Letter to Mr. Gibbs, August 5, 2009

I e-mailed this letter to the speaker of the White House in response to his statement published on the link given in the letter below.

August 5, 2009


Dear Mr. Gibbs,

yesterday it was reported on media like twitter that you had made a remark during a press conference, naming Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the "elected leader" of Iran, answering a question on whether the United States of America would recognize him as Iran's president.

I could not believe you had said such a thing, and was relieved to not find any confirmation of your statement in the Briefing Room.

However, today I am all the more disappointed to read on
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Briefing-by-White-House-Press-Secretary-Robert-Gibbs-8/4/09/
that you indeed said exactly this.

I sincerely hope that your statement was a mistake and does not represent the U.S. Government's view on the issue.

Mr. Ahmadinejad was elected, but not by the people. He was selected by the regime to remain president at any cost. The price the Iranian people are paying right now is beyond anything the government of a western democracy, let alone the world's leading democracy, can approve of.

Every day peaceful protesters risk their lives in the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities. They are beaten severely, sometimes beaten to death. They are arrested indiscriminately to face long detentions and incredibly cruel tortures, many of them never return from the prisons alive. Families of killed detainees are not allowed to mourn or to speak to media.

You can not be serious in calling Mr Ahmadinejad (and with him, the regime apparatus that is responsible for the criminal actions imposed on the people of Iran), an "elected" president.

Many Iranians and non-Iranians are extremely upset and worried about your statement. I urge you to clarify the approach of the U.S. government. I urge the U.S. Government, in the name of all peaceful protesters and supporters of the Green Movement worldwide, to not recognize Mr Ahmadinejad as Iran's president, and to use all means of diplomatic and political pressure it is capable of to make it clear to Iran that a criminal dictatorship is not welcome in the international community. In the name of democracy , freedom, and human rights.

Thank you.

Sincerely,