Ayatollah Khamenei's Speech on Iraq 

Ayatollah al-Udhma Khamenei: What Has Made Iraq Difficult for Imperialists to Swallow Is the Faith and Willpower of a Group of Defenseless and Downtrodden People

The following are excerpts from the speech of Ayatollah al-Udhma Sayyed Ali Khamenei on August 7, 2004 to a group of religious eulogizers on the birth anniversary of the Prophet of Islam's daughter, Sayyeda Fatimah al-Zahra, peace be upon her:

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Firstly, we would like to congratulate you on this great day and this blessed Eid. We would like to welcome you dear brothers, eulogisers, announcers and composers of eulogies and elegies for the household of the Prophet, peace be upon them…

One of the gentlemen here pointed out that the events in Iraq and Najaf meant that the enemies of Islam and Muslims turned the sweetness of this blessed day into bitterness. That is true. God will punish those imperialist, tyrannical and hypocritical powers which are avaricious liars and con artists. For them, neither the people's dignity, ideas and rights nor the independence of other countries or achievements of other nations, matter at all.

Anyone who thinks that they can achieve something by flattering those people or getting close to them or surrendering to them, is wrong. The only cure is steadfastness and hitting them with the sharp sword of the logic of the righteous and the serious determination of the righteous. There is no other cure for such people. That means strong willpower, strong logic and a strong fist. These imperialists and these bullies can only be cured like that. They are desperate when faced with such people.

What has made Iraq difficult for them to swallow and made them choke on it, is nothing but the faith and willpower of a group of defenseless and downtrodden people. You can see that the Iraqis do not have any money, weapons or international support. However, they are determined, faithful and steadfast and they have not permitted those people to swallow their country which they had been dreaming about. I have repeatedly said, and I am saying this once again, the Americans have reached a standstill. If they go forward they will be hit. If they back up, they will still be hit. If they continue, they will be hit and if they withdraw, they will still be hit. They are mired down there and a wolf which is caught in a trap might frighten some people by screaming. Those who go near it might be frightened when they see its paws. However, it is entrapped.

We hope that God will enable the Islamic world to rid itself of them. (Audience says Amen). God willing, Almighty God will grant success to the Muslim people of Iraq and the Shia Muslims in all parts of the world, as well as to all Muslim and faithful people and enable them to restore their dignity. (Audience says Amen)

. . . Dear brothers, today, we need a model like Fatimah al-Zahra (AS). You can see that organizations that are engaged in propaganda campaigns throughout the world are trying to mislead human beings by presenting them with various models, albeit models which are not particularly attractive or successful. They bring on the scene some actors, some writers, people who make a lot of noise and who look nice, but who are evil. They bring on the scene people who are hollow inside and who do not understand anything. They are constantly showing them off to various generations of human beings. They are not doing this just for us, but they are doing this for humanity throughout the world.

This applies to the entire humanity throughout the world. They are trying to use the power of example in order to move human beings in a certain direction. They are spending a lot of money. Films are produced in Hollywood and you can see and hear about such things. You know about them. Most such things are biased. This is despite the fact that they say that art must not be politicized and that it must not be politically biased.

However, their own behavior is not like that. The imperialists of this world have employed art in the service of their interests as well. This is true of art, cinema and films. The same applies to poetry, writing, intellect, reasoning and philosophy. They have employed such things to further their own imperialist interests to plunder the resources of others. Today, these things are the symbols of global capitalism. America is a military power and the companies behind the American government are the economic powers. They use all their resources to create models. Some nations are empty-handed. They do not have any models or examples that can compete with what those people have and they have nothing to show for themselves. However, our hands are full. We have great women and that if we only want to talk about women's issues. There have been great women throughout Islamic history. The pinnacle of their achievements were symbolized by Fatimah al-Zahra, peace be upon her.

You should try to find out which lesson taught by the household of the Prophet we need in our political and social life. You should try to learn that about the lives of those magnanimous people. You should express it in the language of poetry. These things are necessary. Otherwise, eulogies in themselves do not mean much, especially because, sometimes, one notices that ambiguous expressions are used. Ambiguous things have been said. Listeners do not understand the purpose of the eulogy. Sometimes, even the speaker does not understand it. That is not sufficient. You should express your respect and that is the best thing one can do.

Eulogisers, artists, film-makers and those who manage this country's cinema are all responsible for doing so. Those who manage the country's television station and those who go to the pulpit are responsible for dealing with the matter as well.

Today, thanks to the blood shed by Imam Hussain (AS), and the uprising staged by Imam Hussain (AS) and thanks the blessings of the Hussaini spirit, we are a country and a nation that managed to stage an uprising and overthrow a dictatorial, corrupt, evil and vile system which perpetrated vile deeds. They managed to bring that system to its knees and create a government of the people which was based on Islamic tenets and spiritual principles.

Its (reference to the government) actions are relatively Islamic. Our spirit is Islamic. I cannot say that our actions are totally Islamic. They are relatively Islamic and, God willing, they will have to become more and more Islamic every day. They brought such a state to power.

The existence of this state is like swearing at all the world powers. The very existence of the Islamic republican state is like swearing at America. That will still be the case if you do not even say Death to America. The very fact that this thing is here is a challenge to all the powers that oppose the spirituality, sagacity, independence and honor of other nations. Everyone is duty-bound to enable this state to overcome its flaws and weaknesses. They must strengthen elements which contribute to its spiritual and financial strength.

No Iraqi Official Should Be Appointed by Occupying Forces

The world arrogance wants to commit the greatest crimes against Islamic nations and expects other Islamic nations to ignore and not protest to such crimes

Imam Khomeini [RA] addresses mankind and not only the people of Iran

Ayatollah al-Udhma Khamenei delivered a speech in southern Tehran yesterday [June 3, 2004] to mark the 15th anniversary of the demise of the late Imam Khomeini [RA]. Ayatollah al-Udhma Khamenei touched on different issues including the political school of Imam Khomeini [RA], the role of people in Islamic system, the rule of jurisprudence, and social justice. On the international front, Ayatollah al-Udhma Khamenei condemned the actions of the Zionist government in the Palestine and those of America in Iraq, adding that the occupiers must leave Iraq and have no right to exploit Iraq's oil. The following are excerpts from the speech:

(arabic)

Twenty five years after the victory of the Islamic revolution and the foundation of the Islamic Republic and 15 years after the demise of the great leader of the revolution and the founder of the Islamic Republic (Late Imam Khomeini [RA]), the hostile propaganda by the enemies of our revolution and nation still is focused on enmity towards our great Imam. Every month, they make thousands-of-hours-long programs for hundreds of global radio and television stations affiliated to Zionist and arrogant circles. Their most important aim even 25 years after the foundation of the Islamic establishment, is to undermine the late Imam's attractive and profound personality.

We have to acknowledge that the system's enemies have no other way of confronting the Islamic Republic establishment and the Iranian nation's movement. This is because a major factor behind the Iranian nation's refusal to surrender and resistance, is the Imam's political philosophy and ideology. Our nation believes in this wholeheartedly. The revolution's enemies have no option but to confront the Imam's philosophy, ideology and personality which still lives on. This is so they can, in their own interpretation, force this nation to surrender to them.

It was the late Imam and his political ideology which was able to cut off the hands of looters from this country. They were looters who joined dictators and transformed Iran into their safe home. They hoped that they would be able to keep Iran for themselves as a country which produced raw material and had an unending source of oil. Our great Imam's political ideology cut off their hands from this country. . .

Western civilization is based on confronting spirituality. This was the greatest mistake of those who began the scientific and industrial civilization and movement in Europe. They gave significance to science. This was good. However, they confronted spirituality. This was bad and they were misled. Therefore, western civilization is based on materialism and is devoid of spirituality. The more it progresses, the more it deviates. They (Westerners) themselves and the entire humanity will suffer form its poisonous effects as they have been suffering so far. The phenomena of colonialism is the result of separation between science and spirituality, politics and spirituality, and governments and ethics. This happened in Europe. . .

Today we are witnessing the zenith of being removed from spirituality in Iraq's Abu-Ghurayb prison and in other prisons of Iraq. Those who are running these prisons claim to have the most advanced civilization. . .

These are not the only tragedies which have taken place for the Iraqi and Afghan nations. A wedding ceremony was bombed two or three years ago in Afghanistan. One month ago a wedding ceremony was transformed into a mourning ceremony by British jets in Iraq. In Iraq, the youth are humiliated, men are tortured, Iraqi women are raped, the safety of Iraqi families are violated and a US hand picked government has been established for the Iraqi nation. This is what happens when spirituality become separated from politics.

In the past, Eastern and Western rulers, despots and dictators did such things. However, when the Europeans became familiar with sweet slogans such as human rights, the people's vote and started making scientific advances, lack of spirituality did not allow these slogans to bring the expected and anticipated good to mankind. They became a source of evil and corruption. The new thing which the Imam's political ideology brought for the world was politics along with spirituality and power along with morals. . .

At the start of the revolution, a mere two months after the revolution, the Imam put to vote the idea of a system based on the revolution. It was less than two months. Compare this with the behavior of military coup leaders around the world, the behavior of communist regimes and the behavior of America today.

Today, 15 months after the military occupation of Iraq, America still does not allow the people of Iraq to say what and who they want for their government. The representative of the United Nations, in his press conference yesterday, said Americans have a military presence in Iraq and therefore it is necessary to take the decision of the American administrator into consideration when choosing members of the government. This is their democracy.

The implementation of democracy, even in their own countries, is not the true rule of people. It is mere color and pretence, a colorful propaganda achieved by an endless amount of money that they spent for it. The vote of the people is lost. In the school of the Imam, the vote of the people is effective and determining in the real sense of the word. This is the value of the people's vote. The strength of people's vote.

Relying on the strength of people's vote and will, the Imam believed in, and acted on this belief that, with people's unshakable will it is possible to stand against all the aggressive powers of the world. And he did so. In the political school of the Imam, the rule of the people has its source in religion and Quranic verses. It comes from"(arabic)" it comes from "(arabic)". We have not learnt these things from other people. Some people claim that we should learn form westerners how to involve people in the management of government. But westerners are stuck themselves. They support governments such as the government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who had absolute dictatorship in our country for 35 years. Before him, his father was the country's dictator for 20 years. These very Americans who claim to support democracy took them to their bosom and supported them. Do they support democracy? They are lying. If you want to see their form of democracy go to Iraq or go to Afghanistan and see how they are treating the innocent people.

American democracy is their unrestrained support for the criminal Sharon. This is their type of democracy. Are we going to learn democracy from these people? Do they value human beings? Do they value people? Look at the tragedies that are being committed in Palestine today. Are they not human beings? Are they not the owners of their own lands? Don't they have the right to have a vote and speak their mind?

Today we are witnessing the most appalling and barbaric behavior in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and before this in many parts of the world. Now the people who carry out these appalling actions are not even ashamed and claim to be proponents of democracy. The American president shamelessly claims that he is shouldering the responsibility for the propagation of democracy in the Middle East and the world. The people in the world can see their kind of democracy in places like Iraq's Abu-Ghurayb prison and Guantanamo. This is their kind of democracy and human rights.

In our society and among the Islamic ummah, one has to be naive to say that the Westerns must come and teach us the rule of the people. We expect form writers and scholars who are fair not to write or talk in a way to give the impression that they are familiarizing the people with the rule of the people. The rule of the people was propounded by Imam. The rule of the people was the result of the revolution. In a country like Iran that for centuries, save some short period, the people's votes and their will were not honored. Throughout our lives we never saw ballot boxes. No-one valued Iranians' votes. Dictators throughout their rule paid no attention at all to our people. In Iran, our Imam, revolution and the Islamic system introduced the rule of the people. Now some people give the impression that we are just entering the domain of the rule of the people. This is tantamount to ignoring facts.

Another characteristics of the Imam Khomeini political school is its international and global perspectives. In this connection, the Imam addresses mankind and not only the people of Iran. The people of Iran heard this message of Imam with all their being, honored it and struggled for its realization. As a result, they managed to secure their country's independence.

Imam Khomeini addressed the entire humanity. This principle stresses welfare, independence, honor and faith for the Islamic ummah and the entire humanity. This is the mission of all Muslims. This political school of Imam advocates and describes them. The difference between this school and those who perceive a mission on the global level is that the political school of Imam does not want to impose it principles on others with guns, tanks, arms and torture. Americans says that their mission is to spread democracy and human rights in the world. For them the way to spread democracy is to drop bombs in Hiroshima, use guns and tanks, start wars and stage coups in Latin America and Africa. All of these are lies, falsehood, treachery and crimes. . .

The people can benefit from the political school of Islam. In many countries, people have benefited from it. The Palestinians say that the Imam's message awakened and revived them. The Lebanese say that the Imam's ideology taught us how to defeat and expel the Zionist army. Muslims all across the world including Muslim youth, intellectuals and elite say that their political thinking is rooted in the Imam's ideology. The Islamic ummah feels dignified when the name of Islam is mentioned. This is the international outlook of the Imam's ideology . It is not restricted to the Islamic world either.

Today for us, the Palestinian issue is a principle problem. The Islamic ummah's hardships are very distressing for us. The events which take place in the Islamic world are one of the main issues for the Iranian nation and those who have pinned their hopes on the name and memory of the great Imam. They cannot be indifferent towards these issues. This is why the world arrogance wants to commit the greatest crimes against Islamic nations and expects other Islamic nations to ignore and not protest to such crimes. The Iranian nation witnesses and understands this. It protests to it and adopts a stance. The Iranian nation does not remain indifferent towards issues related to the Islamic world. This is one of the other characteristics of the Imam's ideology.

Another important characteristic of our Imam's political ideology is that it protects the values which our great Imam manifested in outlining the role of Wilayat-e Faqih. Since the victory of the Islamic revolution and the formation of the Islamic system, some tried to present the Wilayat-e Faqih as something bad and unreal. These things that you hear today and are spread by the propagandists who are mesmerized by the enemy are not new. These groups, who were trained by outsiders and their propaganda, have been raising these issues from the very start. Some are trying to describe the Wilayat-e Faqih as an unconditional rule of a person. This is a lie.

Based on our constitution, Wilayat-e Faqih does not negate the responsibilities of other branches of the government. Responsibilities of different organizations in this country cannot be negated. The role of the Wilayat-e Faqih is to engineer the system, maintain its directions and prevent it from being deviated to the left or right. This is the most crucial and important description for the Wilayat-e Faqih. Therefore, the Wilayat-e Faqih is not a ceremonial issue, as some wished it to be and tried to make it so from the very beginning of the Revolution. They wanted an absolute ceremonial and symbolic icon with an advising role at some points, to advice different people. That is not so.

On the other hand, there is definitely no dominant position for the Wilayat-e Faqih either. It has no such executive ruling power over different parts of the government. The country has its own officials. Executive, judicial and legislative officials, they are all in charge and have to fulfill their duties and be accountable for them. The role of the Wilayat-e Faqih is to keep the system moving in line with values and objectives of the system in this complicated and intertwined combination of efforts made by officials.

There should be no deviation to the left or the right. The most important role Wilayat-e Faqih is to guard and defend the general direction of the system towards its lofty ideals. The noble Imam understood and interpreted these things form the heart of jurisprudence, the political jurisprudence of Islam, and from the heart of religion. Throughout the history of Shi'ism and the history of its jurisprudence, throughout the ages, our theologians have understood and explained this but they never had the chance to implement it. Wilayat-e Faqih has been among the definite principles of Islamic jurisprudence. And this is correct. This important and sensitive responsibility relies both on religious measures as well as the vote and the will of the people. . .

Our people are pious, the political school of the Imam is alive and shinning, the world is aware of our situation, our enemies understand the strength of our people and have confessed to it. In the domain of other various global and international issues our policies are independent. We are not going to be influenced by anyone. We don't seek tension or commotion but we condemn injustice. We are opposed to injustice.

We condemn the crimes of the Zionist regime in Palestine. We condemn the ugly and ruthless actions of the usurping Zionist regime in the country of Palestine against the people, i.e. the destruction of homes, the killing of children, the killing of a crippled old man such as Shaykh Ahmad Yasin, the forcing out of thousands of people from their homes. We condemn these unprecedented tragic crimes. We curse those who have committed these crimes and America which has been supporting these culprits.

Despite the claims of the enemy we don't interfere in the affairs of Iraq. Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq. We believe that Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq. The Iraqi people must be able to determine the destiny of their country. In Iraq there are many people among the ranks of the religious leadership, the political leadership, the political elite and the cultural-religious elite. It is our belief that the occupiers should not remain a single day in Iraq, that they don't own a single drop of the Iraqi oil, that they should not appoint a single official in Iraq. The occupiers have no rights.

We believe that today the situation for America in Iraq is relatively more difficult than what it was last year and it is going to get worse by the day. Whether they want to believe it or not, whether they accept it or not, the Americans have been defeated in Iraq. They have been defeated until now. 

Muslims Will Not Remain Silent About Holy Sites Sacrilege by U.S. Troops

BBC Monitoring 16.5.2004

The following are excerpts from his remarks, delivered in a speech to theology students and broadcast by Iranian radio:

No Muslim, particularly a Shia, can remain calm in the face of the recent events in Najaf and Karbala...

[The US soldiers] have taken their tanks and artillery and armed forces to the holy site of Karbala. They have shown disrespect to the sacred dome of the Lord of the Faithful. They have fired bullets at the dome. That is not something that faithful Muslims can tolerate or accept...

The Americans have combined stupidity with shamelessness. They are audacious and unrestrained. They are encroaching upon the people's sanctities and what the people love...

Muslim people, particularly Shia - in our own country or in Iraq, in various Iraqi cities or in other parts of the world - will not remain silent at this American encroachment and audacity...

They think they can rule Iraq without any difficulty, take Iraq's oil and humiliate the Iraqi people. What happened at Abu Ghraib prison showed this, and recently it became clear that this has not happened only at Abu Ghraib. It has happened at all, or at least most, American prisons in Iraq...

The president and the gang ruling America say they did not know what was going on. That is how they have apologised. They say they did not know and that they have closed Saddam's torture chambers...

You have not closed Saddam's torture chambers. You have replaced Saddam...

They say they did not know. They are lying, because the Red Cross explicitly declared that it had informed senior army officers and Americans of what was going on a long time ago...

It was wrong for the Americans to go into Iraq. It was wrong for them to stay. Their treatment of the people was wrong. Imposing an American ruler on the people was wrong. Going to Karbala and Najaf was wrong. The things that they did recently were especially wrong. They should realise that the Islamic world, and particularly the Shia world, will not remain silent...

They have killed the innocent people of Najaf and Karbala. The have killed dozens of people. The crime that they have committed is the greatest of crimes. The Islamic world condemns it. The Iranian nation condemns it. The world's Shia condemn it.

The Americans will fail on this path. The more they go along this path, the more they will sink in this bog of their own making...

The Americans are trapped. There is nothing they can do. They will fail if they continue along this path, and they will fail if they pull out. But continuing will be the greater defeat.

Why Are We Not Defending Ourselves?

Excerpts from the speech of Ayatollah al-Udhma Khamenei at the 17th International Conference on Islamic Unity [17 Rabi’ al-Awwal 1425 - May 7, 2004]:

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

. . . What I would like to talk about at this gathering of the Islamic elite and scholars is about the unity among Muslims. Today, the world of Islam and the Islamic Ummah are facing major problems. It is true that most of these problems emanate from our own Islamic community. We were complacent, we remained idle and we, with our selfishness and temporal affairs, did not pursue the path of Islamic Ummah towards the apex of human evolution. Some of these calamities are because of our own actions and in this connection, we must make a move, change our direction and repent.

There is also no doubt that in recent eras of history a very important part of such backwardness, catastrophes, and problems are due to today's and yesterday's false global order. The global order is an authoritative order, it is a sate based on dictatorship. It is not a system based on human life. It is a system based on the wild life of the jungle. Take a look at the situation of the world of Islam. For years we have referred to the problem in Palestine as a deep wound to the body of Islam.

Today Iraq is added to the problem as well. See what people in power are capable of doing through the imposition of their will. They are changing all irrational, unacceptable concepts and present and act upon them as reasonable and acceptable. They are doing this by exerting force, and relying on the logic of arms, and their financial and political power. They are openly committing the kind of crimes that are regarded as criminal and murderous acts according to common laws of all international communities. Sometimes they also put a tag on them superficially as a justification, although they know that no one would accept them. In some instances they don't even justify their acts or try to put a cover on them. The usurper Zionist regime explicitly announces that it will assassinate Palestinian elite and the American government officially and openly is supporting them. This is the situation of today's world order.

Terrorism, fight against which has become an excuse for the arrogant American government to bully, is now openly announced as a legitimate and lawful act in their language and materialized in the Zionist governors' practice. Military occupation of Iraq, humiliation of a nation, bringing down a cultured and great nation, and occupation of a country is an absolute crime. It is an international crime. They overtly did this under the banner of human rights and defending democracy and freedom. Something that no one in the world believes. What the occupiers did in Iraq proves the opposite. It is obvious that they do not have the least concern about human rights, they do not care at all about the people's right to choose their own government. They themselves appoint officials, they themselves choose governors, they themselves set rules and themselves punish people without trying them, and condemn them to death. See what is going on in Iraq.

This is the situation of the Islamic nation today. And it is because this nation is concentrated in a rich zone of the world and because the rotating wheel of the civilization of the world depends on the resources that can be found in plenty at this corner of the world. Due to these resources, the Islamic nation is envied and invaded by these powers. And in this line they allow themselves to carry out any atrocities. This is the plight of the Islamic nation. The question is this: Can the Islamic nation defend itself? Can we not defend ourselves in the face of this mighty encroachment? The answer is, of course we can. We have many tools at our disposal to defend ourselves, to defend our right and to defend our existence. We comprise a huge nation. We possess vast reserves of wealth. We are bestowed with outstanding people. We have a spiritual asset which enables our people to stand up to bullies. We enjoy the record of a culture and a civilization which are almost unique in the world. We are blessed with many possibilities. We therefore have the potential to defend ourselves.

But why are we not defending ourselves? Why are we so helpless when it comes to practice in the arena? The answer is because we are not united, because we are not attached to each other as one entity, because we were separated under various pretexts and because the extensive and organized Islamic army was fragmented into various groups whose main concern is how to confront each other, to fight one another, to fear one another, to violate each other's rights. It is obvious that this army will remain inefficient under such circumstances.

Time has come for the Islamic world today to reconsider the situation. The Islamic world should seriously pause over the issue of unity. America's threat today is not directed against just one or two countries in this region. The threat is directed against all of us. Today the Zionist capitalists behind American administration are not satisfied with just devouring one area of our region. They intend to devour the entire region. They say this so blatantly today. The plan of Greater Middle East has no other meaning but this. The intention was the same from the beginning, over 50 years ago, when they set up the usurping Zionist government. The thought also took shape in the European and other Western circles about 100 years ago.

They say that they want to devour this region, occupy it and that they need it. The people of this region are not important to them. All of us are under threat. And when all of us are under threat, the most rational thing to do is to unite. Our recommendations and our earnest demands from the Islamic government and the Islamic nations are: to think about this problem and work on it. I know it is difficult and certain preliminary actions ought to be taken.

Of course, the enemy is not going to be idle. The enemy will be using its old tools for engendering division. The enemy will make use of ethnic issues. It will make use of the creed and tribal affiliations. It will aggrandize certain issues that Islam told us not to aggrandize. Islam has stressed that ethnicity is not the benchmark for identity and distinction. Çäø ÇßÑãßã ÚäÏÇááøóå ÇÊSÇßã Islam has stressed that Muslims' behavior towards each other must be brotherly. Islam has not differentiated between Sunnis, Shi'is or other sects in this regard. Islam talks about Muslims ÇäøãÇ ÇáãÄãäæä ÇÎæÉ. The Holy Quran said that anyone who believes in the Holy Quran, Islam and Qiblah is a believer. All people who believe in such things are brothers. Islam has taught us this. We hide our dagger behind us in order to strike a blow to the chest of our brothers. There are guilty people in all sectors. We must stop them and encounter them.

Today, the Islamic Ummah, for its life, honor, and in order to rescue itself and raise the flag of Islam, need unity. What kind of rationale can withstand this and engender division among Muslims? This has priority over every other urgent need or necessity. Why do we not realize the need for unity among Muslims? Grave responsibility is on our shoulders. This is a very critical juncture. If enemies succeed in imposing their power and occupy the region, the world of Islam will be left behind one hundred years as it happened during the era of colonialism. The world of Islam will be one hundred years behind the modern and industrial world. We are accountable. Today, we are responsible. Today, governments, elite, cultural and religious figures are responsible. We are all responsible for unity in the world of Islam.

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