In a March 23, 2010 op-ed titled "Obama's Norooz [Persian New Year] Message to the Movement or the Republic?" in the Persian online daily Rooz, Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad addresses U.S. President Barack Obama, asking him whether his Norooz message this year would be to the people of Iran, or to the regime. She explained to President Obama that there is nothing to send congratulations for, because "since the day of your unusual [Norooz] congratulatory message to the Islamic republic [last year], the republic has died, people in this country have been violently murdered, and their deaths have been denied by the regime."
Ms. Alinejad, who currently resides in the U.K., is a supporter of the Green (protest) Movement. She wrote for the Iranian daily Etemad-e Melli, which was affiliated with movement leader Mehdi Karroubi; the paper was shut down by the Iranian regime after the June 2009 presidential election.
The following is Ms. Alinejad's Rooz article, in the original English.
"We in the Reformist Media Did As Much As We Could to Disseminate [Your Norooz Message Last Year]... Now, No Sign Is Left, Either of Those Newspapers, Or of Those Journalists"
"Mr. Obama! What New Year festivities and what congratulations are we talking about?
"We have not received a Norooz congratulatory message from you this year. But let's assume that you will send a message like you did last year. Will this one be addressed to the Iranian nation or to the Islamic republic?
"Do you know what condition the people that you congratulated last year are in now? The same nation that did not chide you for recognizing the legitimacy of the Islamic regime despite public criticism of it, and which is now mourning the end of the republic? Although your last year's message was ignored by the conservative media in Iran, we in the reformist media did as much as we could to disseminate it as a starting point to break the fake walls between the two great nations of Iran and America. Now, no sign is left, either of those newspapers, or of those journalists."
"The Regime That You Congratulated Last Year is [Now] Beginning the New Persian Year... When Nearly 70 Iranian Citizens' Eyes Were Shut Forever By the Regime in the Streets of Tehran"
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"Mr. President!
"The Islamic Republic of Iran, the regime that you congratulated last year, is [now] beginning the new Persian year under conditions when nearly 70 Iranian citizens' eyes were shut forever by the regime in the streets of Tehran. These citizens had peacefully come to the streets to ask for their missing votes, but the response to their call was blood and violence.
"This year, officials of the Islamic republic are celebrating Norooz as hundreds of political activists, students, women and ordinary citizens are either behind bars, or are imprisoned in a larger prison called Iran after having posted huge bail for their release, or have had their passports or titles to their property confiscated.
"The officials that you so kindly congratulated last year in observance of their ancient celebration, this year called another ancient tradition, held on the last Wednesday of the [Persian] year [i.e., Chaharshanbe Suri, a holiday of Zoroastrian origin celebrated in mid-March], as superstition and issued a religious decree authorizing violent attacks on the youth celebrating the tradition. The crime of some was dancing, of others chanting freedom slogans, and of still others chanting death to the dictator."
"If You Do Not Know What the Iranian People Mean by 'Dictator,' Let Me Give You a Simple Answer: Dictator Is the Person to Whom You Sent a Message Before the Presidential Election"
"If you do not know what the Iranian people mean by 'dictator,' let me give you a simple answer: Dictator is the person to whom you sent a message before the presidential election (June 12, 2009) and towards the end of Ahmadinejad's administration.
"The Iranian nation saw your green light for negotiations when, for the first time, the recipient of the letter did not use the term 'enemy' to refer to America. 'Enemy' is not a term that dictators drop off by chance. Dictators need the term to sustain the unity of their people by producing a fictitious enemy. But your letter dropped the term from the dictator's mouth, until after the elections, when people peacefully came to the streets, and you were again referred to as the enemy by the dictator."
"The World Has Heard The Voice Of Iranian Protesters... The Ones Who Are Allowed to Travel Abroad and To America... Do Not Represent All of Iran"
"Mr. President!
"The world has heard the voice of Iranian protesters. The world has seen the green color of the Iranian peace movement more than black, while it has also seen the color of the lying Iranian regime. It is true that the authorities of the Islamic republic do not allow individual critics and protesters to travel abroad; or that the Iranian people, who seek change, are imprisoned by the regime of coercion, like the people of North Korea; but the ones who are allowed to travel abroad and to America, and those officials and authorities that are denying the killing and imprisoning of protesting Iranians, do not represent all of Iran. No longer does anyone equate Iran with Ahmadinejad or the supreme leader supporting Ahmadinejad. No longer is the Islamic Republic Iran's only name; the green movement is this country's other name."
"Since the Day of Your Unusual [Norooz] Congratulatory Message to the Islamic Republic [Last Year], The Republic Has Died, People in This Country Have Been Violently Murdered, and Their Deaths Have Been Denied by the Regime"
"I understand that I cannot expect a person to congratulate another nation or question someone for not congratulating one. I also understand that the rules of politics dictate that governments talk with each other directly. But now that the calls of human rights activists is lost in the twists and turns of Iran's nuclear issue, it may be good to know that between last year's Norooz and this year's, since the day of your unusual congratulatory message to the Islamic republic, the republic has died, people in this country have been violently murdered, and their deaths have been denied by the regime."
"Whether You Plan to Send a Congratulatory Message to the Iranian Nation or to the Islamic Republic... What Is There to Celebrate [?]"
"And as the Iranian year turns, I do not know whether you plan to send a congratulatory message to the Iranian nation or to the Islamic republic – but what difference does it make, because what is there to celebrate, what is there to send congratulations for?"
