Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has reported to his nation tonight on his first 100 days in office.
Part of his report is this music video of many voices — “Let space and opportunity be given to all Iranians devoted to this land”…
In it, Rouhani says [as part of his inauguration speech?]: “For to our goal, the path is long, and I’m a new voyager”… UPDATE: Thomas Erdbrink has just written in the New York Times, here, that this line, too, is from the Persian poet Hafez, just is as another line immediately preceeding it, and indentified in the video. Erdbrink also notes that in the video, Rouhani is shown “alongside musical instruments — which are banned on state television — and women singing…The video was released only on Iranian social media and YouTube, where it got around 400,000 views in 24 hours, said its director, Hossein Dehbashi”.
It is wonderful…
Erdbrink reports that the video :shows Mr. Rouhani addressing the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at his inauguration in August, with Iranians in a split screen speaking and singing the president’s words…The video has yet to be shown on state-run television, which is controlled by Mr. Rouhani’s hard-line opponents, but can be seen on Mr. Rouhani’s personal website, Rouhani.ir”.
RFERL journalist in Washington Golnaz Esfandiari explained here that:
“The beautifully made black-and-white clip, which includes segments of the Iranian president’s August 3 inauguration speech mixed with music, singing, and sign language, has been released to mark the first 100 days of his presidency… Rohani’s video was posted on his website and shared on Twitter by the unverified account of the Iranian president, which is said to be maintained by his media team…The clip, which features a well-known singer and actor, Amir Hossein Modaress, was produced by Iranian documentary-maker Hossein Dehbashi, who also worked on Rohani’s election campaign videos. Dehbashi has been quoted by Iranian media as saying that the video was created ‘spontaneously'”
In the clip, unprecedented for an Iranian president, people of all ages play musical instruments and sing to Rohani’s words in Persian, but also in the languages of Iran’s minorities, including Kurdish and Arabic. The clip also includes sound bites from prominent figures in Iran’s modern history including Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and the founder of the Islamic Republic Ruhollah Khomeini.
The main takeaway of the clip seems to be unity:
“Let space and opportunity be given to all Iranians who are devoted to this land. Let those who are competent serve the nation. Let their hearts be cleansed from hatred. Let reconciliation replace anger and friendship replace enmity”.Rohani said his government wants happiness to return to the Iranian people’s lives and calls on God to guide him”…
Continue reading 100 Days in Office: Hassan Rouhani reports on his Presidency