While Iran today appears stable, this tranquility and silence is the result of oppression, terror and violence.
Iranian political opposition activists and dissidents are under continuous threat. They are deprived of any gatherings or meetings. Some political organizations such as Nehzate Azadi (Iran Freedom Movement) and the Shoraye Faalane Melli-Mazhabi (Council on National-Religious Activists) who are within the constitutional critics of the current status quo cannot hold any meetings and its members are perpetually under the threat of summons and arrests by the security agencies of the Islamic regime. Even the most important reformist organizations (including the Jebhe Mosharekat – Islamic Participation Front of Iran) suffer from the same prohibitions. Five months into the next presidential election in Iran and the reformists have already been threatened not to hold any national gatherings. They have also been banned from mentioning the names of Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi – Green Movement leaders who protested against the official 2009 election results and who continue to be under house arrest since February 2011 – and also Mohammad Khatami. These bans exist even though all elections are under the direct and complete supervision of the supreme leader of the Islamic regime and the institutions under his command.
The media in Iran is strictly controlled by the regime. Not only does the media in Iran not have the right to engage in any discussion over the nuclear energy that deviates from the policy of the regime, it cannot even comfortably and openly write about inflation, price hikes and the social problems. Independent journalists are under constant threat of arrest or threat. Some of the most prominent journalists (such as Ahmad Zeidabadi, Alireza Raja, Issa Saharkhiz, Keivan Samimi, Bahman Ahmadi Amooi, Zhila Bani-Yaghoob, Masoud Bastani and Saeed Madani) are today behind prison bars. Some are out on huge bails as they await the announcement of their prison terms. Other prominent journalists such as Mashalla Shamsol-Vaezin have been banned from writing. A large number of journalists have been forced into exile after the 2009 presidential election and live outside the country.
Electronic jamming of TV and radio satellite signals into Iran continues relentlessly and has born a destructive impact even on the lives of ordinary citizens and their bodies. In Iran, the families of many journalists who work for foreign media outlets (particularly the BBC) are under constant threat and are regularly summoned by security agencies of the Islamic republic. Forceful electronic surveillance and filtering of websites and news sites prevent the free flow of information and news in Iran. The national radio and television network and the national news agencies relentlessly distribute fabricated “news”.
By executing and hanging people in public and by exercise severe violence and police brutality against civil liberties, the youth and women, the regime strives to terrorize the public.
Student activists and organization in Iran are today experiencing the harshest crackdown and terror and are banned from any type of independent activity.
What is happening today in Iran is a calmness under authoritarianism; social oppression with the help of arms and weapons used by the military and security agencies, all of which depend on the national oil income of the country.
Perhaps what is going on in Iran today is because of the absence of a street movement, similar to the Arab Spring that is going on in some regional countries. But no matter what the reason, the fact is that there is a wide gap between the regime and the people of Iran. This schism became even greater after the 2009 presidential election and the fraudulent electoral process which was followed by protests and then a violent and bloody crackdown, imprisonment of Green Movement leaders and other activists, mass departure of activists, and closure of many news outlets. But still, the Green Movement advocates only peaceful means to attain its calls and stays away from any form of violence.
The Iranian civil and prod-democracy society and movement hopes that international pro-liberty and pro-democracy organizations will not disregard the horrendous human rights conditions in Iran. It hopes that Iranian society will not be forgotten or sold under the shadows of the nuclear talks or international economic agreements, particularly oil deals. Its immediate call today is the release of Mousavi, Karoubi and other Green Movement prisoners, the implementation of free and fair elections in Iran.
This piece is the talk the author recently gave at the Political and Democracy Committee of the European Parliament.
By Morteza Kazemian
Source: Roozonline