In an interview with a state-sponsored newspaper in Tehran (Asr-e Azadegan, April 6), Jalaipour explicitly boasted of his horrendous crimes and tried to blame the victims themselves for the executions and bloody suppression carried out by him and his cohorts in Kurdistan. He said: "I was in Kurdistan for ten years. I became the governor of Naqadeh in 1980 and was in the city for 18 months. I was then appointed as the governor of Mahabad and held that post for four-and-a-half years. Later, I became the political deputy to the Province's governor for four years."
In all these regions, where he held various positions, the people of Kurdistan were subjected to harsh crackdown. In one instance, Jalaipour issued the order for the mass execution of 59 Iranian Kurds in the city of Mahabad. Asked why the 59 were executed, he replied: "We were at war at the time and holding public trials was not an issue... Those who ask about Kurdistan in those years and about the execution of 59 people, are in reality the armed groups who must be held to account. If given the opportunity, all of these groups would quickly label the revolutionary children as 'mercenaries of Khomeini.' The events in Kurdistan must be addressed in the context of the clashes between armed groups and the government forces."
When asked about the massacre in the village of Qarena by the Revolutionary Guards, he said brazenly : "The truth was that in an ethnic and rash reaction, a number of people in the city of Naqadeh attacked and killed 40 people in the village of Qarena because the members of the Kurdistan Democratic [Party of Iran] had been given refuge there."
Replying to the question that "are you not remorseful, Mr. Jalaipour?", he said: "Why me? The armed political groups and any one who engaged in violence should be remorseful. Me and those like me, were in our early twenties when we went to Kurdistan. As representatives of the government, we strengthened government institutions. This was not an easy task. Why should we be remorseful. Those who ask about the execution of 59 people, are not interested in criticizing the past. They want people like me to negate the revolution, the sacrifices in the war and in Kurdistan, and the Islamic Republic itself."
The Heinrich Boell Institute must explain why is it washing off the blood-stained hands of such criminals and sacrificing human rights principles at the altar of petty economic interests and political considerations.
Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran - Germany
April 8, 2000
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