Karaj Azad University
Statement of the Pro-NCRI University students in support of recent uprising
Started in Mashhad and some other cities on December 28, 2017, the brave Iranian people’s uprising soon turned nationwide, spreading across the country at an amazing speed, with the protesters’ initial merely-economic chants turning as quickly to radical political ones.
Targeting the root of all problems, the uprising went a long way in just two weeks, putting Iranians’ 100-year-long ‘freedom and democracy’ goals – sought ever since constitutional revolution to date– on the table.
The recent nationwide uprising has some features that differentiate it from all other uprisings in the past 40 years, giving it a unique character that needs to be described before we can discuss the current position of the movement.
1. The uprising’s first characteristic is that it refines the movement of any reactionary pollution and reliance on the anti-human ruling regime. For the first time, the uprising emerged with a public nature and away from any kind of dependence on regime’s internal factions or groups, putting an end to all deceptions of the anti-human, totalitarian regime through the slogan “moderates, hardliners, it’s over now!”
The regime used to flagrantly confiscate all prior uprisings to its advantage, representing them as factional clashes within the absolute Vilayat-e Faqih system while trying to convince public opinion that the protests were consistent with regime’s principles and that they confirmed regime’s democratic nature. The recent uprising, however, put an end to this deception, showing in the clearest way that these are the fed-up and discontented Iranian people who have risen up against the entire regime.
The uprising made it clear that the only way to avoid foreign aggression is to reject the regime in its entirety, including all its mafia groups and internal factions.
2. The second characteristic of the recent uprising was its universality. The uprising covered close to 140 cities across Iran. In some areas, even villages joined the uprising, so that the regime was forced to send its oppressive forces to rural areas. Besides, the uprising included people from different social strata, despite the fact that it was driven by lower social classes and people who were deprived of all social and economic benefits.
The term ‘lower social class’ doesn’t necessarily refer to poor population, but it points to people who due to regime’s policies are deprived of social benefits and are somehow oppressed. The recent uprising was the first independent move by Iran’s lower social class who rose up against the occupying regime and their plundering.
3. The third unique characteristic of the movement was that it threw cold water on regime-linked theorists, totally rejecting their theory suggesting that Iran would go down the path of Syria in case the ruling regime is overthrown. The unified slogan “my life only for Iran” univocally chanted by Iranian Turks, Lurs, Balochs, Turkmans, Arabs and Persians all over the country made it clear even for the most ignorant political figures that this is the reactionary ruling regime that promotes disintegration and division among Iranians, otherwise the Iranian people, regardless of their ethnicity, language and tendencies, are demanding for a free and democratic Iran which recognizes the rights of each and every Iranian; a demand that will only be fulfilled through overthrowing the fascist and religious ruling regime and replacing it with a secular, non-religious one. This demand was manifested in such slogans like “we don’t care if you bring your tanks or artillery, mullahs should get lost”, “Mullah! That’s enough, feel some shame and let go of the country” and “down with the very principle of Vilayat-e Faqih.”
4. A distinguished characteristic of the uprising was its emphasis on peace and ruling out any intervention in internal affairs of Iran’s neighboring countries. With such slogans like “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, my life only for Iran” and “Let go of Syria, think of us”, people totally ruled out regime’s interventions in neighboring countries and stressed on peace and a policy of non-intervention in neighboring countries’ domestic affairs.
5. The uprising’s slogans were uniquely and perfectly worked out, moving away from a traditional and religious background; a pleasant dawn that promises of a secular future and represents people’s demand for separation of religion and politics and establishing a laic government shortly following the uprising’s victory.
In addition to the aforementioned characteristics, the uprising had more positive aspects as well, including global credit given to Iranians and Iranian nationality as the uprising proved to the world that Iranian people should not be mistaken for their terrorism-sponsoring and interventionist regime and that the uprising’s objective is to liberate the occupied Iran from mullah’s dominance.
By reviewing the achievements of the recent uprising, of which only a few have been mentioned in this writing, one can correctly conclude that the recent uprising is the beginning of Iran’s liberating revolution, a revolution that has just started, and that those who claim the uprising is over don’t really know much about how revolutions are formed and move forward.
Today’s international conditions are totally in favor of such a fundamental change in Iran and it’s within the west’s interests to fully support Iranian people’s uprising.
Considering recent incidents in the cities across the captive homeland –including the ongoing protests by workers and exploited investors, ongoing strikes in factories and industrial units, rallies in the city of Amol, National Resistance Units’ scattered but extremely motivating moves such as torching Khamenei ‘the executioner’ banners and Basij’s bases in different locations, rallies held in front of prisons to protest against the arrest of brave uprisers, and more importantly holding motivating ceremonies for uprising’s martyrs, which shows society’s explosive state and its willingness to rise up— as well as regime’s forced and humiliating retreats, it becomes crystal clear that regardless of the uprising’s ups and downs, the newly born liberating revolution is powerfully and rapidly going through its development stages, so that we will soon be witnessing its rising flames.
The regime is cornered at a total deadlock and is incapable of doing any kind of reform. Following the recent uprising, the international community has found out about regime’s lack of popular legitimacy and thus is moving away from it. The subjective and objective conditions for an uprising are available. Considering all the aforementioned points, regime’s overthrow is its inevitable fate. Overthrowing the regime and liberating the captive homeland is within reach. The continuation of the uprising is not merely a wish, but it’s the only way that leads to freedom. Iranian people have totally realized that they should not sit down until the regime is overthrown. And this uprising is not going to stop until regime’s collapse.
Greetings to peace and freedom
Greetings to the uprising’s flower-shrouded martyrs
Pro-NCRI students, Karaj Azad University
January 17, 2018
