In response to the protests in Iran following the June 12, 2009 elections, Kamal Hassan Bakhit, editor of the Sudanese pro-government daily Al-Rai Al-'Am, published an editorial supporting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and stating that his reelection was a blow to the West and to the U.S. Bakhit said that the protests were a Western conspiracy aimed at toppling the Iranian regime.
The following are translated excerpts from the article:
The Protests Are a Western Conspiracy
"After all their attempts to thwart the elections in Iran had failed, the U.S. intelligence services, together with the intelligence services of all the Western countries and of their protégée Israel, started to plant bombs in the polling places to thwart the elections. When Iran's Intelligence Ministry discovered these bombs and revealed this plot, the conspirators turned to casting doubt on [the fairness of] the elections and their results, via their overt and covert operatives. They tried to incite the Iranian street in order to foment anarchy, and then to intervene, as happened in Iraq.
"But the Supreme Leader of the Iranian revolution, the honorable Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, resolved the matter decisively when he exposed the dark role that the Western intelligence apparatuses attempted to play via elements from within [Iran]. Ahmadinejad's victory is a harsh blow to the European West and to the U.S., because he has become a frightening bogeyman to them, and because his nuclear program - which he has declared is for peaceful purposes - concerns them.
"The incitement and sabotage operations carried out by the U.S. and Western intelligence apparatuses, aimed at creating 'constructive anarchy' to undermine the foundations of the Iranian regime, are a desperate attempt doomed to failure, primarily in light of the fact that the Supreme Leader [Khamenei] has called for a halt to the demonstrations and has declared his absolute support for Ahmadinejad. [Khamenei also] confirmed that there was no election fraud, and directly accused foreign intelligence apparatuses of inciting the Iranian opposition...
"The masses that took to the streets to cast doubt on the election results are a [pro-] government public belonging to Mir Hossein Mousavi or to Mehdi Karroubi - both candidates of the current regime, and both committed to the principle of the Rule of the Jurisprudent. The U.S. failed to stop Iran's nuclear program, and Ahmadinejad challenged it [i.e. the U.S.] - and so it turned to carrying out operations aimed at undermining the foundations of the regime and at creating constructive anarchy that would topple it."
The Nuclear Program - A Reason to Support the Iranian Regime
"I say this even though I do not entirely agree with the Iranian regime. Indeed, I disagree with many of its basic premises and with its way of thinking. However, it is sufficient that this regime promotes a nuclear program that frightens the U.S. and Israel for me to view it in a positive light.
"Other [factors] that must be taken into account are [the Iranian regime's] position on the Palestinian issue and support of an Arab Syria and its national agenda, at a time when [Syria] is being threatened by the Zionist entity and by the U.S.
"There are things about which the truth must be told, regardless of one's general position regarding the regime. Thus, these demonstrations are not for the sake of democracy, since they represent the other side of the coin, that is, of the [Iranian] regime. [In other words,] they [represent] a different version of the Iranian regime. If the one who is behind [these demonstrations] comes to power, he will neither start a democratization process, nor establish a genuine democracy. Those who are the driving force of [these demonstrations] are aiming to attain power, not to bring democracy to the Iranian people.
"On June 19, 2009, President Obama issued a statement with a message to the Iranian leadership - namely, that [the U.S.] is monitoring the events and developments in Iran, and that it cares about the fate of the Iranian people. The question is: When [exactly] did the U.S. start worrying about the Iranian people, or [for that matter] about any other Arab or Islamic people? Hasn't it labeled all of them terrorists?
"The U.S. has managed to infiltrate the ranks of the power-hungry mullahs in order to carry out their plot against their country. [The U.S.] wants to implement its Iraqi experience in Iran and in most of the Arab and Islamic countries that oppose its policy.
"If the whole issue revolved around rejecting the election results, things would not be happening like this. Proof of this is the reaction of the candidates who were defeated [in the elections] - which in the two days following the announcement of the election results was normal. However, immediately after that, the outside elements began to interfere." [1]
Endnote:
[1] Al-Rai Al-'Am (Sudan), June 21, 2009.
