Iran protests continue to rock the country
Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Iran continues to be rocked by protests after the brutal death of Masha Amini (22). This young lady – and so many others since protests began – was killed by the tyranny of the state apparatus.
Masha died after being arrested by the Islamist morality police in Iran. However, since her death, the Iranian clerics and political elites have awakened the youth of Iran to challenge the theocratic oppression that is part and parcel of modern Iran.
Voice of America reports, “The protests in Iran, sparked by the Sept. 16 death of a 22-year-old woman after her detention by the country’s morality police, have grown into one of the largest sustained challenges to the nation’s theocracy since the chaotic months after its 1979 Islamic Revolution.”
Since unrest against state tyranny began after the death of Masha, another 327 people have died at the hands of the state apparatus that rules by fear. Just shy of 15,000 people have been arrested throughout various parts of Iran. Therefore, one can only imagine the suffering that is taking place behind closed prison doors.
A common chant aimed at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “Death to the Dictator.”
The BBC reports, “So far the US, UK, EU and Canada have sanctioned Iranian officials and ororganizationsccused of being part of the crackdown. Still, all the measures by the West have been carefully calculated not to antagonize Tehran and keep the diplomatic window open. Hence, the chances that the demand of Iranian protesters to cut ties with the Iranian government will be met are slim.”
America and Iran ties are not always what they appear. This includes the Iran-Contra affair, America and Iran supported the Bosnian Muslims against Orthodox Christian Serbs, Iran gave America covert information about Iraq’s military power during the Gulf War, the Sunni dominance of Iraq passed over to the Shia after America deposed Saddam Hussein and other murky angles.
Some internal voices – clerics and reformists – seek a different approach to the crisis. The Guardian reports, “The Iranian leadership is resisting growing demands from clerics and some reformist politicians to stage a new referendum on Iran’s constitution as hardline parliamentarians meanwhile insist the only response to the recent unrest sweeping the country is for violent protesters to be executed.”
Masha Amini (22), Sarina Esmailzadeh (16), Hadis Najafi (22), Nika Shakarami (16), and many others should be alive and enjoying life. Instead, they were killed by the state apparatus – alongside hundreds of more people killed since the protests began.
Sadly, it appears that the blood will keep on flowing!
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