Azizollah Esna_ashari A True son of Isfahan Died

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What a fitting tribute to a true son of Isfahan.

Azizollah Esnaashari, is the only one ever reported to have stood up and opposed Ayatollah Khomeini to his face.

He died on 23 Febuary in London's Ealing hospital far away from his beloved isfahan. Azizollah Esnaashari, was a trusted friend of Dr. Bakhtiar. He was my political mentor in many ways and one of the few of the old generation who stood up to the Ayatollahs' take over of Iran.
Esnaashari lost his father at the age of 10, being the eldest son and in order to support his family, he started working in Isfahan's tea houses. Years later by hard work, he managed to save enough money to buy the tea house he worked in. During the oil nationalisation years, his tea house became a debating place for different political groups and he took an active part in the protests that led to the nationalisation of Iranian oil industry.After the events of 1953, Esnaashari became a successful businessman, and because he was trusted in Isfahan's business community, he was forced the unwanted task of courier for the religious levies paid to the Shiite Ayatollahs by the Bazaari merchants in Isfahan. This also meant he had to travel to Iraq several times and hand over the payments to the likes of Ayatollah Khoeii and also Ayatollah Khomeini.
Here he saw at first hand the hypocrisy of the Ayatollahs and despite his religious upringing, became totally disenchanted by organised religion.During the mass frenzy of 1979, Esnaashari opposed the religious leadership of the revolution and stood by his long time friends and secular dissidents to the Shah, Dr. Bakhtiar and Dr. Boroumand, and joined the National Movement of Iranian Resistance led by Dr. Bakhtiar.





Esnaashari, is the only one ever reported to have stood up and opposed Ayatollah Khomeini to his face.Both Dr. Boroumand and shortly afterwards, Dr. Bakhtiar were assassinated in 1991 in Paris by the agents of Hashemi Rafsanjani and with the collusion of the Miterand government.Esnaashari however remained loyal to his friends and to his principles and opposed the Islamic Republic until the last day of his life.I will remember many of his qualities, his courage, his loyalty in friendships, his honesty, his dislike of ideologies, his tolerance of different opinions and his sharp Isfahani humour.My fondest memories of him will be when I used to go to his house in Ealing. Often his house would be full with different people and passionate political debates would take place. I will remember how he waited and listened until the other side finished their arguments and he would then start with "I am not an intellectual like you lot, I am just a tea boy, I had to leave school and work from the age of 10, but..." and with that 'but' he would continue to demolish the shaky arguments of the academics and the intellectuals and those who know politics only through reading books.I am proud to say that my political mentor was a tea boy who never finished school but he knew his country and his people better than the Iranian intellectuals of the previous generation.Farewell Aziz, thanks for all you taught me. Sorry you couldn't be buried in Iran.(from the weblog of Azarmehr ).I too extend my commiseration's to you, his friend and to all his friends and his dear family. May God rest his soul.I too knew him.He was a very generous and kind man with a natural common sense that came from deep within his soul. His wonderful sense of humour was legendary too.He used to make an excellent and lovely Ab_Gooshet for us and I really did enjoyed his company.
I will always remember him coming to all the demonstrations against the hated regime and in all kinds of weather and in good health and bad (specially lately) shout out his heartfelt "Sho_arrs" against the mullahs and sing with a loud voice" EY IRAN."It is amazing — but I found this video early today and although I have never been to Isfahan -I watched it three or four times with tears in my eye. Now I know why.As the saying goes- Del BeH Del Raah dareeh.
Isfahan:song by Saadi Nikoo & Misagh Yeganeh -



bakhtyar
Uploaded by farshad



Abdorrahman Boroumand :
http://www.abfiran.org/english/about_boroumand.php


Dr. Abdorrahman Boroumand was born into a farmer/landowner family from Esfahan in 1927. He studied law at the University of Tehran and the University of Geneva, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1956. While a student, Boroumand supported the political program of then-prime minister Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, a respected statesman and champion of democratic reform. [Between 1951 and August 1953, when his government was ousted by an Anglo-American sponsored coup, Mossadegh was engaged in a multi-front political battle to reform Iran's electoral law and to implement parliament's decision to nationalize the British-owned oil industry.] In 1956, Boroumand chose to return to his hometown and serve his country rather than accept an opportunity to work in Switzerland on international law. After returning to Esfahan, he joined the National Front, a coalition of pro-Mossadegh groups and individuals. He was among the very few National Front candidates to run in the parliamentary elections of the 1960s. A democracy advocate and charismatic speaker, he gathered unusual popular support and was arrested twice on the eve of the 1960 elections. He spent several weeks in prison before being barred, by the political police, from living in Esfahan. He settled in Tehran with his family and worked as a lawyer. Boroumand remained involved with the pro-democracy movement and was elected to the Council of the National Front in 1963. The political repression that prevailed in Iran in the 1960s and 1970s, however, left no space for peaceful political activism. Boroumand limited his activities to maintaining a network of support for political friends who found themselves in difficulty. He also took care of his family's business ventures. Only in 1976 did a limited political opening allow the pro-democracy movement to reorganize. The revolutionary turmoil of 1979 was a major turning point in Boroumand's political life. He was one of the few high-ranking National Front members who supported Dr. Shapur Bakhtiar's decision to accept the premiership of Iran in January 1979 in an effort to ensure a peaceful transition to democracy. Bakhtiar, a social democrat and one of the three leaders of the National Front, opposed Ayatollah Khomeini's idea of an Islamic republic. When the National Front Council expelled Bakhtiar, Boroumand resigned in protest. In January 1979, Boroumand was sent to Paris to arrange a meeting between Bakhtiar and Khomeini. The meeting never took place, and Bakhtiar's government was overthrown on February 11, 1979. At the time, Boroumand was in Paris, where he stayed and was granted political asylum. In August 1979, Bakhtiar arrived in Paris and declared his opposition to the Islamic Republic. Boroumand joined him and placed his apartment, in a Paris suburb, at the disposal of Bakhtiar. It was in this apartment that, in July 1980, a first assassination attempt was carried out against Bakhtiar by a Palestinian commando hired by the Islamic Republic. Bakhtiar was not harmed but the attack resulted in the deaths of a French policeman and a neighbor. It was also in this apartment that the National Movement of the Iranian Resistance (NAMIR), the first pro-democracy opposition movement to Iran's theocracy, was founded in August 1980. Along with Bakhtiar and his friends, Boroumand played an active role in the creation and development of NAMIR. He was not deterred by the danger inherent in such an endeavor. On April 18, 1991, Boroumand was stabbed to death in the lobby of his Paris apartment by agents of the Islamic Republic. Three month later, on August 6, 1991, Bakhtiar and his assistant Soroush Katibeh were also killed by three agents of the Iranian government. Boroumand described the political regime he was fighting for in the following terms: "NAMIR aims at restoring national sovereignty in Iran. National sovereignty means that people would enjoy democracy in domestic affairs and independence in international affairs. By democracy I mean the rule of the majority, while all political and social rights of the minority are respected so that the minority gets the opportunity to become the majority. This is not a new goal. This was also the ideal of all the patriots and freedom lovers in our country since the constitutional revolution of 1906." Boroumand believed that every citizen has a duty to be involved in the affairs of his country. He loved history and enjoyed Persian classical literature. He valued family and friendship and was a loving relative and a loyal friend. Yet for him the dignity of Iran and the liberty and rights of its people were a sacred goal, one for which he gave his life. The Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation--including its first project, Omid, a Memorial in Defense of Human Rights in Iran--is dedicated to promoting Boroumand's ideals. Its creation also sends a message to the proponents of terror: Using violence to eliminate their opponents will not succeed in eliminating their ideas. Indeed, the memory of their victims challenges the collective conscience of a nation and spurs many to fight for freedom and human rights. Killing an opponent may delay, but it surely will not end, the quest for freedom, as the desire for liberty is inherent in human nature.

فوت عزیزاله اثنی عشری/داریوش مجلسی
8 اسفند 1386
با کمال تاسف امروز خبر فوت یک فرد ملی به تمام معنی و یار صادق شادروانان بختیار و برومند را از طریق سایت خبرگزاری جبهه ملی ایران در آمریکا دریافت کردم. وی در زمان مبارزات دکتر محمد مصدق از شاخصین مبارزات ملی در بازار اصفهان بود. زمانیکه دکتر بختیار بخارج کشور آمد او یار سیاسی خود را تنها نگذارد، در خارج کشور به او پیوست و تا آخرین دقایق در کنار او باقی ماند. حمایت من از رضا پهلوی باعث خشم جمعی از جبهه ملی های خارج کشور گردید. باعث دلگرمی من بود زمانیکه من در نشست لندن حمایت خودرا – با حفظ پرنسیپ جبهه ملی خود – از شاهزاده رضا پهلوی اعلام داشتم و عزیزاله اثنی عشری در حالیکه با عصا راه میرفت و بسیار مریض بود به من گفت که: " بختیار، برومند و من یاران سیاسی و زندان همدیگر بودیم. در حقیقت ما سه نفر از گذشته های دور، سه پایه یک مثلث را تشکیل میدادیم که دو پایه آن مدتهاست درگذشته اند و منهم مریض و تنها در انتظار روزهای آخر زندگیم میباشم". بعد از سخنرانی من در نشست لندن و اعلام حمایتم از شاهزاده رضا پهلوی، دستم را فشرد و از اینکه در اعلام حمایتم، ادای احترام نسبت به مصدق و بختیار نموده بودم اظهار خوشنودی نمود و در تائید راهی که در پیش گرفته بودم هر سه روز برگزاری نشست لندن را با عصای خود میامد و تا پایان جلسات در آخر سالن مینشست. یادش گرامی و راهش پیروز. داریوش مجلسی

در گذشت عزیز الله اثنی عشری

عزیز الله اثنی عشری از شخصیت های ملی که تمام عمر پر بار خود را در راه ایران گذراند ٬ در لندن بدرود حیات گفت .او از نو جوانی و پس از مرگ پدرش به کسب و کار پرداخت تا نان آور خانواده خود باشد .در سالهای ملی شدن نفت به جبهه ملی ایران پیوست و قهوه خانه کوچک او در مکینه خواجوی اصفهان مرکز بحث و تبادل نظر ملیون بود . وی در شکستن اعتصاباتی که به تحریک حزب توده برای تضعیف دولت ملی دکتر مصدق بر پا شده بود نقش اساسی داشت و محبوبیت زیادی در بین کارگران بویژه کارگران کارخانه وطن اصفهان کسب کرد. او پس از انقلاب در خارج از کشور به نهضت مقاومت ملی پیوست و از یاران نزدیک دکتر بختیار بود . اثنی عشری تحصیلات زیادی نداشت اما منش ملی و مردمشناسی او چنان بود که زنده یاد شاپور بختیار از او به عنوان (مهندس آدمها) یاد میکرد .او از سال ۲۰۰۲ مشاور جبهه ملی ایران در انگلستان شد و اکثر جلسات جبهه ملی در خانه او برگزار میشد . مجلس یادبود دکتر ورجاوند در لندن نیز به همت او برگزار شد. عزیز الله اثنی عشری از رهبران برجسته نهضت مقاومت ملی بود که شهوت شهرت و نام نداشت و مخلصانه و صادقانه برای ایران تلاش میکرد.یادش گرامی باد.

با اندوهی فراوان،
درگذشت هموطن عالیقدر آقای عزیزالله اثنی عشری را به خانواده و فرزندان محترم ایشان و نهضت مقاومت ملی ایران تسلیت می گوییم. این هموند مبارز ملی سالهای پربار عمر خود را در راه آزادی و آبادی میهن، ملی شدن صنعت نفت و درکنار شادروان دکتر شاپور بختیار سپری کرد و بعنوان مشاور جبهه ملی ایران در انگلستان، در راه مصدق خدمت نمود. رحمت خدا بر او باد. هیئت اجرائیه جبهه ملی ایران- اروپا
یکشنبه پنجم اسفند ماه 1386

Aziz was Buried Today From the pages of Azarmehre weblog

Aziz was buried today in a cemetery in North London. So many of us come to this world and go without leaving a footprint, but Aziz was one of those who did leave a footprint.I was glad that his burial was as he wanted it to be. His coffin was draped in the Iranian Sun and Lion flag. After his coffin was lowered to the ground, his family then poured some Iranian soil in his grave. I too had brought some Iranian soil with me, it was from the Gardens of Fin, where Iran's great secular Prime Minister, Amirkabir was murdered. It was my last contribution to a man whose judgement and insight, I trusted so much when it came to Iranian affairs.Each person who could, then took turns with the shovel filling up the grave until Aziz's coffin was fully covered. Then came the many bouquets of flowers from family and friends, many of them in the green, white and red of the Iranian flag's tri-colours.Once all the flowers were laid, a speech was made by a family friend celebrating the life of a courageous man who stood by his principles and helped anyone he could, without expecting any favours in return. A man who was praised by friend and foe for his honesty and loyalty.When the speech was finished, we sang the Ey Iran anthem, and finished with the shouts of Payandeh Iran (Long Live Iran).There was no religious ceremony, it was the way Aziz wanted it.During the speech, my mind wondered off to all the memories I have of Aziz. His famous humourous one-liners and also his serious side. In the background I could hear his beloved daughter's cries "Baba, why aren't you answering me any more?" and I asked myself who will I turn to for advise now? Who will have Aziz's wealth of practical experience that I could trust as much, now that Aziz is silent?As I walked away from his grave, I met with Aziz's daughter-in-law. Like most his family members, she thanked me for my previous post on Aziz and said "We were Aziz's relatives but you were his son from politics" and another friend of Aziz shook my hand and said "Aziz was so proud of you, he told me once, see that Potkin, he is one good demonstration why Iran will never die" I was so touched by those comments, I nearly lost my composure and quickly walked away.Aziz was one of those few older generation Iranians who did not try to hinder the younger activists and instead whenever he could, he would promote them and give guidance. He loved being amongst the younger generation and his footprints will be visible for many years to come. ( one of the many comments regarding Mr. Esna_ashari :
William Royce (VOA) said... please accept my condolences. I was fortunate to have met him several times both here and in London, and considered him a friend. he was
selfless..like Dr bakhtiar and Dr. Boroumand