Khatami's choice of first deputy signals continued repression at home

At noon today, in his first and most important choice, Mohammad Khatami, the mullahs' new president, appointed Hassan Habibi as his first deputy. Habibi served eight years in the same post under Rafsanjani.

As one of the leaders of Khomeini's anti-human regime, Habibi has been significantly involved in all of the regime's crimes in the past 18 years. His appointment as first deputy, therefore, is a clear indication that hope for any reform in the mullahs' regime is but a mirage. Khatami is neither interested nor capable of bringing about any change.

Before being appointed as Rafsanjani's deputy in 1989, Habibi was the Minister of Justice. Tens of thousands of political prisoners were executed during his tenure. He was among the officials in charge of the massacre of 15,000 political prisoners in summer 1988.

Habibi was also the spokesman for Khomeini's Revolutionary Council in 1979 and his representative in the Council of Cultural Revolution which unleashed a brutal campaign to crack down on students in the 1980s.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran - Paris
August 4, 1997

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