In Iran, where everything is covert, we have no firsthand information.
AKBAR GANJII am against revolution and am proud of it. Democracy cannot be created through revolutions.
More Akbar Ganji Quotes
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There are varieties of theories of revolution. According to one of these theories, only one of these theories, revolutions occur when there is an explosion of rising expectation.
AKBAR GANJI -
Of course, everyone knows that I’m also opposed to the Iranian regime and I have said that we must change the regime. But it is us, the Iranians, that must change the regime.
AKBAR GANJI -
In a totalitarian state, the state views any act of an individual to be political in nature. For example, the clothing that a person wears in a modern state is a private affair whereas in the Islamic Republic all women are forced to wear the hijab (Islamic attire).
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We must struggle for creating a democratic system that is dedicated to democracy and human rights.
AKBAR GANJI -
Would Americans accept if we decided to come here and decide who your rulers should be? So why do you expect us Iranians to accept the idea that the United States shall come in there and decide who shall govern us?
AKBAR GANJI -
We can certainly be on the same side and the same front with the workers and with the oppressed people of Iran. We can certainly be on the same front with them.
AKBAR GANJI -
What I’m worried about is that, in case that happens [nuclear explosion], then the Iranian people are the ones who are going to pay the heaviest price. But none of the Western countries have seriously talked about this.
AKBAR GANJI -
If you look at the discourse before the revolution, whether it is the left communist, whether it is the right secularist.
AKBAR GANJI -
They obviously collected a lot of votes, but these monies could not solve the structural problems that these people face. But the only result, the only consequence, was that a big sum from the budget was wasted this way.
AKBAR GANJI -
Negotiation talks are the best way to solve anything. We must replace wars and weapons with negotiations and talks.
AKBAR GANJI -
Iran is going to get between $50 to $55 billion in oil revenue, which is unheard of in the history of the revolution.
AKBAR GANJI -
The number of the opposition has certainly increased [in Iran].
AKBAR GANJI -
I have spent six years in prison, the last six years. Even if I was outside the prison, how much actual space was there for an investigative journalist to do his work in Iran?
AKBAR GANJI -
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.
AKBAR GANJI -
It is like living with your wife, with whom you are in love and you are intensely involved in, but you also have tensions. And their position is that they want to deny that these tensions exist.
AKBAR GANJI