Shahin Pooya
In the 1960s, the Islamic Republic, following the establishment of its absolute government, committed the most heinous and bloody massacre in Iran’s contemporary history. He began the killings on June 21, 1981, and reached its peak in the summer of 1987 with the mass killing of political prisoners. In this way, it eliminated a generation of its political opponents who played an important and influential role in the revolution and the transformation of the political atmosphere of Iranian society and were very popular among the people, and in this way, it paved the way for its consolidation as a capitalist-religious absolute government.
The killing of opponents in the 1960s was the beginning of subsequent repression and killings, especially the killing of youth, the poor, and the hungry in January 1996 and November 1998.
When the Islamic Republic realized the spread of discontent among the people in the second half of the 1970s, in addition to repression, killing, and arrest and detention, it used classic capitalist tactics to create opposition within itself, into two main factions: fundamentalists and reformists, and by this means channeled the people’s discontent within itself. The people, thinking that perhaps they could transform the regime and achieve some of their social rights and freedoms through this, entered the game, the field of which was determined by the Islamic Republic. Over the past three decades, especially as the economic and social situation of society worsened, the majority of people have concluded that the Islamic Republic is not reformable. The vast majority of people have turned away from religion, and now they know for sure that they do not want an Islamic Republic and a religious government, and they must take direct action to dismantle it.
The people know very well that they must rely on their own power for this change and should not go under the banner of individuals and groups who, by wrapping democracy in beautiful foil, are waiting for America and its European supporters to help them, seize power in Iran, rule over the people, and replace the religious tyranny with another tyranny. Just as America, England, and France did to Khomeini and brought him to France, Persian-language radio stations such as BBC Persian put his photo on the moon and provided Khomeini with their microphones in the service of bringing a religious dictatorship to power. Their loudspeakers echoed his seductive slogans about freedom of the hijab, freedom of women, freedom of parties, etc. with great pomp and show.
Khomeini went even further and promised to make water and electricity free and deliver oil to people’s doorsteps for free. The people of Iran are still witnessing the US, the European Union, and of course China and Russia, trying to keep this criminal and murderous regime afloat. People have learned through experience that it doesn’t matter to them that people in Iran are being repressed, arrested, tortured, and killed, struggling with poverty, hunger, unemployment, and homelessness.
Global powers need authoritarian governments to protect their interests in the region and the Middle East. They know very well that these governments oppress their people. They are not happy with the establishment of an independent, popular, and democratic government in Iran. Because with such a government in Iran, they cannot achieve their political, economic, and strategic interests in the region. Such a government will not be willing to sell the freedom, rights, and interests of the people and the country and its interests. For this reason, in the next revolution, they will try to help individuals and those who can replace the current tyranny with another one, and take back from them what the people have achieved through resistance and struggle over all these years. People are aware and awake, they no longer submit to the burden of leadership, except their own. The people of Iran have paid a heavy price to reach their current point. To overthrow the Islamic Republic, they need unity of action, solidarity, organization, and the creation of leadership from among themselves. Without organizing and creating leadership, others will reap what they have sown with the blood of their loved ones.
Mahsa, with her blood, ignited an uprising against the Islamic Republic that has so far dealt such blows to the Islamic Republic that it has thrown it into confusion. Mahsa joined history and became a history maker. He ignited an uprising in which women played a decisive role.
The people’s resistance to the attacks of the Islamic Republic’s mercenaries and their courage in pushing these mercenaries back has been unparalleled in many scenes of conflict. The dispersion of the people’s protests has taken away the power of repression from the mercenaries of the Islamic Republic and has left them stranded. In several areas, police stations and mobilization centers have fallen into the hands of the people. In every city and region, especially in large cities, people have clashed with the repressive forces of the Islamic Republic at several points and pushed them back. The revolutionary movement that has swept across Iran, if it continues, will create a space so that workers can overcome the obstacles to their organization that the Islamic Republic has created for them all these years, unite themselves as quickly as possible, and fight against the Islamic Republic alongside the people.
To crush the Islamic Republic, especially its repressive and bureaucratic military apparatus, political general strikes are also necessary, along with street uprisings. As we experienced in 1957 with the monarchy.
Simultaneously with street cleansing, the vital and respiratory arteries of the Islamic Republic must be cut off. This requires general political strikes in large manufacturing and transportation industries, ports, universities, schools, offices, and banks. Oil workers should turn off the oil taps and produce oil only for domestic needs. Port workers must prevent the export of oil and other industrial products, as well as agricultural products, abroad.
What makes the recent protests stand out is the leadership of women in these protests. In these protests, women, with indescribable courage and bravery, removed their headscarves and made Khamenei and his religious establishment and power structures understand that you killed Mahsa because she had two strands of hair sticking out, but what are you going to do with the growth of thousands of Mahsa who have removed their headscarves and are intent on destroying you?