attacking it.
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It was universal pressure on the regime to secure my release. International pressure was certainly helpful in my release.
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The lower strata are suffering all kinds of oppression and the injustice that is inflicted upon them has many faces and many facets.
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If you look at the discourse before the revolution, whether it is the left communist, whether it is the right secularist.
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I am against revolution and am proud of it. Democracy cannot be created through revolutions.
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[In] every revolution, there is a great divergence between what the revolutionaries expect and what the revolution actually accomplishes.
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Supporters of the national front, Mosaddeq, believe that in Iran, we don’t have a nationalities problem, we don’t have an ethnic problem.
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