Neither a foreign country nor fictional heroes replace the plague of the Islamic regime in Iran. Only people with their raised fists, roars, and red blood need to be organised to crush this regime. Only thanks to an organised movement people can come to an end with this occupation regime that kills, plunders, tortures, and occupies the country for the last 38 years. Only so freedom will come. However, the freedom cannot be achieved so simple against an armed- to- teeth regime and its head-to food armour mercenaries, we have to pay a high price for our freedom.
Unfortunately, and even in the worst-ever conditions of our people; we cannot prove that our people are enough stimulated to topple the regime because we do not have an organised movement. Therefore, our people desperately leave the arena for the regime. Even if millions of chests can be ready to confront the regime, even if the bullets of mercenaries are loud and temporary suffocate their voice of freedom, this would not be enough, the people can win the last battle when they are organised.
Such a popular organisation must be formed without wasting another 38 years or so. Iranians should learn from their past failures and all experiences the world in the recent century achieved for freedom. It should realistically use any tactical method and independently use any international assistance to hasten the fall of the Islamic regime which is the main enemy of our nation and each day of its life costs us irremediable lives and damage.
In my view, one reason, among others, such a movement cannot be formed is because cannot convince our people of its secular and democratic unity. A movement which does not follow the least of people’s wishes since the 1979 revolution, namely the wishes for Republic, Democracy, and finally Secularism sinks today like a heavy stone in the depth of people’s apathy. If Monarchists and the MKO and all traditional leftists want to join such a movement, then they have to duck to water, by abandoning their personal, ideological or religious ambitions for the throne, another Islamic regime or another form of dictatorship, if not people do not take such an opposition seriously and much different from the actual religious and dictatorial Islamic regime.
What does values does the Opposition represent?
The opposition must represent a free Iran, far from any ambitions, all representatives of key positions must be democratically and directly elected by people. Such authorities consequently must be accountable for their. They should oath to unconditionally respect for Human Rights, secularism and democracy; they should be independent–our people’s interests should never be bargained by whims of their personal or ideological ambitions.
Why should we avoid Islam or Ideology?
A part from the whole history, the two past dictatorial regimes in Iran prove the failure of any non-democratic system. Furthermore, the fall of any ideology regime in the world reinforces this premise. Our new generation has finally learnt not to be a lab of another ideological or dictatorial experiment. National state will be the fruit of Iranian people’s struggles for freedom and refusal of any dictatorial regime for ever; a modern and free society never bows to any ideology or religion of submission. In other words, any regime picking or inspiring its legitimacy from interest groups like monarchists, Islamists, communists, and right-wing nationalists cannot be a guarantee for freedom and democracy and thus not an ideal option for our future state.
What is to be done after Iran is free?
An Iranian democratic opposition must present its political programme now, before the fall of the Islamic regime, otherwise cannot be reliable. The programme must contain practical solutions to free the country from the long yoke of backwardness and dictatorship caused by the rule despotism and Islam over our country. It is to explain how to prepare the conditions for the following achievements as the unconditional democracy, social justice, gender equality, development of national economy, rehabilitation of an Iranian identity, reviving of art and culture, negation of Islam as state religion, elimination of all religious institutions, removal of all religious influence from education, judiciary, and all aspects of social life and independence of our country within its geographic borders.
What is the immediate policy like?
The new regime after the fall of the Islamic regime is expected to bring all criminals of the Islamic regime in the last 38 years before a national or an international court for their crimes against humanity. However, we should not ignore the fact that the essence of such a process is not the individual punishment but the rehabilitation of our ethic. As such, the process should emphasise:
– No Iranian woman is half that of a man
– No Iranian can be punished for his political or religious belief
– No dungeons, no torture, no political prison can be anymore tolerated in free Iran
– No Islamic jurisprudence under form of amputation, stoning, lashing, human humiliation, genital mutilation, forced veil, child marriage … will be ever be permitted.
– No death penalty under any circumstances.
In fact, by condemning the types of such a medieval norms, such a court will mainly contribute a lesson to our new generation, and a bid of return to our civilised pre-Islamic identity and culture while matching us to the modern and secular “laique” international community.
The Movement‘s foreign policy
Let’s make it clear that any foreign country gives priority to its own interests, no matter if we call this attitude “imperialism” or not. I.e., The EU has long ignored that their barrels of Iranian oil cost many lives in the hands of Islamists’ squad deaths. Russia and China have not yet learnt Human Rights and ethical standards in politics and are today the worst co-partners of the Islamic regime. Apart from these tow and few others, the opposition can use the conflicts between the Islamic regime and the international community for its agenda.
US policy towards Mullahs
The U.S.A., despite sanctions and rhetoric of animosity, can be satisfied with some reforms by and within the Islamic regime. The US conflicts with the regime have nothing to do with the trampling democracy and Human Rights in Iran, but because of stirring sectarian conflicts in Iraq, and the Mullahs’ atomic ambitions which can be a danger for Israel and the interest zone of the West in the region. Many accusations on the Islamic regime are also true of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and many other allies of the U.S.A. Washington has already found compromises with any Islamic and dictatorial regime in the past. This can be also the case with the Islamic regime. For the matter of fact, if the bellicose Mullahs refused to enrich uranium for their nuclear programme and do not oppose US interests in the region, the U.S.A – Islamic regime’s conflicts will not end up any crash. Obama or Trump can find compromises with Mullahs. With or without the Islamic regime, the U.S.A. want to advance their strategy in the region. In the highest probability, their “regime change” can mean a replacement of another regime’s faction–they prefer a faction of the regime than a new one, a kind of an Iraqi model of a Shiite government for Iran. Another option might be “à la military coup d’état” of Muslim generals in Pakistan. Our democratic and secular movement cannot rely on any foreign agenda plotted in the CIA, Pentagon, Intelligence service or their regional allies. The opposition can use the US conflict with Mullahs, but should not be dependent on the U.S.A. at all.
Difference between such a real opposition and the fake opposition
The Islamic regime in some critical conditions seeks out any possible alternatives to reduce the tensions. Under pressure of a chain of crises, the ruling class in Iran may voluntarily or forcibly be further divided into several cliques and power-hungry factions to take its chance of survival like a duck to water; they seek for handles with the inner or outer interlocutors. In another word, the Islamic regime might seek compromises with its outsiders like the Green Movement. The regime knows that only through such a flexibility can survive. The outer alternative of the survival is their lobbyism in the West composed of some outsiders and collaborators namely from the leftovers of the Toodeh party / Fedayeen (Majority) and reformists. The regime spends a huge budget to keep its proxy front active in the West. A democratic movement should avoid any compromise with any lobbyist group abroad or any faction of the regime inside.
Human Rights, Achilles Heel of the regime
The fact that a nuclear Iranian regime has a greater bargaining power for the international community should not downplay the disastrous Human Rights in Iran as our main concern; therefore, an Iranian opposition should put the priority on the question of defending the basic rights of people which are on a daily basis violated by the Islamic regime.
Ethics of the movement
Nevertheless, there are no military solutions. Neither blind economic sanction can solve the problem. Not only these are highly immoral, but also counterproductive and even exacerbate both Mullahs’ mafia and repression in Iran. Neither military nor economic sanctions must be accepted by an Iranian opposition as long as it does not merely target the regime.
What should the opposition immediately do?
The job is to internationally further isolate the Islamic regime. All diplomatic, cultural, and sportive contacts with the Islamic regime must be suspended. All foreign accounts of the regime’s officials must be frozen. The propaganda machine of the Islamic regime in the West aimed at influencing attitudes towards the regime, delivered through radio / TV / media broadcast must be stopped. Their mafia activities in the Persian Gulf and around Iran must be internationally under control. International mandates must be asked to be issued against the regime’s officials for their crimes against humanity. There are sanctions that can be worked out by the experts of the opposition and proposed to the UN, the EU and any necessary interlocutor on the forms and degree of sanctions on the regime, not people.
Position of an ideal opposition towards the regime
In my view, illegitimacy is a term which applies to any non-elected and thus mostly totalitarian regimes, whatever ideology or identity they represent. The outstanding points of illegitimacy of the Islamic regime are:
– Its Supreme Leader is unelected, and his repressive institutions permanently violate Human Rights. Therefore, the UN and the Council of Europe must be demanded to approve resolutions which put the regime on an equal status of fascism, racism, and criminal organisations. Such resolutions are not beyond judicial facts, but legal contributions to elaborating a charter of principles for the totalitarian regimes like that of the Apartheid in the 1980s.
– In the meanwhile, the opposition must try to represent Iranian people in the UN as the only legitimate delegation of people.
In Short
– An Iranian democratic and secular opposition composed of most opposition activists must be formed and respond to the following four major aspirations of people:
– Organising and leading Iranian people’s struggles to sweep away the Islamic regime entirely, it means all its Islamic relics, all Islamic institutions, and all its suppressive organisations.
– Forming a temporary government to organise a constitutional assembly for a new constitution based on the universally adapted norms of democracy, secularism and Human rights. The new constitution is only legal when it is approved by the majority of people in a referendum supervised by the international inspectors.
– Preparing conditions, as sooner as possible, for a democratically elected parliament and government based on the right that people can elect and dismiss all key authorities, from the head of state to the local authorities in a pluralist system.
– Transferring the power to the hands of the new elected government under the supervisors of the UN or international human rights organisations.
