Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (51)

Edited by Mohsen Kazemi

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (51)
Edited by Mohsen Kazemi
Soureh Mehr Publishing Company
(Original Text in Persian, 2000)
Translated by Mohammad Karimi

After some time Habib told Parviz: “You are so faithful to your wife and it is dangerous for your way and MKO. If they arrest you in future this dependence would put you in a weakened position and MKO would definitely get harmed. In the following days, Habib continued such discussions with Parviz and then MKO ordered him to become friends with a MKO female member and get about in his residence area in a red BMW. Obeying MKO orders, Parviz accepted to do that and some of his relatives and friends saw him with that girl and reported the matter to his wife. Finally MKO ordered them (The girl and Parviz) to have a trip to Caspian coast in North of Iran. There, they took a photograph from them and put it in Parviz’s pocket. Parviz’s wife saw that pic and considering the previous heard stories, the warm circle of their life collapsed. It was the beginning of his misery. Parviz who could earn good money and owned a color shop in Bouzarjomehri Street (15th of Khordad) gradually lost his house, car, credit and everything. (1)
Day by day more tasked would be ordered to our team. Typing and duplicating MKO announcements and pamphlets was one of them. While doing this organizational task we would read these texts and find new firsthand information. The duplication task was done by a Photo Stencil machine which had been confiscated (!) by MKO members. The services and repairs of these machines were exclusively done few particular companies and they had to deliver all the names and information of the people who would bring their machines to repair to SAVAK. MKO being aware of this problem would choose different tricks to hoax SAVAK. Whenever the duplicating machine needed services, Parviz would make himself neat and clean and go to one of these companies along with a veil-less girl and ask for the repair by presenting untrue information. The way nobody would suspect.
Day by day our tasked would be added. Inevitably I was forced to leave my job in Iron Junks Company in order to have more free time for my organizational tasks. To make ends meet I became a part time free dealer in iron junks market. I would by a few pickups of iron and sell to them to the customers every week. I would pay part of my income to MKO. After some time I could buy a pickup to facilitate my job which was also a good cover for my political activities. I would buy and sell cars beside iron junks. So, MKO asked me to sell some cars they had in hand. Some times when the car documents were fake I would go to Bouzarjomehri Street and sell them with cheap prices. The customers would think that I was a dumb, so they would call me “Uncle!” Whenever I would go there they would say: “The Uncle came!”

The Green Meeting

After three years of the big blow to MKO in 1971, it began its reconstruction in human forces and also producing some tools and materials it needed. “Picric acid” (2) is a chemical smoky liquid which is used in explosive materials. Our team was ordered to produce this liquid.
For producing “Picric acid” we rented a warehouse in Karaj Road near to Vardavard village. There was another factory that would produce glue. That factory’s owner was a lady who would never come there to check and observe the activities there. We pretended to produce wax in order to be free of any suspicion. So we bought big amount of empty wax tins and take them to the warehouse every now and then.
In 24 hours we would produce 20 kilograms of Picric acid and it would afford all MKO need. It was said the MKO would support other military group with this amount of Picric acid. Each night one of us (Khosrow, Parviz and I) would stay in the warehouse. One night I worked so hard in way that I fall asleep because of heavy tiredness at last. Then the liquid that had to be poured in the wheel to make it go round, poured more than usual or what it was needed. Then a green smoke filled the warehouse. I clearly remember that I had died and gone to paradise; everywhere was green and I had green garment on. I remained in this senseless powerless condition till the next dawn. I woke up suddenly. I saw the smoke had filled half of the space there, but it still had not covered me. I felt that I could not breathe easily. This insensitivity had fully filled my body. I stood up with difficulty and moved myself near the gate. With a great hardship I could half open the gate and take my body almost out. Then I fell down right there hanging from the porch. Minutes later, Khosrow came and saw my half-dead body. He could take me out with difficulty. Sunshine was not complete yet. I felt that I was hearing a sound that would say: “Shapour! Shapour! … Shapour... Wake up!” I opened my eyes but I was still confused and dizzy. With a faltering voice I said: “Don’t go… don’t go…” He said: “Shapour! What’s up?” I looked around and told him to wait. Minutes passed and by breathing fresh air I became normal. I said: “I don’t know what happened? I just remember that I was working and I suddenly fall asleep. When I woke up I saw everywhere was green.” When Khosrow became sure about my health entered the warehouse and opened the windows and gates and evacuated the polluted air. So, this way I went to green visit in a dark night.

1- Ali Asghar Mirza Ja’far Allaf Khosrow talked about his brother, Ali (Parviz) this way: “Let me tell you my brother’s story who was a good believing man. My brother began his activity at the age of 14. He would work and study concurrently to have a good and clean life. However, these [MKO members] buttonholed on his way and despite having a wife and two kids, he delivered his whole life to MKO. MKO decided that my brother had to divorce his wife and they put him under pressure until he finally got divorce and his kids became waif. Then they also despoiled all he had.”
Keyhan Newspaper, 28th April 1978.
2- Picric acid is the chemical compound formally called 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). This yellow crystalline solid is one of the most acidic phenols and is vinylogous to nitric acid. Like other highly nitrated compounds such as TNT, picric acid is an explosive. Its name comes from Greek πικρος (pik' ros), meaning "bitter", reflecting its bitter taste.