Interview with Reza Mohajer

Dear readers,

I had the great pleasure to interview the scholar and activist, Dr. Reza Mohajer* on  the ongoing reign of terror of the Iranian regime and what needs to change for an actual regime-change.  Here are the three main-questions, that needed long overdue answers.

1) How could it happen, that the regime can celebrate their forty years reign of terror?
The revolution in 1979 was collaboration between all groups who sought freedom, social justice and independence. Khomeini hijacked the revolution and used that opportunity to establish his vision of a theocratic state. He killed thousands of activists from leftist, nationalist and other groups in the process. The end result was a Islamic regime based on extreme interpretations of sharia law. The Islamic regime benefited from the hostage crises and cultural revolution which they closed universities for a few years to islamicize universities. When Saddam Hussein attacked Iran in 1981 a war began which lasted for 8 years making it a great opportunity for the regime in Iran to oppress the opposition and establish its new theocratic framework. Because of the absence of political parties inside of Iran and strong opposition from the outside creating external pressure enabled the regime to establish the idea of reform as an alternative to change. They were able to control the society while reducing the demand for democracy for over two decades. Finally because of corruption, nepotism, authoritarian rules, suppression, economic problems and power of ICTs (information communication technologies) majority of people understand that reform is not answer because it will not allow for change to be possible. Iranian society believes that for there to be change the whole system of current regime must be toppled. For 40 years people fought for their rights as much they could. Massive social movements in Iran under this Theocratic regime, challenged it and showed people’s demand for change. There are three major social movements in recent history, the student movement in July 1999, Green Movement in 2009 and Anti poverty movement in December of 2017 to January 2018.

2) What needs to be different for a regime change?
Iran’s Contemporary history for change is based on social movements. Change has to happen with Iranian people. They need to be united for a an independent grassroots movement to demand regime change from across the country to unify all civil society so every social movement and NGO is included which share common goals based on non-violent principles and secular democracy. They must also demand international relations based on the nation’s interest and world peace.

3) Who would you like to see in charge in Iran?
What we need is the right system which has to be a secular democracy regime and respect human rights values. We want to have democratic regime run by people with free elections. Iranians want to have a democracy run by the people not by a person or group. It is an inter-generational dream starting from the 1905 constitutional revolution.

*Reza Mohajer is a scholar, who holds in PhD in political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He wrote the book: „Live Generation: Iran`s 1999 Student Uprising that opened the Door for Secular Democracy“ (New York; iUniverse, 2010) and is currently writting his new book.

#DearIranianPeople

Dear Iranian people

I had the „pleasure“ to get a taste of „Iranian gratefulness“ again by getting told by a fifty-something Persian, that if I do not kill myself now for Iran, than I will be charged and killed for treason after the regime-change. This gentleman also had the audacity to blame me for his ongoing exile and to claim, that I am a „worse traitor than Khameini, because Khameini, at the very least, wants to expand the borders of Iran“, while I want „to keep Iran weak and fragmented“ and that, if I really want to do something for Iran, I should kill myself now. Because I am going to be killed soon anyway. When I asked him, why he does not practice what he preaches and leads by example by dying for Iran first, he replied to me, that never in history a „pawn died for a Shah“ and „Gorji are pawns for Persians“.

I already experienced countless death-treats, where missguided members of the Iranian, called me a „dirty Tork“, „dirty Gorji“, „bisharaf“, „Vatanforoosh“ and that soon enough the work of „Agha Mohammad Khan will be finished“ and that „Georgians are lower than Malakhor, lower than animals“, simply for my heritage and for the fact, that the independence of Georgia is non-negotiable for me.

Dear Iranian people, Georgia especially and the Caucasus overall is not your freaking whore-house, so stop acting as if it is your property and we are your subjects. It is humiliating. In fact: There a quite a few brothels* out there, that are less of a mess than the Iranian opposition in it`s current state. The fact, that the Iranian opposition is such a disgrace currently allows the regime of the Islamic Republic to thrive, despite having no moral or democratic legitimacy to rule over Iran whatsoever. All while misguided members of the Iranian opposition indulge themselves in their very own delusions of grandeur.  Meanwhile Nasrin Sotoudeh and Narges Mohammadi are rotting in prison and the regime kills people with construction material in broad daylight. At the same time the president of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili , is a woman and Georgia abolished the death-penalty years ago.  So apparently it would be not beneficial for Georgia to become part of Iran in any stretch imaginable, since Iranians are currently struggling to secure basic human rights for themselves, let alone non-Iranian/ non-Aryan minorities. It was also not beneficial in the past, since the predecessors of Iran, the Persian empires, enslaved two thirds of the Georgian population, deported them to Mazandaran and Isfahan, fragmented Georgia through the Treaty of Amasya and killed the Georgian Kings and Queens, such as Ketevan the Martyr, Luarsab of Kartli and Teimuraz the First. So get you ish together and quit dreaming of being the rulers of Caucasian soil again. You are the heirs of a failed empire.

Anyways, the only few reasons why this „dirty Gorji“here  continues to fight for a secular and democratic Iran, is because I am actually an orphan, so I would not endanger anybody but myself with my engagement for a free Iran.  Also I do not believe that human rights are for negotiation and instead that everybody is born with the right of freedom and a life in dignity.

Yours sincerely

Anastasia Iosseliani

PS: Marg bar jumhurriyet eslamiye!

 

*Otherwise those brothels were out of business long ago.