Iranian regime can't crush mass movement

Once again the determination of Iranian people to shape their history was on display when hundreds of thousands took over the streets throughout Iran on Sept. 18, thereby transforming the officially sanctioned Quds (Palestine) day into a day of protest against the enemy at home.

In addition to the chants of "down with the dictator," the most popular slogan was "dictator, dictator, this is our last message: the green nation of Iran is ready for uprising," thus challenging the government that unless it resigns, their patience will soon come to an end.

Contrast this self-confidence with the complete insecurity of the state in its inability to crush the opposition with all the means in its arsenal--political, ideological and military. Perhaps one would then be able to appreciate that Iran today is the scene of two contending powers: a thoroughly de-legitimized state, and the power of masses in motion that has created a whole new reality.

Let's be clear. For months now, the existing political regime has tried everything to prevent the re-emergence of the masses on the streets: mass arrests and frame-up trials, shutting down of all remaining opposition websites and print media, even canceling all heretofore sanctioned events on the calendar, combined with total militarization of society, the hunting down of people chanting on the roof tops, and a constant barrage of threats. Nothing, absolutely nothing has succeeded in breaking the spirit of the people.

Quite the contrary, the brief "interlude" between outright street protests was rife with movement: from the ongoing weekly protests of the Mourning Mothers, to sporadic outbreaks of demonstrations in the streets and the Metro stations, to activism of a different kind--mass political dialogue on the sidewalks, in taxicabs, at home and at the workplace. One reporter, whose name is withheld, wrote from Iran (http://globalpost.com/print/3636975) that the workplace is where "everybody does nothing except find ways to get around blocked websites and read the day's news." Moreover, calls for a political mass general strike are gaining momentum.

Will this signal the beginning of the end of the Islamic regime? More importantly, will this movement for freedom be able to usher in a new society based on new humanist relationships the day after the overthrow of the existing state? Will the insatiable desire of Iranian masses for outright freedom find expression in a philosophy of liberation that assures its continuous self-development?

--Raha

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