Live From Laylo in Iran: The Revolution Begins
Iran’s elections have been all over the news lately. Anger is visible in the streets. Youth are tired of the same old thing and a revolution may be bubbling underneath the surface. We’ve got a firsthand account from a friend of The League/99Problems who is brave enough to venture in a field report directly from Iran! Check out this article by Laylo Fagroovy!
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The Revolution Begins by Laylo
June 15, 2009 The eerie howling of “Allah al-Akbar! Allah al-Akbar!”
(God is Great) could be heard from rooftops in the streets of Tehran
after dark. It is an echo from the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution 30
years ago, when Ayatollah Khomeini and his supports ousted Mohammad
Reza Shah Pahlavi, to replace the monarchy with a religious democracy,
forming the Islamic Republic of Iran.
But in recent years, the people of Iran have yearned for more freedom
under the current regime, with some sacrificing their lives to be
heard. On Monday, June 15, possibly as many as one million people took
to the streets of Tehran to march from Enqelab (Revolution) Street to
Azadi (Freedom) Square to support Mir Hossein Mousavi in the contested
presidential elections.
Leading up to the elections between the four presidential candidates
(Mohsen Rezayi, Mehdi Karoubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and incumbent
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) Mousavi’s supporters were the most
vivid and lively, taking to the streets and brandishing the campaign
color green; all within the parameters established by the government’s
Shoraye Negahban (Guardian Council). But, since the results of the
elections were announced on Saturday, with Ahmadinejad receiving 63%
of the votes, people have taken to the streets to contest these
results in a massive way of protests.
Today’s protests were the largest display of support for Mousavi, with
rallies held in Tehran, Shiraz, Esfahan and other cities throughout
Iran. Police have cracked down on some protestors since the elections,
and the state news reported that seven were killed, as well, hundreds
of arrests made including dozens at the University of Tehran where
students were arrested and their dormitories thrashed by police and
militia. Anarchy has also erupted in some parts of Iran, as dumpsters
were lit on fire and windows of banks and other structures were
smashed.
Mousavi joined his supporters at Azadi Square and called on them to
use restraint, as he and Rezayi file legal complaints to the Guardian
Council about the election results. Ahmadinejad has told reporters
that everything is fine in Iran and people are happy about the
results, citing the fact that this year 85% of eligible voters went to
the polls, the highest turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic.
But it seems that the government and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, are worried. And for good reason. The people of Iran,
especially the youth, have taken advantage of a small opportunity for
change. And change is coming.
