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Wednesday, June 16, 2010     INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING

The mullahs' days are numbered: One year later, technology and time are on the people's side

By Sheda Vasseghi

On June 12, 13, 14, and 15, 2010, in honor of the one year anniversary of the people's uprising, thousands of Iranians once again filled the streets of Iran and the university campuses shouting "Death to Dictator" and "Death to Khamenei." Iranians in exile followed suit by holding demonstrations in support of their fellow countrymen at the embassies of the Islamic Republic across the globe.

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According to the opposition, on June 12th, at least 900 demonstrators were arrested in Tehran alone. At least one-third of those arrested were women. Tehran University students are urging the public to gather on June 20th marking the one-year anniversary of Neda Aghasoltan's death, the first martyr of the national revolution.

Just over a year ago, on June 13, 2009, the streets of Iran erupted with tens of thousands of protestors across the nation following a so-called presidential election that had been staged by the Islamic Republic. However they are conducted, the Islamic Republic elections are by definition fraudulent because presidential candidates can only be male Shiite Muslims approved by the regime's Guardian Council.


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Since June 13, 2009, the world has witnessed a sustained national uprising. The clever and brave Iranian men and women strategically selected special holidays and events to pour into the streets shouting "Death to Dictator" and "Down with the Islamic Republic." What started out as an uproar over a blatant presidential election fraud quickly turned into a movement against the system in its entirety. Thirty years of an Islamofascist Constitution and theocratic tyranny was going to be exposed. Not only was this rapid nationalist development amazing in of itself, but the lack of leadership directing the movement made it a phenomenon! These events, however, were not unusual for Iran.

Despite witnessing a precursor to a national revolution, what started on June 13, 2009, was not to mark the beginning of the Iranian struggle for democracy and human civil rights. This struggle has actually been a work-in-progress spanning across a century for a country that has fought for 14 centuries to save its culture, language, and heritage.

The first Iranian awakening and movement against tyranny started with the 1891 Tobacco Concession to the British. According to Qajar historian Sepehr, instigated by the powerful mullahs, the then incompetent Qajar rulers of Iran (1794-1925) had lost Iranian territorial and economic rights to the Russians and Europeans. During these wars, the mullahs refused a Russian peace offering claiming they had to fight the infidels. In 1813, Iran lost Caucasian provinces to Russia; in 1857, Herat province to Afghanistan and Merv to Russia; and in 1872, Russia took half of Sistan. Further, illiteracy and anarchy had left Iranians and their government completely clueless to Western industrialization. The Iranian struggle with destructive mullahcracy predates the creation of the Islamic Republic.

In 1891, amidst this utter ignorance, the Qajar rulers gave the British a tobacco concession that would rock Iran's internal affairs. The massive public outrage reached the local clerics, who issued fatwas against use of tobacco. Iranians, dependent on their clerics for a sense of direction at the time, stopped buying tobacco and the industry came to a screeching halt. The government had no choice but to cancel the concession after paying a hefty fine to the British.

By 1900, Iranian travelers learned of Europe's great advancements and constitutional movements. In 1906, with the help of nationalists and educated visionaries, a country that was stuck in the Dark Ages rose from the ashes and brought forth an unprecedented movement - the Constitutional Revolution. Unfortunately, these movements were weak against a historical backdrop that blocked the separation of church and state. The 1906 Constitution specifically noted the policymakers could pursue advancements so long as they did not go against Islamic laws. Soon the enlightened Iranians, who championed the movement, were blocked from fully implementing their visions and the new Constitution. The illiterate majority were naturally kept in the dark from new ideas and realities of religious propaganda and history. By August 1907, the UK and Russia had literally split Iran between them.

Against this background, Reza Shah Pahlavi founded a new dynasty in 1925. He began to plow his way through public ignorance and backwardness to force Iran into the 20th century. In the mean time, communist Russia was spreading Marxism across the fragile nation and misinformed population. Iran's leftist group, the Tudeh Party, was created in 1941. Both the clerics and the Tudeh were against a secular, capitalistic regime. Their alliance and efforts to undermine Iran's progress would remain relentless for decades. It was the birth of Islamo-Marxism.

During WWII, Iran declared its neutrality. But the people's desire for progress and a king's vision for modernization came to an abrupt halt with the unjustified and surprise Anglo-Russo invasion of August 1941 which forced the abdication of Reza Shah the Great. With the loss of Reza Shah, the Iranian people were hurled into chaos.

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi took his father's place only because of popularity. The Allies were planning to bring back the Qajars. But at the age of 22, the Shah was a king without power trying to keep Iran intact while fighting black market. The British maintained their control of Iran's oil industry. During this time, many enlightened Iranians such as Ahmad Kasravi wrote vigorously about the country's demise and the need for the people to take responsibility for their nation. Public bitterness and dissatisfaction continued to spread.

By 1951, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh was leading the oil nationalization movement. Moderation was shoved aside and the movement took momentum without a real plan. The people were invigorated. Their dreams for a progressive, modern Iran was once again on the move. Unfortunately, Mossadegh, who had also been supported by the Tudeh, found himself in a bad situation. In 1951, there were 110 communist military officers, but one year after Mossadegh's rise to power, there were 640. The Tudeh was out of control, and Mossadegh thought he could sell Iran's oil without Western support. Iran had no marketing and no tankers. Iran was on its way to another economic disaster.

After Mossadegh's removal from office in 1953, Iran once again embarked on its journey to modernization, sovereignty, and self-sufficiency. But the Tudeh members and the Islamists were still hard at work. "Anti-Shahism" became fashionable. The Shah's regime was imperfect, and the country to some extent faced censorship and a weak political arena. But many of these intellectuals did not offer a better option nor use their education and abilities to help advance Iran. In 1973, the Shah declared Iran's new oil policy regarding control and pricing.

Iran was a rising star. It was becoming a power in the region - policing the Persian Gulf and balancing the volatile politics of the region. Its Civil rights achievements and rapid industrialization in a relatively short period of time were unbelievable! But in 1979, the leftists, Islamists, and misguided foreign policymakers joined hands in supporting a movement against the Shah's regime.

Ayatollah Khomeini, an unknown radical cleric in exile, emerged as a leader of a revolution claiming he would take the Iranian people to the next level. All major political groups supported Khomeini including foreign powers. Instead, the Islamofascists took control of the revolution, and the people of Iran found themselves as hostages in their own country. This time their endeavors and dreams did not just hit a dead end, but rather a complete reversal of fortune. Khomeini and the Islamic Republic pushed the Iranian people back to the Qajar era.

Since 1979, Iranians have struggled with the unwanted mullahcracy. Millions of Iranians have fled the country. Tens of thousands of nationalists have been tortured and murdered. Until June 2009, the regime, a master at Cold War tactics, used Western mainstream media and educational institutions to secure apologists across the globe. Thanks to these "journalists, professors, and experts," the world actually believed there were good and bad mullahs within the Islamic Republic.

But the civil unrest since June 13, 2009 changed all that. Technology has been the people's savior as videos flooded the internet with footages of unimaginable violence and attacks against civilians at the hands of the regime in Tehran. All the while the Free World continues to be directly and indirectly threatened by the mullahcracy in Tehran from their nuclear weapons ambitions to meddling in the affairs of neighboring states to training and funding terrorism across the globe. The June 13, 2009 public awakening has made the regime in Tehran very nervous on the eve of its one year anniversary. During the past year, Iranians suffered horribly as they watched their loved ones get arrested, beaten, and killed at the hands of the thugs hired by the regime to crush the people's will. But the people also know this time they do not simply face a road block to progress, but rather a national catastrophe.

Iranian men and women have struggled for over a century to achieve progress and enlightenment. Despite multiple, hostile setbacks and attacks on their civil and natural liberties, Iranians have not given up their dream for a secular, democratic nation. The illegitimate regime in Tehran knows its days are numbered. It is internally and externally isolated. The Iranian people will win. And their victory will be witnessed and transmitted across the globe.


Sheda Vasseghi is on the Board of Azadegan Foundation and is a regular contributor to WorldTribune.com on Iran’s Affairs.

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