Thirty-seven-thousand Persian demonstrators took to the streets in Berlin to protest Iran’s murder of 22-year-old Kurdish-Persian Mahsa Amini, murdered by Iran’s Basij militia or “morality police,” apparently beating the 22-year-old Kurd to death with a truncheon. “Women, Life, Freedom,” shouted protesters in Berlin, hoping the global demonstrations against Iran’s ruling Mullah regime will turn into revolution. Amini was apparently beaten to death for not wearing her hijab scarf properly, something that unearthed years of frustration by young women unfairly treated by the Basij militia for no reason at all, other than an arbitrary view of what’s proper Islamic attire, mainly for women. Coming from all over Germany and the European Union, the Berlin protesters called for an end to mullah rule. Iran’s mullah rule started in 1979 when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei toppled the Shah’s government.
Before the 1979 Islalmic Revolution, Iran lived for nearly one hundred years under the secular Shah Mohammad Reza Palavi’s and his father’s progressive governments, adopting Western ways of living. While most the young people in Iran never lived under the Shah, they certainly recall their parents talking about human and women’s rights under the Shah. Today’s protests in Berlin show solidarity with protesters going through hell in Iran, with arrests, kangaroo courts and mass liquidations. Since protests broke out Sept. 16, hundreds of young protesters have been incarcerated or disappeared..”It’s so important for us to be hard, to be the voice of the people of Iran, what killed on the streets,” said Shakib Lolo, an Iranian exile living in the Netherlands. “And this is no a protest anymore, this is a revolution, in Iran. And the people of the world have to see it,” said Lolo.
However brave the protesters or independent journalists in Iran, they’re watching Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Basij militia continue the brutal crackdown, where protesters and journalists are arrested. So far, the demonstrations in Berlin or in over 80 Iranian cities are hardly a revolution, where the Revolutionary Guards and Bajij continue to crack down on protesters. Unlike older people, young protesters don’t know what they’re getting into, making themselves vulnerable on Iranian streets. Young people around the globe don’t like the crackdown against peaceful protesters currently underway in Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards went after Kurds in the North West corner of Iran, blaming the Kurds for fomenting unrest. But clearly the anti-mullah demonstrations have to do with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s extreme Islamic restrictions and oppression on Persian society.
Iranians seek the same freedoms as most people in the Internet age, where open societies share their preference for Western freedoms, not the oppressive censorship and punishment found in today’s Iran.. Mullahs know that the vast majority of Iran wants less oppression and more openness with the Internet and women’s rights. Iran’s 61-year-old President Ibrahim Raisi left no doubt where he stands on Iran’s reform movement, telling London-based CNN journalist Christianne Amanpour he would not grant an interview during the U.S. General Assembly unless Amanpour unless she wore her hijab. Amanpour declined the interview. But with Raisi at the helm, just under Ayatollah Khamenei, there’s no compromising when it comes to women’s proper Islamic attire. Calling street demonstrations a “revolution” is premature, since most protesters get incarcerated.
Using live ammunition and tear gas, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Basij militia mean business, refusing to acquiesce to widespread demonstrations. Iran recently began a new strategic economic and military partnership with Russia, supplying the regime with kamikaze drones and surface-to-air missiles to fight the U.S. and Ukraine. Iran detests the U.S., making a perfect partnership with 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. Iran wants the U.S. and EU to end all sanctions, preventing Iran from selling its oil in global markets. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards frequently harasses oil freighters in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. It wasn’t that long ago, Jan. 12, 2016 that Iran seized a U.S. vessel with 10 sailors in the Persian Gulf, taking days to win their freedom. Yet the Biden White House continued to work on the bringing back the July 15, 2015 Iranian Nuke Deal.
Protests over Iran occur periodically when the public loses patience with mullah rule. Whether admitted to or not, Iran’s citizens have done little over the last 43 years to overturn the mullah government. Periodic protesters break out but do little to turn the government into another secular democracy or monarchy . Over 200 young protesters have lost their lives protests mullah rule. But, truth be told, the public simply isn’t organize enough to pull off a revolution. Watching mass demonstrations in Berlin or other foreign capitals doesn’t mean Iran is about to change governments anytime soon. Whatever happened to Mahsa Amini, there are plenty more Iranian youth taking to custody for demonstrating against the mullah government. Ayatollahg’s henchmen aren’t about to give any ground to pro-democracy protesters, looking for major changes in Iranian society.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
