Seyyed Hossein Khomeini, the grandson of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, told the Voice of America's new Persian language TV news program that the clerical rulers of his native Iran have left Iranians yearning for democracy. "Iran is not free," Khomeini told VOA in an exclusive interview. "Islamic clerical rule is not, and cannot be, democratic."
Khomeini, who, like his grandfather, is a Shi'ite Islamic cleric, made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with VOA News and Views anchor Hossein Kangarloo. Segments of the interview are being broadcast from Sept. 27 through Oct. 1 on News and Views via satellite to Iran. Khomeini, who now lives in Iraq, said he moved there to experience the freedom made possible by the United States. Khomeini said that despite Iraq's problems, he feels not only a sense of hope in Iraq, but a will to establish democratic government and a disavowal of terrorism. He said that the Islamic rulers of Iran are anti-Western and supporters of terrorism, but, he asserted, "The Iranian people do not support this terrorism and are strongly opposed to it."
Although the Islamic revolution brought about by Khomeini's grandfather in 1979 ushered in an era in which females could not be seen in public without a veil, the younger Khomeini has a more tolerant view of women's rights. He told VOA: "It is a woman's right to choose to veil or not." During his visit to VOA's Washington headquarters, Khomeini gave interviews to VOA's television and radio programs, as well as to Radio Farda, a joint operation by Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Khomeini told his VOA hosts that programs like VOA's are the most effective way for him to communicate with the people of Iran. |