The Change Movement In Iran Isn’t Over By A Long Shot

February 11th 2010 marked the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran, an event that commemorated a political victory for the people over an authoritarian system, the Monarchy. The symbolism of this occasion was once again enough to bring the green movement out in to the streets in protest of a stolen election, but more so, a hijacked opportunity for greater freedoms, openness and democratic rule in Iran. But what made this year’s event different from past gatherings was in how well the regime aggrandized the venue while in parallel muzzling the voices of change in its attempt to save face and maintain legitimacy, both domestically and internationally.

Knowing that people would come out in numbers to oppose the regime on this day, the coup government yet again resorted to brutal force and oppressive tactics. These moves started weeks in advance of February 11th with mass arrests of human rights leaders, student activists, journalists, and allies to Mir Hossein Mousavie and Mehdi Karoubi, followed by more kangaroo trials and the execution of two youth that were falsely accused. What made the regime even more insecure was that days prior the anniversary, residents of Tehran had received random phone calls and SMS’s warning them not to turnout for rallies or be prepared to face severe consequences. This hysteria was intended to create fear and to send out a clear warning that the regime would not tolerate insubordination.

Then came February 11th, 2010.

To overpower the opposition movement and to prevent it from consolidating, a full brigade (10,000) armed anti-riot police and plain clothed basij militia forces were unleashed to clampdown on people of all ages. These attacks did not exclude the leaders of the movement either. Mehdi Karoubi’s car and entourage was attacked and his motorcade was vandalized, Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi had been attacked and assaulted by the basij elements, and Mohammad Reza Khatamie, the brother of the former president, and his wife the granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini were also held for a few hours before being released with the condition that they would not take part in any rally. But it did not stop there, more street clashes ensued and more protesters were injured, teargased, and reports of two deaths have also been made.

But while all of this was happening away from the cameras the celebrations continued. To create a favorable visual the coup government had carefully installed a lineup of loud speakers on all major roads leading to Azadi (freedom) square in an attempt to lessen the voice of opposition and to reduce sounds of gunshots if fired. Furthermore, to make sure enough heads were present and flags waving for the live national broadcast, roughly 100,000 people were bused in from rural areas, often villages, schools, and members of the bureaucracy were give paid leave for their participation. The event was staged and lacked one important element of years gone by, authenticity.

And so, as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a foreign policy speech from the podium at Azadi square to his crowed of people and to foreign governments, and warned the West of their scheming plans to control the energy resources of the Middle East in a power grab for wanting to control the world, the green movement once again displayed their bravery and showed their desire for change. I just hope the world is watching and readying itself to be more supportive.