Iran Uprising Into 41 Days

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 Iran is 41 days into the peoples' uprising against the mullahs. Here is a quick report and a couple of videos.
 


 
 





protesters in 198 cities throughout Iran’s 31 provinces for 41 days 
Over 400 killed by regime, at least 20,000 arrested
more sectors of economy launch strikes in solidarity

Locals in Kurdistan rallied at grave of Mahsa Amini on 40th day of her passing
large crowd at the site began chanting anti-regime slogans
“We will overthrow the dictator! 
We will avenge Mahsa’s killing!” 
“This is the year Khamenei will be overthrown!”

merchants in many Kurdish cities continuing their strike




workers of Tehran Oil Refinery also joined general strike on Wed
College and high school students are also holding protests 
nationwide movement by students against mullah regime in its entirety

In Tehran, protest rallies were reported at universities 
Protests especially intense in Tehran on Wednesday 

In Saqqez, protesters set fire to a trailer of the security forces 
students tore large posters of Khomeini and Khamenei
protest rallies in at least 30 universities across Iran on Tuesday

significant aspect of Iran’s protests is women’s decisive role at forefront 
Iranian people rejecting all forms of dictatorship, be it Shah or mullahs


My Comments : From the look of things it does not appear that things will be quietening down in Iran anytime soon.
The mullahs took power 43 years ago in 1979. I was 19 years old. 
The question is always how much time does it take to realise that you have bought the wrong pair of shoes?  One day, one month, one year, 10 years, 43 years?
In 1982, three years after the mullah revolution,  I recall meeting an Iranian "pro-regime" PhD student  at my university in the US. He was gung ho and all fired up that Iran was blooming under the mullahs.
Just look at those videos and the pictures above.  Is Iran blooming or is it "blooming" Iran?

Within a decade of the revolution many Iranians realised that their future was bleak. In the 90s and early 2000s there were many Iranians 'transiting' through Malaysia on their way to the West. Now 43 years later it is 2022 and they are still trying to get rid of the wrong pair of shoes. 

Their country has certainly failed. Iran has a population of 85 million people. The vast majority of whom seem very angry with the mullahs. The people just want freedom. To dress as they like, to sing as they feel, to pursue wealth and happiness as they wish.  The mullahs are denying them these simple rights. Hence the mullahs will be overthrown.

And this time around the Iranian protesters  have a leader with whom a significant number of them identify. The lady is Maryam Rajavi who lives in exile overseas. She is the president of the National Revolutionary Council of Iran, But she has a significant presence in Iran through social media. Perhaps one day soon she will return to Iran to lead her people to freedom, happiness and prosperity.



 Maryam Rajavi left and Wan Azizah right.

She does remind me of our own Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of that fellow. I have said this many times before and I will say it again, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was the best deputy Prime Minister we have had. It is sad that she has quit politics. I miss her gentle and calming presence in Parliament and in government.

Back to Iran - the question is how long does it take to find out that they have bought the  wrong pair of shoes? 
When a country embarks on some new fangled idea it will take decades to realise you have made a mistake and it will take even more decades to correct those mistakes. And the processes of correcting those misses will cause the loss of human life, protests, burning down buildings, shootings and arrests. 
Our failed New Economic Policy has absolutely nothing to do with economics. It was just a political gimmick for the survival of UMNO that somehow became stuck.

Now 52 years later we are still stuck with it. Fortunately our people do not riot in the streets. But do not be too sure, there is always a cracking point.

But for how many more days shall our economy be destroyed by the failed New Economic Policy? One more month? One more year? Ten years? Until when?
The clever thing is to neutralise the mullahs before they get into power.  Otherwise it is going to take generations to dislodge them.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
By Syed Akbar Ali 

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