What I See on the Frontline in Iran

A great article by Heshmat Tbarzadi on WSJ

What I See on the Frontline in Iran

Regime change is now our movement's rallying cry.

When massive numbers of Iranians took to the streets following the sham election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June, the regime hoped to quash the protests with intimidation and force. It has failed. The latest evidence of the democratic movement's force? Student Day earlier this month.

The roots of Student Day go back to Dec. 7, 1953, when Iranian students protested the coup that ousted Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. The Shah's regime responded by attacking Tehran's Polytechnic University, murdering three students.

Every year since, Iranian students have observed "16 Azar" (Dec. 7) to commemorate the three students killed by the Shah. But after the 1979 revolution—and with the blessing of the government—Student Day was turned into a useless, perfunctory occasion.

Yet in December 1991, students who believed in what they saw as the true ideals of the Islamic Republic began to once again use Student Day to protest against the regime's oppression. The government and its military branch of students—the student basij—reacted with violence.

Despite the regime's repression, as time passed, the importance of Student Day grew among student leaders—from the left to religious democrats to pro-Western democrats—even as they lived in constant fear of the government's ruthlessness. Many were repeatedly sent to prison where they were tortured.

I was one of those student leaders. In the regime's view, I was considered to be an architect of a student uprising on July 9, 1999, an uprising that was a true turning point in the movement for democracy. Students like me began to attack the regime itself, rather than simply calling for reform. And so I spent six years in the notorious Evin prison. Two of those years were in solitary confinement.

This year, I witnessed Student Day transformed into something bold and new. For the first time, regular citizens joined students in a common call for democracy and human rights.

Before Student Day this year, Qolam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, the public prosecutor and a religious leader, announced that he would be pro-active in preventing the usual Student Day protests. He followed through on his threat: Hundreds of students were arrested and harassed. And on Dec. 7, the basijis in civilian clothing confronted the students and the people.

In Enghelab Square, I saw a woman in her late 20s get kicked so hard in her spine that she flew through the air. On Ghods Street, near Tehran University, I saw another young woman as her head was pounded into a car by the basij. All the while, they screamed disgusting epithets like "whore" and worse.

Yet the movement only became more determined. More than 50 universities throughout the country, both private and government-run, joined in a historical display of resistance.

Many observers believed that the event was going to be the turning point for the democratic movement. If the government managed to crack down on the democrats, and if the planned protests did not come to fruition, then the government would be able to tie a rope around the neck of this movement, by making even more sweeping arrests of activists and suppressing opposition leaders like Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.

However, if the regime was unsuccessful, it would become further weakened and isolated. And this is precisely what has happened.

Since Dec. 7, the movement has only become stronger, with protestors openly denouncing the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, challenging the entirety of the ruling establishment, and demanding the separation of religion and state. Among the protestors on Student Day was Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, daughter of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the second most powerful man in the ruling establishment.

As fissures within the ruling elite deepen, we will see what choices the government will make. Will the regime attempt to compromise with the leaders of the protest movement? Or will it escalate its violent crackdown during upcoming protest days?

One thing is certain: Dec. 7 proved that the movement for a free, democratic Iran is robust and only growing in strength. If the government continues to opt for violence, there very well may be another revolution in Iran. One side has to step down. And that side is the government—not the people.

Jerusalem Post : Protesters in NY: 'Ahmadinejad not wanted here'

Protesters in NY: 'Ahmadinejad not wanted here'

Sep. 24, 2009
E.B. SOLOMONT, Jerusalem Post correspondent , THE JERUSALEM POST
Throngs of people descended on the UN Thursday to protest the Iranian president's anti-Israel diatribe at the General Assembly and to stand in opposition to human rights violations in Iran following the usurped June election.

Waving signs that declared "No Nuclear Iran" and "Ahmadinejad not wanted here," they filed into Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at noon to denounce Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, just as other demonstrations were to take place in other US cities.

At New York's "Stand For Freedom in Iran" demonstration - organized by the Jewish community in conjunction with labor groups and others - shouts of "Stop Iran Now" were punctuated by three shofar blasts, meant to summon world leaders to act against the Iranian nuclear threat.

On stage, four volunteers stood with tape across their mouths and carrying signs that read: "I'm gay and in Iran I'm killed" and "I'm a woman and in Iran I'm stoned."

Protesters held clusters of green balloons and waved Iranian flags in solidarity with the opposition movement there.

Mansour Etehid, an Iranian Jew who traveled to New York from his home in California summed up in two words his reason for attending the rally. "For freedom," he said.

Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel pleaded with the international community to charge Ahmadinejad with crimes against humanity and try him at The Hague.

"This is a solemn appeal to the leaders of the world," Wiesel said. "His presence anywhere is an insult to what is sacred in democracy... He is an enemy of humanity."

Although demonstrators were largely Jewish, organizers included a broad coalition of groups, including the Jewish Community Relations Council, synagogue groups, churches and local chapters of the NAACP civil rights organization and the AFL-CIO labor federation. Among those in attendance were New York Governor David Paterson and former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Iranian activists also joined the rally, including Hassan Zarezadeh Ardeshir, who told the crowd: "Ahmadinejad and other faces of [the] Islamic regime are not just an internal issue. This is about terrorism, nuclear weapons and human rights abuses."

See the article here

Newsmax : Iran-Election Protesters Throng U.N.

By: Kenneth R. Timmerman

Thousands of Iranian-Americans flocked to the United Nations in New York to protest Iran's recent elections and to assail President Barack Obama for his failure to support the Iranian people after the disputed elections.

The protesters came from all over the country carrying signs. “Thank You Obama 4 Condemning and Not Meddling,” read one sign carried by Fred Maghnati, a 57-year old Iranian-American who traveled to New York from Clarksville, Md. He hastened to explain that his sign was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. “Obama didn’t help us. I don’t see that he is doing anything for us now. He has just been helping the Iranian government behind closed doors,” he told Newsmax on Wednesday.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs addressed Iran’s supreme leader just four days after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner — once the nationwide protests had begun in Iran — to reassure him the United States “won’t meddle” in Iran’s domestic affairs.”

As the protests intensified, and pressure on Obama from Congress to take a stronger stand increased, the president issued a tepid condemnation of the violence the regime turned on peaceful protesters, but again denied the United States would meddle in Iranian affairs.

“The United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not at all interfering in Iran's affairs,” Obama said on June 23.

The U.S. and Canadian delegations to the U.N. General Assembly walked out on Wednesday afternoon during Ahmadinejad’s address, to protest his denials of the holocaust and anti-Semitic hate speech.

And yet, on Wednesday, U.S. Secret Service personnel provided close protection to the Iranian president as he hosted an invitation-only gala for Iranian-Americans and selected members of the press at the Barclay Intercontinental Hotel.

A Secret Service officer told Newsmax it was “standard protocol” for his agency to protect visiting heads of state, but he and other officers encountered at the hotel were visibly uncomfortable in their role in protecting Ahmadinejad.

Larry Klayman, a Washington, D.C. attorney who heads an activist group called Freedom Watch, told Newsmax he planned to serve Ahmadinejad during the reception with a subpoena from an Iranian victim of torture seeking damages from the Iranian government in a civil lawsuit.

As Ahmadinejad was scheduled to address the United Nations on Wednesday afternoon, just blocks away the Simon Wiesenthal Center hosted two prominent Iranian dissidents who denounced the regime and called for international action to isolate it. (The Iranian president rescheduled at the last minute and addressed the chamber on Wednesday.)

Roozbeh Farahanipour, a leader of the 1999 student uprising, told the gathering about his clandestine return to Iran in July to take part in the 10th anniversary demonstrations to mark the uprising.

He showed exclusive photographs of demonstrations that were violently suppressed by regime security forces taken inside Iran by members of his Marz-e Por Gohar group.

Ardeshir Zarezadeh, who was also arrested during the 1999 uprising and until recently worked for the Persian Service of the Voice of America, said he now saw the possibility of an authentic opposition coalition “that could serve as a temporary government during a transition period” after the current regime falls.

“The possibility for real change in Iran is increasing,” he said.

Both Farahanipour and Zarezadeh called on the United States to work with its partners to enact new sanctions “targeted at the regime leadership,” such as a travel ban for senior Iranian government officials.

“A big majority of people inside Iran are now asking for more sanctions,” Farahanipour said. “This is true even in the Moussavi camp, where they opposed sanctions before.”

See the article here

Zarehzadeh's interview with gozaar: The Formation of a Coalition by Political and Civil Groups in Iran Is Essential

The Formation of a Coalition by Political and Civil Groups in Iran Is Essential

Hassan Zarehzadeh Ardeshir: Journalist and Human Rights Activist in an interview with gozaar (Freedom House)

The alliance of opposition movements, the critics of the Islamic Republic, and the challenge that this unity has posed to the system’s legitimacy are regarded as the achievements of the Green Movement. These are the achievements for which the democracy-seeking forces have struggled for years. Most political forces have believed that the formation of a united front that consists of progressive forces, along with questioning the regime’s legitimacy, can encourage both the people of Iran and the international community to demand fundamental changes in Iranian society. Now this opportunity has arrived.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic has not remained idle either and, as always, has tried to cripple the efforts of people for bringing democracy to Iran. The Islamic Republic has resorted to two tactics: on the one hand, it has engaged in suppressing the recent popular uprisings and political and civil groups, and on the other hand, it has tried to provoke division and disunity among the fighters for freedom and democracy. The leakage of internal discussions among military forces shows that they even infiltrate the lines of protesters and lead their demonstrations to particular ends. The unconvincing show trials make it quite clear that the Islamic Republic aims at making people cynical of civil and political activists. It plans to break up the alliance between the reformists and the secular groups and drive some others into the isolation of their homes. But hope has not turned into disappointment yet and the protests inside Iran still surge ahead. The extensive contribution of Iranians outside the country, the deepening of gaps in the body of the Islamic Republic’s system, and the condemnation of the system by international institutions and organizations that defend human rights have all boosted the resolve of Iranian people to establish freedom and democracy in their society. The following steps are necessary:

1) The movement of solidarity with democracy, which was formed a few months ago inside the country, and with the participation of well-known political and civil activists, should work with Mir Hossein Mousavi (who has announced the formation of a new front) to foster a coalition of political and civil groups that can organize and continue the protests. This coalition was already a priority in the strategy of democracy-seeking forces. When I was arrested for participating in demonstrations at Tehran University in 1999, my friends and I in “the United Student Front” were thinking about such a coalition, an idea that we pursued after our release from prison. Fortunately, the negotiations between various groups were productive and the current situation is a fitting condition for building this kind of coalition. This coalition can also function as the core of the interim government in the period of transition.

2) The forces that work in this field should also try to thwart the security tactics of the Islamic Republic. Otherwise, not only will the coalition and unity weaken, the attitude of international community toward the democracy-seeking forces will also change. Another important task is to expose the illegitimacy of the Islamic Republic with the help of Iranians living abroad and the institutions supporting human rights. Now that some European countries have gone as far as summoning the Islamic Republic’s ambassadors and Mr. Obama has condemned the suppression of people in Iran and the United Nations has paid a great deal of attention to the recent incidents, there is an opportunity for “the Security Council” and “Human Rights Commission” to take a decisive step against the Iranian regime.

All dissenting forces should demand from the United Nations to form a truth-finding committee and dispatch it to Iran in order to help the victims of the recent crackdowns by the Islamic Republic.

پاسخ کمیته دانشجویی دفاع از زندانیان سیاسی به اتهامات منتسب به اعضای زندانی آن توسط دادستانی تهران

اتهامات واهی علیه دو عضو فعال کمیته دانشجویی دفاع از زندانیان سیاسی، ناصح فریدی و علی بیکس

دو عضو فعال کمیته دانشجویی دفاع از زندانیان سیاسی، ناصح فریدی و علی بیکس، که در روزهای اول اعتراضات پس از انتخابات ریاست جمهوری در تهران دستگیر شده اند، با اتهامات ناروا و بی اساس روبرو هستند.

علی بیکس، که در روز شنبه گذشته در دادگاه موسوم به متهمان "عوامل میدانی پروژه کودتای مخملی" به همراه دیگر زندانیان سیاسی حضور داشت، از داشتن حق ملاقات، وکیل مدافع و کلیه حقوق انسانی خود محروم است. همین شرایط برای دیگر عضو کمیته، ناصح فریدی، که متهم به ارتباط با ضد انقلاب است، شرایط سختی را آورده است.

به دنبال برگزاری جلسه اول دادگاه نمایشی متهمان عوامل میدانی پروژه کودتای مخملی، دهم مرداد خبرگزاری فارس به نقل از معاون دادستان عمومی و انقلاب تهران مینویسد که ناصح فریدی اخبار زندانیان سیاسی و اعتراضات خیابانی را برای صدای آمریکا، رادیو فردا و سیمای آزادی و نیز گروهک منافقین (سازمان مجاهدین خلق) ارسال کرده است.

نام این فعال دانشجویی و حقوق بشری در حالی در جلسه اول دادگاه و کیفرخواست دادستانی ذکر شده است که او در دوران فعالیت های دانشجویی خود به عنوان دبیر انجمن اسلامی دانشجویان دانشگاه تربیت معلم تهران و نیز فعالیتهای حقوق بشری در کمیته دانشجویی دفاع از زندانیان سیاسی به اقدامی خارج از قوانین و عرف داخلی و بین المللی دست نزده است. اینک پس از برگزاری دو جلسه دادگاه نمایشی، همگان به ساختگی بودن اتهام بازداشت شدگان پی برده اند.

دادستانی تهران، همچنین در جلسه دوم و در کیفرخواست صادر شده، از کوشندگان حقوق بشری نام می برد که در "کمیته های کمیته دفاع از حقوق بشر و زندانیان سیاسی" در راستای اهداف ضدانقلاب فعالیت می کنند که اشاره به کمیته دانشجویی دفاع از زندانیان سیاسی دارد. این در حالی است که کمیته دانشجویی دفاع از زندانیان سیاسی تنها کمیته باسابقه ای است که برای دفاع از زندانیان سیاسی در سال 1377 تاسیس شده و کلیه فعالیت های آن در چارچوب موازین حقوق بشری بین المللی قرار دارد و هرگونه ایراد اتهام به آن و اعضای زندانی اش تنها به منظور سرکوب و تحت فشار قرار دادن مدافعان حقوق بشر و نیز تخریب وجهه آنان در میان مردم صورت می گیرد.

از این رو، کمیته دانشجویی دفاع از زندانیان سیاسی اقدامات دادستانی تهران را مغایر با قوانین داخلی و بین المللی می داند و ضمن محکوم کردن دادگاه های نمایشی و غیرقانونی دستگیر شدگان اخیر، خواستار آزادی اعضای این کمیته، ناصخ فریدی و علی بیکس، دیگر مدافعان حقوق بشر از جمله شیوا نظر آهاری، محمد علی دادخواه وعبدالفتاح سلطانی و نیز کلیه زندانیان سیاسی است. این کمیته برای آزادی زندانیان سیاسی، از همه نهادهای مدافع حقوق بشر می خواهد تلاش کنند.

تهران پنج نشبه 22 مرداد

Reuters' report 10 years ago on 18 Tir and about me and my friends

TEHRAN,(Reuters) - Iran's secret service said it had arrested the leaders of a nationalist opposition movement in connection with recent social unrest in Tehran.

The Intelligence Ministry said in a communique published in newspapers on Monday that three senior members of the small Iran Nation Party (INP) had been in custody since the outbreak of street riots in Tehran in mid-July, following pro-democracy demonstrations.

It identified the three as Khosrow Seif, Bahram Namazi and Farzin Mokhber. Another activist of the movement, Mehran Abdolbaqi, is also in detention, the ministry said.

"Among other things, they provoked and excited rioters and raised delusional slogans against sacred (values). They also had continuous contact with foreign (sources) and transmitted news, distorting facts, and granted interviews to foreign media," it said.

Namazi had been serving as INP's leader since the death of its founder Dariush Forouhar and his wife Parvaneh in a chain of murders of dissidents and intellectuals late last year.

The murders were committed by "rogue" elements within the secret service, a development which led to the resignation of intelligence minister Qorbanali Dorri Najafabadi and calls for a structural revamp of the secret service.

The ministry, trying to keep a low profile since the exposure of its role in the murders, bounced back after the riots, leading the campaign against opposition activists with alleged foreign links.

It has been regularly issuing communiques, revealing names of some of those arrested and exposing their alleged role in the unrest.

The ministry said it was also holding a number of other activists ranging from Islamic liberals to "anti-revolutionary" communist sympathisers.

Among those arrested is Hassan Zarezadeh, a member of the Guild of Students and University Graduates, led by maverick opposition activist Heshmatollah Tabarzadi.

Tabarzadi, an Islamic militant turned radical reformer, has been in jail for weeks for insulting the Islamic system in his now-banned newspaper Hoviat-e Khish.

"In Tabarzadi's absence, his group has been issuing contradictory statements in a bid to disturb public opinion and destroy the general atmosphere of the press and universities," the communique said.

"In recent days their office had been made into a safe haven for dissidents...There they received recommendations from foreigners and counter-revolutionaries."

It said Zarezadeh, who had campaigned for freedom of political prisoners, had a major role in such activities, transmitting news abroad to be "exploited" against the Islamic republic.

"For example, such reports prompted foreign media, notably American radios (in Farsi) to make investments in this regard...Their false reports were used as a tool to portray a negative image of the Islamic republic," it said.

The ministry also accused the group of seeking financial help from foreigners, notably the U.S. Radio Liberty, based in Prague.

Iran's special clerical court on Sunday found the publisher of the leading pro-reform newspaper Salam guilty of printing classified material and defamation.

Students Wanted Reforms to Surpass Factional Fighting

Hassan Zarezade Ardeshir - 2007.07.10
http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2007/07/005915.php

We have spoken to 3 student activists on the eight anniversary of the 18 Tir student uprising: Ali Afshari, Kianoush Sanjari, and Mohammad Masoud Salamati.

Ali Afshari, a former central committee member of Daftar-e Tahkim Vahdat [“Office for Consolidating Unity”], says, “The violent attack on universities was not just a response to student protests against Salam daily’s shut down, but it was also an organized operation to demoralize students, take their fight to the streets, put the reform government under pressure, and crush the student movement.”

Student activist and member of the Jebhe Mottahed Daneshjooye [“United Student Front”], Mohammad Masoud Salamati says, “The reality is that the regime was taken off guard in the 1997 presidential election. While there were rumors that the supreme leader favors one candidate, the opposing candidate received an absolute majority of the votes. This had a clear message. The regime understood this message and was extremely frightened by the growth of this movement…. During 18 Tir they wanted to shut down the motor behind the student movement. The brutal violence that the regime demonstrated in 18 Tir can only be explained as such.”

Another student and human rights activist, Kianoush Sanjari believes, “You have to understand that the serial murders took place one year before 18 Tir. The people behind those political assassinations viewed the student movement as a potential threat to regime’s survival. In their view, student groups and organizations defended secularism, and were attempting to link up with opposition groups inside Iran. Some contacts had actually taken place. Following Khatami’s victory in 1997, students became more radical, with some openly calling for a referendum.”
Ali Afshari analyzes the attack on universities: “Power-grabbers and un-elected institutions focused on crushing the student movement, so that they can rid themselves of one of the two wings that played a crucial role in the emergence and evolution of the reform movement.”
Afshari adds, “The other reason goes back to the historic battle between universities and the power structure over democracy, liberty and freedom. The regime was frightened after the student movement gained momentum in mid-1990s The scope of student activities had surpassed the regime’s tolerance.”

Kianoush Sanjari says, “After a period of silence and immobility, the student movement was born again on 18 Tir. The relationship of student activists and the power structure also changed on that day. Student groups which were previously more influenced by political factions reduced their dependence. Slowly, students realized that instead of asking for power, they should criticize power.”