Statements on the Meeting with the Organizers of the Martyrs Congress of Kurdistan Province

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family.

I am very pleased to learn that a cultural and promotional movement is to be held to commemorate several thousand martyrs in Kurdistan; this is a very necessary and useful task that creates a responsibility for all activists, officials, and the understanding people in every part of the country, especially in certain areas that have unique characteristics, such as Kurdistan.

The issue of the dear martyrs of Kurdistan is significant from several perspectives and differs from other centers in the country: one very important point is that the field of action for the fighters of Kurdistan—whether those who actively participated in the Sacred Defense and military operations, such as the Kurdish Peshmerga and commanders, or those who worked in the cultural sphere like Martyr Sheikh al-Islam and others—was not a smooth and easy field like other cities. The counter-revolution was present in their own cities, in their own centers. For example, I cannot forget the very powerful, profound, and content-rich speech that the late Sheikh al-Islam delivered at the Grand Mosque of Sanandaj when we went there, in front of several thousand people. At that time, when he was delivering this speech, he certainly knew that there were people in Sanandaj or outside of it, or perhaps even in that assembly, who opposed these statements and expressions; however, he demonstrated that courage and spiritual strength and delivered that strong speech there. Or the young Kurdish Peshmerga whom I encountered several times in Kurdistan in 1979 and 1980; these were individuals who were not facing elements from outside the borders, but rather were confronting elements within their own homes, within their own cities. For instance, in an environment like Mashhad, there were many fighters who would move to the front lines, many of whom were martyred or became disabled and returned; this was not the case for them; right there, in their living environment, there were people who opposed them, who were fighters and conspired against them; and they stood firm and fought against them; this, in my opinion, is a very important point.

Another point is that the enemies of the Islamic Revolution and the enemies of the Islamic Republic designed their strategy to exploit religious and ethnic differences separately to defeat the Islamic Republic; because our country, in terms of ethnic diversity, is one of the unique countries; various ethnic groups live together under the great name of Iran and the great name of the Iranian nation. Such a situation exists in few places; and where it does exist, it is filled with conflict. In some of our neighboring countries, you can see how heavy the conflicts are among their own people and other ethnic groups present there—without mentioning the names of those countries. The enemies hoped to exploit ethnic and religious differences—specifically the Shia-Sunni issue—in the social environment of Iran. Now, I take Kurdistan as an example; some other regions are similar to Kurdistan, but Kurdistan is a clear example. What happened in Kurdistan was that the faithful, interested, and intelligent elements thwarted the enemy's plot; they did not allow the conflict between Kurds and Persians or Kurds and Turks to arise there. A minority influenced by foreign enemies made some statements; I went to Mahabad, and almost the entire city was closed; they had come for the speech; as I recall, all the shops were closed, and all the people of the city had gathered in the place where our speech was to listen to us; and they were chanting slogans and expressing their feelings. There, in my speech, I addressed the counter-revolutionaries, saying that those who speak on behalf of the Kurdish people should come and see this; this is the Kurdish nation. These people are the Kurdish nation, not the mercenary who has gone abroad or is sitting somewhere and speaking in the name of a nation; this crowd is the Kurdish nation. Sanandaj is the same, and other places are the same.

Therefore, the work done by the Kurdish people in both Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan has been very significant. They have truly been able to serve the revolution and discourage the enemy, which is very valuable. And in this path, they have given martyrs; they have given martyrs in the imposed war, they have given martyrs in the struggle against the counter-revolution, and they have given martyrs for their support of the Islamic Republic; like the aforementioned Martyr Sheikh al-Islam, or Martyr Ali, who was one of the scholars there, and Martyr Zabihi, who are well-known scholars of the Kurdistan region. Their martyrdom was due to their support for the Islamic Republic; they spoke, acted, engaged, and collaborated with the Islamic Republic and were martyred. In the villages of Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan, many individuals engaged in activities alongside the agents of the Islamic Republic, which led to their retaliation by the counter-revolution and their martyrdom; thus, martyrdom in this region is a martyrdom that has been accompanied by greater sacrifice, with clear and sincere efforts. May God elevate the ranks of these martyrs, God willing.

Now, the report that the esteemed commander of the IRGC provided is a good report, but these are just numbers; what we recommend, what I emphasize, is the outcome of the work you do. It must be clear how much the figures and numbers you mentioned for forming assemblies, or publishing some works, or similar activities have been able to impact the mindset of the people, especially the youth, regarding the honoring of the martyrs' status; this is important. What we need today is for our people to appreciate our martyrs and to understand that this young person who went and was martyred, this scholar who was martyred, this hardworking merchant or hardworking farmer who was martyred, what service they provided to the country, to Islam, and to the Islamic Republic.

We had a family in Kurdistan that lost six martyrs; this is one of the rarest things, meaning we have few similar cases in the country; a family that has given six sons for the sake of God; they have been martyred both in the marches they participated in and in the struggle against the counter-revolution or in the imposed war; there are many such cases; this is something that the current generation must know. Today's youth must understand that the situation we have reached, thanks be to God, is due to the growth and fruition of the pure tree of the revolution and the many efforts that have been made; the most important of which is the efforts of our martyrs; this must be known by the youth. Therefore, one point is that the work that has been done should be carried out in such a way that it has a desirable outcome; meaning it should have an impact on the thoughts of the youth and their understanding and perception of the country's issues and their own past issues. Forty years have passed since the revolution; we must know what efforts have been made to establish this revolution and strengthen its foundations; today’s youth must know this; now, those who have seen it up close know; although some of them also fall into forgetfulness and stray from the path and change their movement, but my main focus is on the youth. Today's youth must know what efforts have been made that have made this foundation so solid that the Islamic Republic can feel proud and honored. This is one point.

The second point is regarding construction works and similar activities; yes, many construction works have been carried out, but there has been backwardness in Kurdish areas; this has been a flawed policy of the tyrannical regime that thought it should act this way; of course, there was also disregard for national interests in that regime. Therefore, there is backwardness; you must compensate for these backwardnesses. It is said that we recommend, we recommend; we have no objection; you write your letter, whatever you think is necessary, write it in that letter, we will refer it to the responsible authorities, we will recommend it, we will emphasize it, but the executor of the work is you officials; meaning you are the executors of the work; the leadership apparatus is not the executor, it is not the executive apparatus; you are the executors. You must follow up, you must pursue. We may write a directive to a ministry or to the higher officials of the country and emphasize it, but the one who must follow up on the work is you; go, come, insist, emphasize so that what you want, God willing, is carried out for the benefit of the people.

Our duty is to honor the martyrs; we must not forget this; our duty is to honor the families of the martyrs; the families of the martyrs are also among the first in terms of the importance of their patience and their work; we must honor them and respect them. And this honoring should not be merely verbal; although verbal honoring is also important. Some say that verbal courtesy is not good; no, that we should acknowledge the commemoration of the martyr and the status of the martyr in our words and statements is important; there are those who cannot tolerate this, and we must move in this direction, but alongside these practical actions, various facilities and aids that exist must be provided for the families of the martyrs, the families of the disabled, and the families of the veterans, God willing.

May God grant you success so that you can work, serve, and be part of this great movement and make the pure souls of the martyrs pleased with you, God willing.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.