Anniversary of the start of the people's uprising in Iran

international | anti-capitalism | opinion/analysis Wednesday June 23, 2010 16:16 by Drew

Translations provided by A World to Win News Service.

Central Tehran was crowded on the anniversary of the presidential elections. People walked around on the sidewalks and in the parks around the universities looking for opportunities to step onto the main stage. But government security was also out in full force. Since early morning club-wielding uniformed and plainclothes security forces were stationed on foot, on motorcycles and in cars throughout Tehran, especially the city centre and the areas surrounding the universities. As crowds appeared, they began harassing passers-by and arresting those deemed "suspicious".

Protestors were able to rally in groups of dozens or hundreds in several locations in Tehran and chant slogans such as "Down with the dictator". They clashed with the security forces at Azadi Square and on Azadi Street at the junction with Behboodi and Vali Asr. There were also reports of arrests in Enghelab Street in front of Tehran University. Witnesses said that the street was full of Basiji (religious militiamen) and special task forces. Huge numbers of forces were stationed around Vali Asr, Motahari and Vanak squares and Keshavarz Boulevard. There were several arrests at each of these locations. A video on the Web shows a crowd successfully freeing a woman the security forces were trying to arrest.

A year ago, 12 June 2009, when the results of Iran's presidential elections began to be released and it was clear that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was going to be declared the winner, most people believed that the election was rigged. People who had been longing for change suddenly saw even their smallest hopes gone with the wind and immediately poured into the streets. Ahmadinejad, who thought that this time, too, he could get away with fraud, labelled the protestors a "bunch of dust and thorns". This infuriated people and they answered him with a huge demonstration on 15 June called by the opposition leaders Mir Houssein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi. Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a member of the same regime faction as Ahmadinejad, estimated the number of the demonstrators at around 3 million.

Seven people were killed in that demonstration, according to the regime. The real number was much higher. Among those killed that day were Kianoosh Asa, a student at Elm-o-Sanaat (the University of Science and Technology), and Sohrab Araabi, an 18-year-old student.

On 19 June 2009, the Islamic Republic's Supreme Guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sided with Ahmadinejad. This kind of direct electoral intervention was unprecedented. Khamenei threatened that those who challenged the announced election results would be held accountable for any bloodshed. He expected this speech to put an end to the disturbances and protests, but even the opposition within the Islamic Republic defied it and many people were not in a mood to retreat at all. While the number of people who demonstrated on 20 June was not greater than the protests a few days earlier, many people, especially youth, and including many women, courageously fought the repressive forces, and this time the protests took place all across Iran, not just Tehran. A video showing the murder of a young woman named Neda Agha-Soltani that day exposed the regime's brutality on a world scale and angered people everywhere. Despite suppression on the streets, rape and torture in prison, and murder, these protests continued until 26 December (Ashura).

As the anniversary of the 12 June 2009 elections approached, opposition leaders Mousavi and Karoubi tried to obtain permission for a march. When they were turned down, the Green leaders cancelled the whole programme under the pretext of protecting the people and preventing more bloodshed. But many people still could not bear to stay home that day.

The universities – Tehran University, Sharif University and Amir Kabir University (formerly the Polytechnic University) became another battleground between students and security forces who presented themselves as Herasats (the institution in charge of university security, supposedly separate from the security forces).

A woman student among the protestors told the BBC-Persian service, "A huge number of forces who introduced themselves as members of the Herasat, along with those who worked for the Information (intelligence) Ministry, were stationed inside the university. On three occasions they attacked and beat students who attempted to assemble and march. Then they started to film them close up and threaten them." She said that among the Herasat there were many new faces the students had not seen before. She also said that after 3:30 pm they formed a chain to prevent students from marching to the main entrance. They targeted the students one by one and took them to the other side of the chain where they beat and kicked them. They also arrested some of the students. Similar scenes were reported at Sharif Technical University, where more than a thousand chanting students marched through the campus. The university was surrounded by a large number of security forces.

The authorities say they arrested 91 people that day but some reports put the number as high as 400.

When it grew dark, as on the previous night many people went out on their roofs to chant "Down with the dictator" and "Allahu-Akbar" (God is great) to express their opposition and outrage.

14 June marked the anniversary of the brutal raid on the Tehran University dormitory, as well as other crimes by the Islamic regime, including killing protestors and raping and torturing to death tens or hundreds of the protestors in custody, particularly at the notorious Kahrizak prison. This year students at the University of Science and Technology held a protest in memory of Kianoosh Asa, the student killed there who was from the city of Kermanshah in Kurdistan, as well as other victims of the repression on that day in 2009.

The Iranian's people uprising has not been able to defeat the ruling clique, and the people have lost the initiative to the ruling clique, especially since 11 February, when the regime was able to hold a celebration of the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution without massive disruption. But at the same time it can be said with certainty that despite all the regime's display of force and its brutal repression, the crisis that shook the country is far from over. The regime's only option and plan to prevent more protest is to intensify its bloody suppression. It has no Plan B.

The regime's repressive strength also reveals its weakness. How many regimes have been able to rule for a long time when they are so unpopular and rely only on their iron fist?

The regime has not been able to resolve its political isolation, which is in fact growing. The bitter infighting among the regime's cliques have worn them out. They have little political unity left except on the need to repress the people. Moreover, the country is in a bad situation economically.

Internationally, too, it is at an impasse, because while it cannot drop the anti-imperialist posturing that is essential to what remains of its legitimacy among some sections of the masses, it is unwilling and unable to cut the country's dependence on the imperialist world market. Politically it relies not on the people and their potential to build a different kind of a country but on the hope that the imperialists will tolerate the regime's continued existence.

In short, the crisis that has gripped the regime is far from over.

But there are very important weakness in the people's movement. The main issue is leadership. Many people have become very disappointed in the Green leaders. First of all, their goal is to save the Islamic Republic, not to get rid of it completely. How can they lead the people to a better world? After the Ashura struggle, the Green leaders and religious nationalists were more terrified of the people's movement than the regime itself. This may be one reason that the Green leaders have been reluctant to call another illegal protest. Many people believe that these leaders have been tested and failed. The recent protests show that many people are still eager to fight.

The experience of the last year has shown that people's determination and ability to struggle are very related to the nature and clarity of the goals, and the understanding that characterizes at least the core of the people's movement. This can only come from the kind of revolutionary leadership they need and deserve.

Excerpts from a report from activists with the student newsletter Bazr

…I noticed many cars and motorcycles moving towards the square, in the direction of Sharif University… there was a real uproar inside the university. Students were carrying "Green" movement symbols and placards with slogans like "On the anniversary of the coup, were is my vote?" and "The dictator should know that the movement will not die down." They also held many pictures of Neda, Sohrab and other martyrs in their hands while chanting "My martyred comrade! I will get your vote back, down with the dictator, students will die but will not accept contempt", "We are fighting women and men: do you want a fight? Let's fight" and so on.

...Again the presence of women students was notable, especially with their determination to keep up the fight. For example, in order to demoralise the Basiji forces women students threw "sandis" at them.( Sandis are a kind of sandwich. When the regime wants to draw people to its demonstrations they give out free sandwiches and soft drinks.) Then the students marched towards the university's south entrance. As soon as they left, a few dozen Basiji students replaced the signs they had left on the walls with new ones. On them was written, "Mashallah Hezbullah" ( Well done, Hezbulalh! – the "Party of God" vigilantes.)

A young woman said, "This is just like a war, they have brought out so many forces. Why are they so afraid of the defenceless people?" Another woman said, "They are like lions against our own people but like mice when it comes to big powers such as the U.S. They can only bully our own people."

I went towards Tehran University. The area in front and all the streets around it were occupied by the special forces and information section of the Pasdaran (Islamic Revolutionary Guards). They arrested anyone who seems suspicious to them.

Then I went towards the Vali Asr intersection. The Basiji attacked few times and beat some people.

Some comrades told me that there were clashes between the people and the security forces in Palestine Square. When we arrived, there was no sign of security forces. The square was in the hands of the people. And people were chanting slogans. "Down with the whole idea of Velayat-e- Faghih" (the rule of the "jurisprudent" that is the Islamic Republic's core principle), "We are all Neda, we are all Sohrab, we are all one voice." I ask a woman where the security forces were. She replied, "They all ran away like dogs." I felt a sense of victory and so proud. However it did not take long before the special guards and security forces came down from all directions. First they fired in the air and then they shot tear gas. People had to run. They arrested so many people! I myself saw about 30 or 40 arrested….