By Staff Writer
Iran is going through regime change. And the historical city of Kazerun, with a small but proud population, is a sign of this change
For the past 39 years, the dictatorial Iranian government has attempted to break the Iranian spirit and depress a nation through oppression, poverty, imprisonment, torture and executions. And with an iron fist, it hopes to expand its operations of terror and its repressive ideology of Islamic Fundamentalism to the surrounding regions, such as Syria and Iraq.
However, citizens across Iran have said “enough is enough”. Thousands have entered the streets in dozens of cities chanting “Down with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei”, “Down with President Rouhani”, and “Down with this regime”.
Most recently, in Kazerun, they chant “No fear, we are all together”, “America is not our enemy, our enemy is right here”, and “The movement will continue until we obtain our rights”.
The events of the recent Kazerun uprising is a familiar occurrence happening in cities all across Iran.
It is a story of courageous people standing up for themselves and against a tyrannical regime. One significant underlying cause of the uprising is simply that: the Iranian government does not care about the Iranian people.
In the last month, the government has planned to divide the Kazeruni province and separate parts of this historical city without taking into account the interests of the Kazeruni citizens.
As such, the people have been staging peaceful protests in front of governmental buildings so to make their voices heard. The protest has grown and thousands of people have marched to the city’s main square chanting “Down with the regime” and “Dignified Kazeruni’s, don’t accept humiliation”. The Kazeruni people recognise that the underlying problem affecting the lives of the Iranian people is the Iranian regime and its Supreme Leader.
As with all attempts of freedom of speech, the Iranian security forces attacked the protestors brutally on May 16 and May 17 with an aim to suppress their voices. The regimes cruel police forces shot at the crowds and killed 3 young men, injuring many more, and arresting dozens. However, in defiance of the regimes orders, on May 22 thousands of men and woman participated in the funeral proceedings of the young men who were murdered and continued to protest against the Iranian regime. The crowd chanted “My martyred brother, we shall continue your path” and “Death to the dictator”.
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The ruthless and vicious suppression of the Kazeruni protestors has lead to international condemnation. Mrs Maryam Rajavi, the president elect of the National Council Resistance of Iran, the democratic alternative to the Iranian regime, has lead the condemnation of the attacks. She called for the immediate release of those arrested and urged compatriots to rush to the aid of those wounded. Further, Mrs Rajavi called for the dispatch of a UN investigative delegation and representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate the situation in Kazerun.
More so, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo showed support to the “Iranian people who are demonstrating against an oppressive government” and Senator Marco Rubio tweeted that “The people of Iran continue to risk their lives to protest…I join [Secretary Pompeo] in supporting the Iranian people and hope the international media also gives these important protests in Kazeroun and elsewhere the attention they deserve”.
Kazerun is a city with a historical heritage going back to the Sassanid era in the 3rd Century. There are many ancient relics, roads, buildings and caves in Kazerun and the surrounding towns that are of great cultural importance to the Iranian people. However, the Iranian regime has attempted to distance its own version of Iran from its cultural identity. For example, by banning the celebration of the ancient Festival of Fire, ‘Chaharshanbe Suri’. The Iranian regime hopes to instead impose its own repressive ideology of Islamic Fundamentalism as the culture of the Iranian people (which the people will never accept). Therefore, it is of no surprise that the regime has killed, disregarded and shut down the voices of the Kazeruni people without batting an eye.
Since the uprisings began across the nation in December 2017, dozens of protestors have been killed and over 8,000 imprisoned and tortured.
Today, hundreds of truck drivers across the nation are protesting by going on strike to show their anger at facing extreme difficulties imposed on them by the regime.
This is in addition to workers, students, teachers, mothers, women, children, academics, and more, protesting against non-payment of salaries, theft of money by corrupt banks, misogynist acid attacks on woman by regime thugs, banning of telegram and social media, arbitrary arrests of citizens, public executions, torture of political prisoners, non-democratic elections, oppression of basic freedoms such as freedom of clothing, freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and many more issues that affect the average Iranian citizen.
The matter of the fact is that the Iranian people have reached boiling point. They want freedom, democracy, human rights, and a better quality of life. The Iranian regime can no longer control the people with fear and oppression, as the brave Iranian people have shown recently.
Therefore, regime change has already been put into motion. With cities such as Kazerun carrying the flame of resistance, it is not long until the Supreme Leader and its thugs in power are smoked out of the country.
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