IRAN, AT THE MERCY OF SOCIAL REVOLUTION FOR FREEDOM

IRAN, AT THE MERCY OF
SOCIAL REVOLUTION FOR FREEDOM

By Joseph Chez

Freedom is a natural course in human events……….

Since 1979 the West has crudely and unjustifiably reviled the people of Iran as nothing more than an Islamic nation with militia types – a nation not too friendly towards the West. In fact, Iran has been so reviled, that it has been considered a pariah, if not a thorn on the side of Israel and the United States of America. The former Bush Administration so deemed and labeled the country, as one of the “axis of evil” nations of the world. Iran has further been singled out by the Anglo-American and Israeli forefront for the last two or three decades and consequently, has suffered stringent economic, social and political sanctions. The reasons for sanctions were perhaps deemed justified at one point, as the Anglo-American petroleum interests were cut off from that country. But whether justified or not, the people of Iran have been viewed by the West as being antagonistic towards democratic ideals – western style that is. Surprisingly, today, the western world is stunned by human events in this Islamic nation and is baffling the experts and its critics.

In 1979, when the Iranian people toppled Mohammad Reza, the “Shah of Iran”, a self-proclaimed king and favorable to British and American interests, the Iranian people spoke loudly and deliberately, but in an ironic twist of history, two of its 1979 revolution Islamic young students are now rivals in a quest to lead the Iranian Islamic Republic. On the ballot were two prime candidates for the presidency; one, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; the other, the rival reformist, Mir-Houssein Mousavi. This time however, the Iranian people, tired of a despot leader and a closed society, the Iranian people went to the polls en masse this last Sunday (June 13, 2009) and voted for fundamental change. Regrettably, the next day, their hopes and aspirations for change were dashed as the incumbent president was declared the winner in an election that was seen by the Iranian people as rigged.

The mass demonstrations and civil unrest by the Iranian people shows us that no nation has a monopoly or “the” cornerstone for democratic values, but rather, it is the nature of the power of the human spirit and the aspiration for freedom which brings about change. Therefore, the Iranian people have taken to the streets with demands for a fair election and not a pre-selection. The masses of discontented Iranians have therefore taken the Iranian clerics by surprised, but more so, the West is incredulous, confused, but supportive. This time, the unexpected uprising of common folk Iranians was not spurred by U.S. military special-opps, the CIA, UK’s MI6, or the Israeli Mossad. Instead, the Iranian people did not take a cue from Western ideals for democracy, but were driven by the only recourse in human events; when tyranny rules, there is a natural desire for freedom. Therefore, the Iranian people should know that they have the support of every family of nations in your quest for justice, transparency, freedom of expression, and rule of government by the consent of your people. It is your fight, you way, it is your destiny.

President Obama, you sir, also deserve much respect for your practical restraint on the outcome of the contested election, unlike the neo-cons in this country, which are currently salivating for an opportunity to take advantage of the critical situation in Iran. One can only imagine if George Bush and Chaney were at the helm of our government- presumably, in defense of our national security and that of Israel, this would be the right time in which to unleash our democratic values. Notwithstanding, the West should not confuse the Iranian social revolution as total support for your unfair foreign policy in the Middle East or sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran, for such western counter productive foreign policies only hurt those who yearn for freedom.

Intervention from the outside only seeds the next struggle for freedom.