Needed: A Leader (English)

Dear ladies & fellas,

during the last weeks I occasionally asked my Iranian/ Persian friends, who they really would like to have as president of Iran. The answers were quite shocking. Some of my friends did not know anybody, who could, in their opinion, be a suitable leader for the nation of Iran. Some suggested ridiculous people, who are, at least in my book, not fit for such a position. Among the suggested people were Kamran Atabaki, a comedian & TV-host from Los Angeles, the singer Googoosh &, no joke, one of my friends even suggested the current Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, as new president of Iran. My friend suggested Bibi, because he likes „his voice & attitude towards the arabs“.

Ladies & gentlemen, although those suggestions seem quite funny at first, they are actually shocking. These suggestions draw attention to one of the main issues, that the Iranian democratic opposition faces today: The lack of a real leader, who is willing & capable to challenge the regime of the Islamic Republic. With those ridiculous suggestions for a leader for the Nation of Iran, I also received a ton of cheap excuses, why the Iranian democratic opposition does not have such a human being so far. With the greatest of respect, this is a disgrace for a great Nation like Iran, when even the poor, tiny Georgia had, during the „Rose Revolution“, a couple of great personalities to choose from. Among those personalities were Giga Bokeria, Nino Burjanadze & of course, Mikheil Saakashvili himself. So what the iranian opposition needs to do, at least, in my book, is to get together & search for the best fitting candidate. Such a champion could inspire with his/ her words & actions the people of & in Iran & therefore, become a real challenge for the Regime. Because among the MENA-countries Iran has the best chances to become a democracy with a state of law & civil rights for ethnic- & sexual minorities, mainly because of the already existing & decent civil society. What Iran does not have, as mentioned above, is the real challenger for the regime.

Yes, I know, the regime of the Islamic Republic is inhuman, suicidal & dangerous & the regimes profits tremendously from the fact that most Iranian oppostion members are pretty secular & therefore have no intentions to die as „martyrs“. But this does not change the fact, that Iran needs capable oppostion members for a regime change. To all those folks, who are still stunned: Think about the words of Arseniy Yatsenyuk, which he said on the „Maidan“: „They can not kill all of us.“