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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| In unity sermon, Rafsanjani regrets crisis handling |
| 2009-07-18 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] As Iran tries to cope with the aftermath of its disputed presidential election, influential cleric and politician Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani puts forward proposals to end the post-vote "crisis." Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who was leading the Friday prayers at Tehran University for the first time since election, told hundreds of thousands of people that ambiguities surrounding the June 12 presidential vote had broken the trust of Iranians in the establishment. "Our key issue is to regain the trust which the people had and now to some extent is shattered," Rafsanjani said. Rafsanjani, a two-time former president who heads both the top political arbitration body and the clerical body, criticized the government for its handling of the controversy over the election. He suggested that failing to listen to the voice of those who are dissatisfied with the election's results had disrupted the national unity. "Doubt has been created," he said. "There are two currents; one has no doubt and is moving ahead. And the other is a large portion of the wise people who say they have doubts. We need to take action to remove this doubt." While pointing out that rebuilding the trust is not a straightforward task and cannot be achieved overnight, Rafsanjani suggested that the release of people who protested against the result of the vote could be the first step in restoring people's trust in the establishment. "It is not necessary that in this situation people be jailed. Let them join their families." |
| Posted by:Fred |