Three Political Activists on Iran’s Revolution’s 40th Anniversary: ‘The Most Brutal Religious Despotism’ is ‘Floundering’ in Crisis
On the eve of the fortieth anniversary of the victory of the 1979 Revolution, several current political activists have criticized the current situation and considered the Islamic Republic a deviation from the aspirations and ideals of the revolutionaries.
Mohammad Maleki, the first president of Tehran University after the revolution’s victory, in an open letter which he dedicated to “the victims and sufferers of 40 years of religious despotism,” wrote: “Men and women who bore the wounds and scars of SAVAK torture under the monarchical regime, hoped for a future free from violence and news suppression, believing that with the slogans of independence, freedom and Islamic Republic, and the departure of the Shah and the arrival of Khomeini, the devil would leave and an angel would take his place. But before the blood of the men and women shed at the feet of the revolution had dried, dreams collapsed and monarchical despotism transformed into the most brutal religious despotism.”
While reproaching himself and other revolutionaries for their trust in Khomeini and failing to recognize “executioners who came in the guise of saviors,” he expressed hope: “I hope that the new generation this time, with open eyes and seeing the signs and warnings, will choose the right path so that Iran is finally freed from the curse of despotism—in every form and manner.”
Abolfazl Ghadiani and Alireza Rajaii, two other political activists, also published a joint note on the Zaitoun website stating: “The Islamic Republic is now floundering in the depths of crisis and waves of crisis attack it from all sides every day.”
According to these two reformist political activists, “no fair political force denies the reality of today’s Iran that the true meaning of republic has been distorted over the past four decades, and its real content has been buried in a mass of ideological deceptions and political and social repressions.”
Ghadiani and Rajaii have suggested that “streets and street mobilizations, leadership and refusal to obey bad laws” should be placed on the agenda of formulating reformist strategies.
Simultaneously with the days marking the anniversary of the revolution in Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also paid special attention to the Islamic Republic and twice used the hashtag #40_Years_of_Failure in his tweets while describing the achievements of this system.
In his latest position, Mr. Pompeo on Monday, February 4, tweeted that, referring to what he called “the Iranian revolutionaries’ breach of faith” in their promises, wrote: “Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 sold the promise of happiness in the future to the Iranian people, forty years later, Iran’s corrupt regime has nothing to offer but a broken promise.”
Source: Voice of America
