“BANKNOTES WITH SLOGANS WRITTEN ON”
MAKE THE LEADERSHIP THINK
Strict
measures launched in the country by the leadership in order to take the
opposition movement under control have generated a different wave of protests
recently. The opposition which seeks to extend a new way of protest by writing
down slogans on the banknotes in circulation makes the leadership think.
It is
reported that this way of protests is frequently seen in Tabriz, mainly in
Tehran, and that within this framework banks continue with their efforts to
replace those banknotes. Meanwhile, Niru-ye Entezami Police Stations want the
shopping centers, shops and markets to replace the banknotes with slogans
written on that are paid during shopping at the bank offices. It is also stated
that they have also been warned to provide information to the police stations
regarding the individuals suspected of writing slogans on the banknotes or about
the citizens that use those banknotes while shopping, but that the people of
Tabriz and the tradesmen do not take these warning into account.
As the act
of writing slogans on banknotes has become widespread, the leadership has
announced that any individual who is established that he damaged the banknotes
by writing slogans on or misusing them would be punished accordingly. In the
meantime, the Iranian Central Bank has sent a notice to all official/private
banks and also to state institutions with pay-offices that deals with money-related
businesses and wanted them to keep the banknotes with slogans that came to their
pay-desk/pay-offices and then to send them to the Central Bank for replacement
with the new ones. As a result of the reaction displayed by the pro-government
circles to this act, the Iranian Central Bank made an announcement in December
2009 giving 07 January as the deadline for the replacement of the banknotes with
slogans, but then it had to extend that period.
Editor of
the Kayhan Newspaper
Hossein Shariatmadari wrote an article on the subject suggesting that “it
is necessary that the banknotes with slogans insulting the holy values should be
removed from the market immediately and that this could be done with putting the
responsibility on the ones that spend them.” On the other hand, economists
emphasize that with the retraction of the Central Bank by postponing the
deadline for the replacement of the banknotes, this way of act will continue.
