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23March1979 .
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JUST RECEIVED FOLLOWING NSA USA QUOTE FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPT
EXTRACT FROM MACNE I L/LEHRER REPORT MARCH 19 REFERR I NG TO BAHA' IS.
INCLUDED PANEL WITH ROUHANI WERE JIM YUENGER, CORRESPONDENT
CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND LOIS BECK, EDITOR, WOMEN IN A MOSLEM WORLD.
MODERATORS WERE ROBERT MACNEIL AND CHARLAYNE HUNTER—GAULT.
MACNEIL: MR. YUENGER YOU HAVE JUST BEEN IN IRAN. OTHER MINORITIES
IN IRAN — RACIAL MINORITiES LIKE THE JEWS OR THE BAHA'I — HAVE
EXPRESSED AND BEEN REPORTED TO FEAR .GREATLY WHAT THEIR FUTURE
WILL BE. WERE YOU AWARE OF THOSE CONCERNS WHEN YOU WERE THERE?
YUENGER: YES 1 WAS, AND I REMEMBER DURING THE RIOTING LAST
NOVEMBER — I WAS ABSOLUTELY HORR IF I ED AND I REMA I N HAUNTED BY
THE SIGHT OF SIGNS ON HOUSES DURING THE RIOTING THAT SAID ON
THE FRONT DOOR — ‘‘NO FOREIGNERS, NO JEWS, NO BAHA'IS LIVE IN
THIS HOUSE.” I THINK THAT'S VERY SCARY. I THINK IT'S CONTINUING.
MACNEIL: MR..ROUHANI, WHAT IS THE POSITION OF THE JEWS AND THE
BAHA'IS AS MINORITIES GOING TO BE? .
ROUHAN.I: THE MINORITIES — JEWS, CHRISTIANS, ANYONE — ANYONE WHO
IS IN IRANIAN. MUSLIM MAJORITIES — THEY ARE IRANIANS AND THEY
HAVE AS MUCH RIGHT TO IRAN AND TO FREEDOM AS ANYBODY ELSE IN IRAN.
AND THOSE I SOLATED I NSTANCES THAT THE OTHER GENTLEMAN MENTIONED
CERTAINLY CANNOT BE GENERALIZED. IT IS TO BE MENTIONED WHEN
AYATOL!JJ3—XHOMEINI WENT TO IRAN, EVEN PRIOR TO HIS RETURN TO
IRAN THERE HAVE BEEN STRONG STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT FROM THE
JEWI&H COMMUNITY AND THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS LEADERS.
MACNEIL: AND WHAT ABOUT THE BAHA'lS?
RO HANI: WELL, WE DO NOT RECOGNIZE AHA'IS AS A, YOU KNOW,
RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY BUT THEY THEMSELVES CAN CONSIDER THEMSELVES
RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, MINORITY. THEY CAN HAVE FULL RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM, POLITICAL FREEDOM, ETC. AND NOBODY IN IRAN HAS EVER
DONE THAT AND W ILL NOT JUST COME AND JEOPARD I ZE THE FREEDOM BASED
UPON THEIR BELIEFS WHATEVER THAT IS.
MACNEIL: WELL, IN OTHER WORDS, YOU ARE SAYING MR. ROUHANI,
THAT THE ISLAMIC STATE THAT YOU HOPE WILL MATE&IALIZE WHEN ALL
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS IS GONE THROUGH WILL TOLERATE DISSENt
POLITICAL AND. SOCIAL DISSENT.
ROUHANI: PRECISELY, SO LONG AS IN FACT THEY CAN FORM PARTIES,
THEY CAN JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST PRESENT NOMINEES, ETC., SO LONG
AS THEY DO NOT CONSPIRE AND ENGAGE IN ARMED STRUGGLE AGAINST THE.
RIGHT' OF.THE MAJORITY, THEN THEY ARE ALLOWED TO DO THAT. IN FACT,
WE TH I NK THEY SHOULD NOT DO THAT BECAUSE THEY WI LL DESTROY THE
RIGHTS OF OTHER MINORITIES AND THE MAJORITY. SO IT IS A GENUINE
FULL PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY AND WILL RESULT IN THAT IN THE END.
UNQUOTE . . . .
HAVE ADVISED NSA US TO SEND LETTER ROUHANI THANKING
ASSURANCES RELIGIOUS CIVIL FREEDOM BAHAIS IRAN REITERATING .
PRINCIPLES LOYALTY GOVERNMENT NONPOLITICAL CHARACTER FAITH AND
IMPORTANCE IRAN TO BAHA'IS WORLD OVER
UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE ,— T. . ..
46626 BAYT IL . . •.:.Bp0006 78 :;
Irs.iv tetRctunu
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22 MARCH 1979 . 2 3 MAR 1979 t3 7
FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPT EXTRACT FROM MACNEIL/LEHRER REPORT
MARCH 19' REFERRING TO BAHA'IS. INCLUDED PANEL WITH ROUHANI
WERE JIM YUENGER, CORRESPONDENT CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND LOIS BECK, - C L)
EDITOR, V/OMEN IN A MOSLEM WORLD. MODERATORS WERE ROBERT
MACNEIL AND CHARLAYNE HUNTER—GAULT.
RM: MR. YUENGER YOU HAVE JUST BEEN IN IRAN 0 OTHER MINORITIES
IN 1RAN — RAC1AL MINORITIES LIKE THE JEWS OR THE BAHA'I — HAVE
EXPRESSED AND BEEN REPORTED TO FEAR GREATLYWHAT THEIR FUTURE
WI LL BE. WERE YOU AWARE OF THOSE CONCERNS WHEN YOU WERE THERE?
JY: YES I WAS, AND 1 REMEMBER DURING THE RIOTING LAST NO/'EMBER
I WAS ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIED AND l REMAIN HAUNTED BY THE SIGHT
OF SIGNS ON HOUSES DURING THE RIOTING THAT SAID ON THE FRONT
DOOR — ‘‘NO FOREIGNERS, NO JEWS, NO BAHA'IS LI//E IN THIS HOUSE.''
I THINK THAT'S /‘ERY SCARY. I THINK iT'S CONTINUING. .
RM: MR. ROUHANI, V/HAT IS THE POSITION OF THE JEWS AND THE BAHA'IS
AS MINORITIES GOING TO BE?
SR: THE MINORITIES — JEWS, CHR 1STIANS, ANYONE — ANYONE WHO IS
IN IRANIAN MUSLIM MAJORITIES — THEY ARE IRANIANS AND THEY HAVE
AS MUCH RIGHT TO IRAN AND TO FREEDOM AS ANYBODY ELSE IN IRAN ,
ANDTHCSE ISOLATED INSTANCES THAT THE OTHER GENTLEMAN MENTIONED
CERTAINLY CANNOT BE GENERALIZED. IT IS TO BE MENTiONED WHEN
AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI WENT TO IRAN, EVEN PRIOR TO HIS RETURN TO IRAN,
THERE HAVE BEEN STRONG STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT FROM THE JEWISH
COMMUNITY AND THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS LEADERS.
RM: AND WHAT ABOUT THE BAHA'IS? .
SR: WELL, WE DO NOT RECOGNIZE BAHA'IS AS A, YOU KNOW, RELIGIOUS
COMMUNITY BUT THEY THEMSELVES CAN CONSIDER THEMSELVES RELIGIOUS
COMMUNITY, MINORITY. THEY CAN HA/'E FULL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM,
POLITICAL FREEDOM, ETC. AND NOBODY IN IRAN HAS EVER DONE THAT
AND WILL NOT JUST COME AND JEOPARDIZE THE FREEDOM BASED UPON
THEIR BELIEFS WHATEVER THAT IS.
RM: WELL, IN OTHER WORDS, YOU ARE SAYING, MR.ROUHANI, THAT THE
ISLAMIC STATE THAT YOU HOPE WILL MATERIALIZE WHEN ALL THE
CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS IS GONE THROUGH WILL TOLERATE DISSENT
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DISSENT.
SR: PRECISELY, SO LONG AS IN FACT THEY CAN FORM PARTIES, THEY
CAN JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST PRESENT NOMINEES, ETC., SO LONG AS THEY
DO NOT CONSPIRE AND ENGAGE IN ARMED STRUGGLE AGAINST THE RIGHT
OF THE MAJORITY, THEN THEY ARE ALLOWED TO DO THAT. IN FACT, WE
THINK THEY SHOULD NOT DO THAT BECAUSE THEY WILL DESTROY THE RIGHTS
OF OTHER MINORITIES AND THE MAJORITY. SO IT IS A GENUINE FULL
PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY AND WILL RESULT IN THAT IN THE END.
BAHAI WILMETTE .
46626 BAYT IL.....,
ABOVE VIA RCA MAR 22 1837 807714 FROM BAHAI WlMTT
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