Memoirs of Marzieh Hadidchi (Part 32)
2018-2-27
Memoirs of Marzieh Hadidchi (Dabbagh) (Part 32)
Edited by: Mohsen Kazemi
Tehran, Sooreh Mehr Publications Company
2002 (Persian Version)
Translated by: Zahra Hosseinian
The Hunger strike in the church of Saint-Merri
The news from Iran indicated a wave of arrests and pressure on revolutionary militants. In the prison, Ayatollah Taleghani was sick and Ayatollah Montazeri and Ayatollah Rabani Shirazi were under torture and they were treated harshly. In addition, the revolutionaries outside the country knew the regime responsible for Dr. Shariati's death and they were very angry with all these issues and the bad events. They should express their protest somehow by some attempt, and they should do what they could to reduce the pressure and to improve the conditions of prisons.
In protest and for attracting public attention of the world, Mohammad Montazeri formed a massive hunger strike in Paris by designing a systematic plan in October 1977; in fact, he was the principal director and designer of the strike[1].
The hunger strike was held at the church of Saint-Merri [2]. All the members of our group, except martyr Montazeri, Mohammad Gharzi and Ali Jannati[3] had participated. I remember that although Mr. Gharazi was not a clergyman, but he had dressed like a clergyman. By this act, he probably wanted to show the religious nature of the movement, because the executor of the movement was a militant cleric, and it seemed necessary that the presence of clerics in such a gathering would be more notable. About fifteen or sixteen clerics from different countries, such as Iraq (Najaf), Lebanon and Syria and one or two clerics from Iran had participated too.
Before that, my idea of a hunger strike, in the full sense of the word, was refusing to eat and drink. While for some it had different meaning and it was only apparent that the appearance of the problem was intended.
After four days of the strike, I suffered from severity of hunger and thirst, and I fell into a coma for an hour later. The Red Cross ambulance appeared very quickly and the aid workers wanted to move me to the hospital. The members of our group, who were there, knew the possible threats and were afraid that the police interfered too and our organization hurt if my identity was revealed. Consequently, they convinced the aid workers that there was no need for moving me to the hospital.
When the aid workers went, Banisadr said, "I can take her to my house, until she recovers." So, I was the guest of Banisadr and his family for three days and I rested there.
To be continued…
[1]. "The news of the execution of Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi was released outside the country. The late martyr Mohammad Montazeri ran around to save the life of prisoners in general and the life of Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi and his circle in particular. To do this, he contacted with Islamic associations of America, Dr. Yazdi and his friends, and on the other hand, with union of European Islamic Associations in France and Germany, Mr. Ghotbzadeh and with the other wing, Mr. Banisadr, and eventually arranged for the sit-in and the hunger strike in Paris. (Mohtashemi, Ali Akbar: Political Memories, second volume, Tehran, Khaneh Andisheh Javan press, 1999)
[2]. The church of Saint-Merri is located in the fourth quarter of Paris.
[3]. Ali Jannati, son of Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati was born in 1949 in Isfahan. He spent all his educational levels in Qom. After completing the ninth grade, he went to the Qom seminary in 1964, and he could finish high school and get his diploma while he was studying Islamic and seminary sciences. Jannati continued his studying in seminary in the Haqqani and Montazerieh School by the end of 1974. He knew Imam Khomeini from seven or eight years old because his father was Imam’s student. And he attended Imam's speech meetings from childhood. He started his propaganda activities in the cities like Khomein, Aligudarz, Borujen and etc. during 1968. He was wanted by the SAVAK from 1971-1972, and eventually he fled abroad by the end of 1975 after a lot of hot pursuit. He spent a short time in Pakistan and then traveled to Syria and Lebanon. During his stay abroad, he traveled to Britain, France, Iraq, and Pakistan. In Iraq, Ali Jannati could translate several Arabic books into Persian which were about revolution and Palestine. He also could collaborate with Arabic publications for translating Persian news into Arabic. After the victory of the revolution, Ali Jannati assumed various responsibilities, including: Agent of founding the Islamic Republic Party in Kermanshah (on behalf of martyr Beheshti), Director of Ahwaz radio and television in 1980, Membership in the supervisory board of IRIB until 1983 (the representative of the judicial system), The head of the IRGC's political bureau, The governor-general of Khuzestan (1984-1987), The governor-general of Khorasan (1989-1992), The international deputy of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. And now, he is Iran's ambassador in Kuwait.
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