Iran: A View From Tehran "The New Year Challenges"

Analysis from inside Iran can often be as interesting for what lies behind the words on the page as for the claims on the surface. Consider, for example, the latest perspective in Iran Review from Firouzeh Mirrazavi:

About one month after the beginning of the new Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2010) and following international registration of Norouz by the United Nations General Assembly, Iran is facing new challenges: part of this is domestic while another part emanates from Iran’s international and regional policies as well as international pressures it is bearing. Some Iran experts maintain that social unrests following presidential polls in 2009 have led to the isolation of certain parts of the Iranian society, political circles, media crew, and political parties and activists. Post-election events have deepened the gaps and put the country on a wrong track which cannot help to solve any of the existing problems.

The Latest from Iran (15 April): Accepting Authority?

As history has proven in past several thousands of years, enemies usually hit the country in such junctures by fanning the flames of differences. Ambiguities in international relations, especially where Iran’s national security is at stake, have further complicated the situation. Examples to the point include:


1. Iran’s nuclear case and plans by the Security Council and 5+1 to impose tougher sanctions on Iran as the country is getting ready to host an international conference on disarmament and nonproliferation and a similar conference on nuclear security is forthcoming in the United States;

2. Elections in Iraq and persistence of political challenges over the composition of the next Iraqi government;

3. The ongoing situation in Afghanistan and prospects of possible reconciliation between [President Hamid] Karzai and NATO alliance and Taliban forces;

4. Iran’s relations with Saudi Arabia which have been marred by an ongoing crisis of distrust between the two states in addition to territorial and strategic pressures from other Persian Gulf states which are in line with the regional interests of western countries;

5. Israel’s continued threats to use military force against Iran;

6. Tension between Iran and its northern neighbors over the country’s share of the Caspian Sea’s energy resources; and

7. Insecurity of the Iranian borders due to widespread presence of foreign troops in neighboring countries and activities of terrorist and insurgent groups in border areas.

Having a healthy, happy and progressive society by taking advantage of knowledge, expertise and efficiency of all social classes and political groups is the best way to overcome the above-mentioned difficulties. Problems can be successfully solved only when the majority of the Iranian nation, regardless of their political tendencies, lends its support to the government. National unity is an inevitable necessity under existing circumstances and to secure Iran’s rights and interests, there is no better option than strengthening national unity and fostering peace and tranquility in the country.

Comments

[Megan]

Rezvan,

I am going to put this GD referendum claim by people like you to rest for once and for all. So please listen carefully if you are able and please try to digest and absorb it. I suggest if in the future you want to lie about the 1979 referendum at least do it in a forum where there are no Iranians who can expose your lies and those of that repugnant Islamic Republic you work for.

1. You twist the truth about the nature of 1979 referendum. People were not asked to choose between Islamic laws with its mullah government verses a secular government and people chose Islamic laws and a mullah government. The truth is that people voted on a draft of constitution that considered all Iranians equal under the law, a constitution that gave them the freedom to chose their government, freedom to assemble, freedom to form political parties and freedom to dissent and a government that made sure their civil liberties were protected. That is what people voted for. So stop lying.

2. People were not asked to choose between a modern and educated autocratic system of government and a backward uneducated village idiots that operated based on outdated set of laws called Islamic Laws and people chose the latter. The truth is that people were told they were voting to replace the modern, educated autocratic government with an educated modern system of government they elected. That is what they voted for. Stop portraying Iranian people as stupid because they were not. People were lied to and were cheated by Khomeini and his decuples; a practice in place to this date.

3. Do not use the 90 % number because you damn know it is bogus. You know that Kurds, Baluchis, religious minorities and other ethnic minorities boycotted the referendum. Do you not consider those who boycotted referendum Iranians?
Those who boycotted the 1979 referendum were smart and could see through the pretense of fairness and equality under the law. History showed they were right.

4. The draft of constitution that people voted for in 1979 referendum did not have the clause for Valei-e- Faghih, a non elected person, as the final arbitrator.

Conclusion: The 1979 referendum is null and void because it was based on lies. When one side of a contract lies in any dealing that contract is void. So it is irrelevant what percent of people said “yes”.

Stop spreading lies, will you? Furthermore, if you still think people want this retarded Islamic Republic mafia organization with a mullah Godfather as its head and still want to live by 1400 years old Islamic laws, why your GD bosses do not put this question to a referendum today?????? What are you afraid of????? Getting 90% “NO” votes???

You are a broken record. You come on these threads and say all the nonsense you want, you never answer any question, and you think you are going to pull one over our eyes. Well, I have news for you, you CANNOT. Stop making a fool of yourself and tell the thugs who sign your paycheck it does not stick. You cannot con us anymore. Tell your bosses to take a bow, take the stolen stash and disappear in the sunset or stay around and taste our fury because the day of reckoning is near.

[Bill]

rezvan,

Quite a revealing statement “Of course once a populace accepts Islam freely then they are bound to its dictates and principles including its laws. ” This goes hand in hand with the ruling on apostates as well. The problem is, as I stated earlier, is both are a one way street. Once instituted you cannot go back. Apostasize from Islam and all 4 schools of Sunni Jurisprudence and the 12'er Shia school all prescribe death. Once an Islamic theocracy is put in place they always tie themselves to "god" and off course in Islam you can not question God. It is why the "enemy of God" title is foisted on reformers so often. The problem with any type of theorcracy is it always put to much power in the hands of to few and they use religion sometimes falsely to stay in power. The irony of the whole situation is the fact it is the regime who has drifted away from the Sharia.

Consider the following facts:

1) Thousands jailed with out due course as guranteed under the Iranian constitution(based on Sharia)
2) The absolute negligence of the regime regarding the killings, beatings, and rape. All are clearly against the Sharia and especially so when directed towards another Muslim. Any form of government based on the peoples will would not sweep this under the carpet in the interests of protecting the system(A case in point is the US releasing Gitmo pics and the US media uncovering the recent military caused deaths in Iraq--Do you honestly think the Iranian regime would ever admit to something like this? Well that is the difference between western democracy based on the will of the people and a theocracy.)
3) The Media censorship and closure of most reformer papers/websites/blogs
4) The regime ignoring the majority of the clerical establishment, including all the Grand Ayatollahs, regarding the unjust treatement of the Green Movement members
5) The economy being privatized but actually ending up in the IRGC hands
6) Hard line clerics such as Prof Crocodile who once uttered "the people are sheep" being allowed to counsel the President of Iran

How in the world can the regime do what it is doing? This was not an external force causing this unrest but simply 30 years of oppression finally reaching a boil. If anything the regime showed its ture colors clearly stating the system is more important than the people by its actions. The false crutch they stand on is of religion claiming they are Gods chosen ones. Sorry even if the people originally said "yes" does it give them the right to rape, kill, intimidate, and beat the people and stay in power? Do you think Muhammad would be proud? I think not.

I have serious issues with an Islamic theocracy(especially so when dealing with non Muslims) but if the people want it then let them have it. However, they should also be given the chance to challenge it at the least which is not being allowed in Iran. I am not saying implement a western system of democracy but simply upholding and Islamic version which Iran by all appearances is not. Even when the regime came to power they demonstrated the same ability to lie when they said they were not interested in political power only to later grab it and liquidate the secularist left. Regardless any sane person cannot ignore what is going on Iran Muslim or not. Hopefully one day you will recognize that and in addtion not see westerners universally as advesaries but people who actually care about Iran and you. I want to see Iran, you, and my friends in Iran do well but it takes work on all sides and the regime has to take the critical step and realize their system is broken. They really need to listen to the clerics if they ever want to get out the mess they are in, but sadly they are not.

Thx
Bill

[Bill]

Megan,

Well said. Many don't realize the regime came to power based on a lie. The revolutionaries even said they were not interested in power but just wanted to return the power to the people(this was said numerous times and well documented.) Instead they grabbed the power, liquidated the left, and implemented their form of a theocracy which has oppressed many from day one. Tragically this was a theocracy using democratic principles only as a tool to come to power. Once in power they abolished those democratic(will of the people) principles they espoused originally. It was a lie the regime was built on and it is still lies they are using to stay in power.

Thx
Bill

[Firouzeh Mirrazavi]

Dear Readers,

I should thank you for your kind! comments, it seems that we are all Iranians but we can not tolerate one another even for one second. If you had enough english knowledge you would understand that in this little piece I wrote all of the things that you considered important and called me traitor for it. I suggest that you read the piece carefully and then judge about it with such harsh words. I have another suggestion for you, come to Iran and try to write some thing meaningful even one sentence in a way that you could defend your ideas, show respect to all the prisoners and martyrs of late events, and of course to be able to save your job and also not to go to the prison. It seems that our friends who live abroad do not have any possible idea about our situation and limitations here. It seems that you live in your dreams, so wake up, many things happened here since last year, and every one here who with all his heart try to defend his country's rights and freedom in not a traitor or some one related to the governmet. Now I understand why we could not reach to our ideal freedom after thousands years : WE ARE NOT LISTENING TO EACH OTHER! WE ARE JUST CONDEMNING ONE ANOTHER

[ange paris]

Mrs Firouzeh Mirrazavi, dear compatriot
We know in which hard conditions you have lived and what you have witnessed; don't believe that we are in a dream and we don't understand " you", iranians, living inside; it's really too hard for us, from abroad, to see our people suffering as they do; all those who are in the prisons, raped, tortured, and humiliated in staged trials and their families that don't know about their future; all those who are dead for " us ", and for country, our martyrs, and their families that are obliged to live and breath without them; all the people who live and walk as zombies, because their life has been stopped witnessing the crackdown and the brutality of the leaders; we, living abroad, have been shattered as well and we feel guilty; for my part, I don't sleep, I have lost 4 kg, and each cell of my body has the videos of the events, my ears are filled with all noises and people's screams, my eyes carry all the images in each seconde of my daily life and I will find my serenity when my country will be free; so as you see it's not a dream but a nightmare, and writing these few sentences, my tears have flooded on my cheeks; I read again your article and my understanding was the same; I know working in Iran is very hard and you are obliged to write this kind of article to earn your bread; if you don't need this money , it's better not to write inside but send us articles by e-mail to Scott, describing the situation, in the streets, in the universities, the mind of people, what they say in their daily life.........
Keep your optimisim, eventually we will win ( diro zood dare vali sookhto sooz nadare ) and I wish you good luck . V

[Catherine]

Hi Firouzeh,
Thank you for responding in person. I understood the true nature of your message on first reading, as did Kasra on his second try, but in my case Scott's tip "Analysis from inside Iran can often be as interesting for what lies behind the words on the page as for the claims on the surface." helped. If I had read your piece without the thought that it might be veiled in the rosy "we can work it out" language also being used by true believers in the system who are only looking for things to settle down and the problems to just go away, I wouldn't have known exactly where to place your sympathies either. Maybe we are not used to reading in code in English, and perhaps some of the Iranians amongst us would have better got your message in Persian than in English for the same reason? I don't know. But I agree with you that - especially after Scott's very pointed hint - your piece deserved a much more careful reading and civil response than it got.

Iran Review doesn't mention anything about the source of your article. Were you able to publish this in print or online in Iran? If so, does this style reflect the way writers/journalists who are GM sympathisers need to express themselves in the public arena if they want to fly under the radar of the authorities and still be understood by their readers?

[former Green]

Dear All,

I have read almost all the comments and I think this is not How it works. I understand Ms. Firouzeh condition and I think she is right. what we all have seen or heard about the regime for staying on power is all true and there are still a lot that we don't know. I believe that we have to be patient for our goal and we have a long way to go. I also believe that other countries may be against Iran's government or at least what it looks like but in background they love this situation. what is better reason to have Iran as a monster in the region?
Embargo, ban, ... has only caused harm to ordinary people and spent country resources for third or forth agents who benefits from the commissions on providing banned means & goods for the government.
I suggest we stop judging and labeling each other and support everyone in favor of us and convince those against us.

[Bill]

Firouzeh Mirrazavi,

I think we now understand you and I would like to apologize if my words were deemed offensive. I hope you understand we are all deluged daily with regime propoganda and thus we sometimes react emotionally with out carefully reading the article. I do hope you notice, in my instance, my statement about "regime pressure." I think we can all confirm you are under great stress to get your word out but as you stated in a manor that allows you to "save your job." I think this is simply a misunderstanding on one side(outside Iran) not realizing the conditions you have to write under. I wish you all the best and lets all hope one day you will be able to write freely.

Thx
Bill

[Catherine]

In the interview he gave to Radio Zamaneh, Dr. Mohammad Maleki - former chancellor of Tehran University - made an observation that gave me pause for thought and reminded me of what happens often here at EA:

"...since my release, I have come to the realisation that all the old problems continue to exist. The insider/outsider divide remains. ... What I noticed about the supporters of the Green or reformist movement is that their behaviour towards others has not changed a lot. They have held on to their outsider/insider culture. They welcome those who are one of their own but others remain outsiders to them."

Re-posted in
http://enduringamerica.com/2010/04/17/iran-former-tehran-chancellor-maleki-on-detention-green-movements-forgotten-children/

[Megan]

Firouzeh,

“there is no better option than strengthening national unity and fostering peace and tranquility in the country.”

I did not think your article was worth any comment more than I did earlier. But since you have come back (as if you had not insulted readers like me enough) and implying that we misunderstood you I would like to say a few more words. I am not going to be gentle with you because you are a compatriot. Any Iranian who writes, “there is no better option than strengthening national unity and fostering peace and tranquility in the country.” is insulting my intelligence and needs to be told. So I am telling…

We are fully aware of situation In Iran and are in much pain for it. We understand you do not have the freedom to write as you wish. This, however, is no excuse to write as you did and ask people to make a deal with the devil. We all have slept with the devil for 31 years and did not get any peace and tranquility. How many more years and how many more people need to die or raped or how many more need to be wasting away in Islamic Rrepublic prisons for us to have peace and Tranquility. Firouzeh, if you cannot tell the truth or cannot speak your mind at least remain silent. Useless words assembled as a literary exercise are still useless.
.
It is the Islamic Republic that has violated your constitutional rights, it is the IR that has unlawfully arrested, imprisoned, murdered and raped your compatriots, it is the IR that has compromised Iran national sovereignty, it is the IR that has looted and liquidated Iran national resources, it is the IR and the incompetency of its leaders that has brought political and economical instability and not any foreign government or any world event. Our problem is within Iran borders, it is us and the criminal government we have coped with for 31 years. Stop fooling yourself. Stop looking for the boogieman outside of Iran borders. The boogieman and the enemy are within. If you fail to see that do not ask us to do the same. Let me also add anyone in Iran who believes walking softly and talking gingerly will change the behavior of this regime is sadly delusional.

Anyone who asks people for more concession is nuts. Asking people to unite behind such a criminal fascist regime is asking people to be partner in crime. How dare you to ask people to make more concessions and take a little more abuse? You can do as you wish but do not ask us to be oblivious and follow you. What is it that you have not learned in 31 years? What is it that you would learn if people united behind this rogue regime and kept it in power some more? What does it take for people like you to wake up and smell the roses? How many more generations need to be sacrificed for people like you to wake up?

Your problem is that you have become part of Islamic Republic landscape. We on the other hand are not. We have tasted freedom. Our view finders are not fogged up with Islamic Republic pollution and we see the scope and the magnitude of the problem plaguing Iran. We are not dreaming. You are dreaming if you think by uniting behind a failed system of government you can fix it and we all live happily ever after. This regime is a old donkey and it will never become a stallion. It is time to recognize that.

Have you ever heard of Stockholm syndrome? If not, look it up and you will see that many Iranians that were born and have lived in Islamic Republic suffer from Stockholm syndrome. They have been a hostage for life and know no other way to live. People suffering from Stockholm syndrome do not break away from their captors instead they empathize with them and try to justify their captor’s action.

We all can feel, touch, smell and taste your pain. I personally prefer to die instead of living like sheep under the control of a stupid shepherd like Khamenei. Please do not ask people to make more concession and unite behind this mafia government. Islamic Republic is our shame. Please do not ask people to unite behind their shame.