Iranian people continue to protest against the ruling theocracy, seven months after the nationwide anti-regime uprising. The movement has proven to be a durable challenge to the Iranian regime, posing a continuing existential threat to the ruling theocracy.
The Iranian people want to get rid of the ruling theocracy once and for all; they are not interested in reform or power transition. Iranians are attempting to put an end to decades of misery brought on by the mullahs. They have demonstrated their determination to bring about regime change with slogans like, “Poverty, corruption, high prices, we will continue until [regime’s] downfall.”
The latest movement is known for its anti-dictatorial characteristics, rejecting both the current regime and the return to the ousted monarchy. Iranian people want to establish a pluralistic, secular, and democratic republic after decades of tyranny.
This uprising is unique in at least one aspect: The regime has run out of tactics to detract the uprising from its main course. In previous rounds of protests, the regime would try to use the supposed reformist-hardliner divide to lay the blame for the country’s problems on one or the other faction. But the people have long moved past these charades with the slogan, “Reformists, hardliners, the game is over.” The regime then tried to promote slogans in support of the ousted Shah dictatorship in hopes of suppressing solutions that call for the establishment of a democratic state.
Iran’s principal opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK), and its vast network of “Resistance Units” play a vital role in safeguarding the democratic nature of the revolution. The role of the MEK and the endurance of the uprising despite a severe crackdown and the efforts to detract from its main course shows the movement’s organized nature.
The historical memory of the Iranian people never forgets nor forgives the atrocities committed by the Shah and his father, Reza Khan. Although the crimes of the Pahlavi dictatorship pale in comparison to those of the ruling theocracy, the ousted monarchy was once and for all buried in the 1979 anti-monarchial revolution by millions of people, and its return is a myth and mirage.
The world community should embrace and recognize the Iranian people’s demand for establishing a democratic, pluralistic, and secular republic in Iran and their right to self-defense vis-à-vis the brutal regime in order to achieve their goal. The Iranian people continue to pay the price of this demand with their lives, and their struggle must not go in vain.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTub