In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all sentient beings, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem Al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his immaculate and infallible household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
I am very happy I found the opportunity to attend this enthusiastic and impressive gathering. Although this is my first visit to your beautiful city, I have read and heard a lot of things about Saghez, its brave people, and the outstanding enthusiasm of the people of Saghez. Throughout the last thirty years, the people of Saghez have emerged victorious out of difficult tests in strategic regions and centers of the country.
Maybe many of our people and youth do not know that during the most difficult stages of the imposed war the youth of Saghez were fighting the enemies at the fronts. On Majnoon Island, the brave youth from Saghez, Marivan, and other parts of Kurdistan were bravely fighting the enemies at the fronts shoulder to shoulder with other soldiers. And all those who know about Operation Kheibar and Operation Badr, which were carried out during the early years of the imposed war, are well aware of the importance of this issue.
Being in the company of the dear people of Saghez, I deem it necessary to thank all the people of this city and province for their clear and glorious stance. And I would like to take this opportunity to express my greetings to the honorable people of Baneh and other cities of this province which I did not find the opportunity to visit. I pray to Allah to bestow His blessings on all of them.
All the intellectuals and prominent academic and religious figures of the vast world of Islam have considered the Islamic Republic as a positive response to the call of Islam. They all consider raising the flag of Islam as an honor for the world of Islam. And that was the crucial issue which frustrated the enemies of Islam and the Islamic Republic.
During the early stages of the Revolution, policy-makers of the arrogant powers were hoping to create a gap between the Islamic Republic and other Muslim nations by taking advantage of the religious conflict in the world of Islam. This plot proved to be partially effective with some governments that were dependant on the arrogant powers, but it was a dismal failure as far as other nations were concerned. The intellectuals of the world of Islam were proud of the fact that a government had been formed on the basis of Quranic rulings and Islamic sharia, an independent and glorious government that had been established in this part of the Middle East region - which is an important region. Throughout the past years, intellectuals, great religious scholars, and prominent and faithful academics of Arab countries, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and far-away Asian countries - Muslim countries - have expressed their sense of pride. They have told us that they are proud of the Islamic Republic. That is while there is a lot of religious difference. The enemies were hoping that this religious difference would create a gap. However, Muslim intellectuals and faithful masses disappointed the enemies by their strong determination.
Dear brothers and sisters, the same thing happened to us in Kurdistan province. Today is the eighth day I have been among you dear people of Kurdistan, people from different social groups. I have met with large groups of people. I have arranged meetings with prominent figures, heads of nomadic tribes, and young students of this province. In all these meetings, I have tried to place the main emphasis on holding a friendly meeting with the ordinary people as well as the intellectuals and discussing the issues directly. What I have heard so far in this province was the glorious call of Islam and loyalty to Islam and the Islamic Republic. And these are all indicative of invaluable spirit of the people of this province. That was exactly the opposite of what the enemies desired. In their confrontation with the people of this province, the enemies achieved the opposite of what they desired. I was not surprised. I have known Kurdish youth, soldiers, and people for a long time. I have been familiar with the sincerity, loyalty, and bravery of Kurdish people. That was nothing new to me. But what is important is that this enthusiasm, strong loyalty, clear-sightedness, awareness, and unity were shown on TV to all the Iranian people as well as our friends and enemies outside the country. In my opinion, what is important is that these are shown on TV against the enemies' will and despite their propaganda.
Thankfully, through their actions, movement, and glorious presence, Kurdish people and the people of Kurdistan showed the enemies of the Iranian nation that their plots to break up the nation into different groups have been foiled. That is a very important point. As it is the last moments of my trip to this province, I deem it necessary to thank all people from different social backgrounds. I would like to say that you fulfilled your role properly. That shows the glory of the Iranian nation. I would also like to warn the entire Iranian nation from different ethnic backgrounds against mistaking the behavior of a small number of people - who are trying to ruin the reputation of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic - for the general behavior of these esteemed and loyal people of Kurdistan. What a counter-revolutionary does in Khorasan, Isfahan, Fars, or other provinces is not normally associated with the entire people of those provinces. Similarly, the behavior of a small number of malicious or misguided people - who may be found in any part of the country - must not be generalized to the entire people of this province.
That was what the enemies wanted to instill in the minds of our people. They wanted to make it appear that there was no security in this province. Thanks to your efforts and awareness and the sacrifices that your youth made, this province enjoys high levels of security now, and the Iranian nation can see that clearly.
I deem it necessary to pay homage to the memory of the brave Kurdish youth who laid down their lives for their country. The sacrifices of these brave men, young or old, who rose up in this province during the early stages of the Revolution and put up a strong resistance against the enemy, were rarely observed in other parts of the country. I will tell you the reason, as I do not want to exaggerate. The fact of the situation is that the basiji brothers or soldiers in any part of the country and in any province are looked upon by the people with a sense of glory. The people feel safe in their presence. While the young Kurdish soldier was protecting the security of the city and the surrounding areas, the enemies were trying to take revenge on him in this region, especially in the areas close to the borders. The armed mercenaries of the enemy used to brutally murder the family members of these youth in revenge for their heroic actions. But these brave men endured these problems patiently. Therefore, I strongly believe that the brave Kurdish soldiers are among the bravest men of this country.
I talked about security and your awareness. These are facts. The people and the brave youth of Kurdistan prepared the ground for the security of this province. The selfless youth of other parts of the country came to their aid and helped them foil the enemies' plots. That is a fact. However, I would like to say that the dear Kurdish people must preserve their awareness. We must always remain vigilant.
The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) has been quoted in Nahj al-Balagha as saying "your being unaware will not make the enemy unaware". We must be vigilant against the enemy. That is not peculiar to this province. That is my advice to the entire Iranian nation and all the active and aware people of this country. We must remain vigilant. The enemy is not as hopeful now as it used to be during the early stages of the Revolution. They used to be more hopeful about annihilating the Revolution and the Islamic Republic, but they are disappointed now. They do not cherish such hopes today. They see that the Revolution has set its strong roots in this country. However, we must be vigilant against their plots. Unfortunately, Americans are hatching plots across our western borders. I say this with confidence. They are training terrorists. They are directly involved in providing money and weapons across our western borders in order to create problems for us and oppose the Islamic Republic. We must be vigilant.
We have been informed that Americans have developed dangerous plans for Kurdistan. That is not a speculation: It is based on the information which we have received. Their purpose is not to defend the Kurdish minority. They plan to dominate them, and that is not a speculation. Our Kurdish friends across the western borders have informed us that American army officials are taking money to Ghandil Mountains to get intelligence from the Kurds. They pay money to train mercenaries. That is below the dignity of the Kurdish youth. They use every opportunity to find a way into the community of Kurdish people. Thankfully, our nation and Iranian Kurds are vigilant. And I would say that most of the Kurdish people, even those living outside Iran, consider themselves Iranians. They are proud of being an Iranian. Those Kurdish individuals who decide to further American goals must know that they may gain something in the short run. But they should also know that, in the long run, their actions will cause Kurdish people to put a curse on them.
You must preserve this vigilance. Vigilance is not limited to what I discussed. Everybody must be vigilant against internal conflicts as well. I said in Sanandaj on the first day of my trip - last Tuesday - and I would like to repeat here that all Islamic denominations must work shoulder to shoulder in a brotherly fashion and move towards the lofty goals and ideals of Islam. The enemy is hoping to pitch the followers of different Islamic denominations against one another. Nobody must give in to this spiteful plot of the enemy. They want to incite Shia against Sunni and Sunni against Shia. They want to sow spite and suspicion in the hearts of Muslims. That was why I declared that disrespect for each other's beliefs forms the red lines from an Islamic point of view and from our perspective. Those who disrespect what is held sacred in an Islamic denomination, be it Sunni or Shia Islam, do not know what they are doing. These acts of desecration provide the enemy with the best means. These are the red lines.
Shia and Sunni Muslims have their own religious ceremonies, rituals, duties, and tendencies, and they must follow their own principles. But under no circumstances should Shia or Sunni Muslims disrespect what the other denomination holds sacred. Some Shia or Sunni Muslims say certain things due to their lack of vigilance and reject one another. That is exactly what the enemy wants. This is one of the areas where there is a need for vigilance.
During the last few days, I gained a lot of information about the issues of Kurdistan from what I observed or heard from sympathetic individuals. I read about these issues or observed them with my own eyes. Of course I had received a large number of reports about the problems of this province before the trip. There are a lot of needs in this province that have to be addressed. As I said on the first day of my trip, employment is the most important requirement of this province, which has to be addressed through investments in the agricultural and industrial sectors of this province. I came to the same conclusion today. I would like to tell the people of other provinces that Kurdistan - with its rich resources, faithful and determined people, and talented youth - is a very good place for investment. Once some of our people felt that there was no security in this province, but this is over now. Thankfully, peace and security have been established here. There are high levels of security here. Our compatriots can invest in this province, and the government is here to facilitate and promote that investment.
By Allah's favor the majority of the issues and needs of this province will be addressed if the projects ratified during the two trips made by the cabinet members to this province as well as the projects that were examined by those who arranged the present trip - by the people who work for the government or private organizations - are put into practice. I advise government officials to follow up these projects seriously and try to put them into practice. Thankfully, Kurdistan enjoys appropriate management. This province enjoys competent management. The ratified projects must be followed up seriously by the officials in this province. I also ask government officials in the capital city to seriously follow up the projects that have been ratified and try to put them into practice.
What is put forward as a demand is often something logical and acceptable. What I heard from prominent figures and students about the demands of the people of this province, what I read in the letters I received from the people, and what was put forward as a public demand were mostly reasonable. These are legitimate demands. As I said, if the projects ratified on this trip as well as the trips made by the cabinet members are, by Allah's favor, put into practice, the majority of these demands will be satisfied. Of course sometimes it can be observed that the demands are unrealistic. It is not right to make such demands. Reasonable demands are the ones that can be observed in the statements made by the local officials and the esteemed Friday prayer leaders, in the letters the people gave me, and in issues the elites discussed with me. These are reasonable demands. However, occasionally some individuals make a list of unrealistic and impractical demands. Such demands will only misguide the people, and the government is also unable to satisfy them. Reasonable demands are what you hear from the general public or read in their letters. In fact, the elites I met said the same things. I am grateful to Allah because the demands made of the government officials and the general public during this trip were, in my opinion, rooted in the realities.
I believe the Kurdish language is a national asset. The scientific and artistic talents of the youth of this region are a national asset. The athletic talent of the youth of Kurdistan is a national asset. These national assets have to be utilized. These potentialities have to be realized.
I am grateful to Allah because our government officials are following up the problems of the people living in different provinces. I can see that. Government officials are following up the problems of the people seriously and sympathetically both on their trips to different provinces and in their decision-making. I hope they will keep following up the problems of Kurdistan province with the same enthusiasm and sympathy. Of course we will hold them responsible, and will we demand what they are supposed to do. I hope the future of Kurdistan will, by Allah's favor, be much better than its present situation. It has been very nice to meet you today on the last day of my trip to Kurdistan.
Dear God, bless these honorable and dynamic youth and bestow Your blessings on them. O God, solve the problems of our people living in this province and other parts of the country. O God, increase the honor of the Iranian nation on a daily basis, and make it more honorable than other nations and the bullying powers. Dear God, make us one of Your virtuous servants. Give us the opportunity to actualize what we discussed here.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings