“Unrest” In Tehran-Pars Or Is It?
By Mozhgan Bahar
Znet
22 June , 2003
Public protests have been growing in Tehran and other Iranian cities during the past few weeks. In Tehran, they spring out every night (after 10:00 PM) in different parts of the town and continue sometimes until 4:00 AM. Tehran-Pars is a neighborhood in the West side of Tehran (a city of over 12 million). The main street in Tehran-Pars connects four large public Squares. A variety of shops line the two sides of the main street and the residential areas are tucked in on the side streets. Iranians take great pride in their public gardens and each of the four squares in Tehran-Pars is a magnificent display of this pride. The First Square, (Falakehe Aval), takes up a large area with beautiful trees and colorful flowerbeds with ancient Persian carpet designs that renews ones love for her ancient culture at each glance. Water fountains, flowerbeds and colorful sitting benches are in shades of old trees to cool the people and to rest their tired feet.
Last night (Friday 21 June), the First Square was packed with people who had come to give the Islamic Government a clear vote of “No Confidence”. Almost everyone was sitting down on the grass, the benches or the edges of the numerous marble water fountains, chatting quietly amongst themselves. Everyone‘s eyes, including mine, were on the Bassiji. The Bassiji are simply paid government hooligans in civilian clothing. By all accounts the Bassiji are responsible for numerous murders and disappearances since the start of the Islamic Republic. The arrogance, self-ritciousness, and total disregard of these “civilians” for the people and their rights under the constitution, is public knowledge.
The Islamic Republic’s usage of Western “crowd control” technology is in full swing these days. I saw a well-groomed man; wearing a navy blue vest, give away canisters, no doubt containing toxic mixture of gases, to some civilians (the Basiji). Later I saw the word “Police” (in English) on the back of his vest. The men in navy blue vests seem to be the higher-ranking Bassiji members who organize and direct the rest of the Bassiji forces. Last night most of the Bassiji were on motorcycles. The City police and the Traffic Police had also been called in to deter the “unrest”. The good thing about the last two groups is that 1) they are in uniform and therefore easily recognizable and 2) they have little sympathy for the Islamic regime.
Walking around the First Square at 11:30 PM, I saw four large empty busses parked in narrow side streets. I wondered what all they were doing there? Were they used to transport the Bassiji and their supporters to this part of the town from other places? Another oddity I noticed was that many doors to private homes had been left open! Do people not fear the danger of these times? I gently opened a door a bit more and looked inside. A young woman was standing in the small front yard. I smiled and asked, “Is this a private residence?” She smiled back and said, “Yes!” I thanked her and hurried back to the square. By now the people had stood up and were whistling loudly encouraging the cars to blow their horns and join them in the protest.
Are people leaving their homes open to shelter the fleeing protestors from the wrath of the Bassiji, I asked myself?
The Islamic Republic may seem in control of Tehran during the day light hours, and even that is debatable, but the people have taken the nights. What do people want? Talking to the people on the streets, it is safe to say they want a government to protect them and their interests. The first step to this magnificent destination, they feel, is the removal of the “Leader” (Ayatollah Khamenehie) and his position from the political arena in Iran. The “Leader” is given his mighty powers not by the masses but by a self appointed assembly of Islamic clerics who are at this point completely hated by the people. The “Leader” has the power to veto any and all candidates for public offices, including the presidency, and to appoint individuals to any and all public posts without the smallest public input. The public resistance we are witnessing in Iran is to restore people’s power over the rule of the clerics. “Peaceful protest and small political gains will get us there sooner or later!” a young woman in the crowd said.