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.
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