Letter from the Publisher
August 2009
The “green revolution” in the Islamic Republic of Iran is a movement that will be going on for some time until changes occur in the system of government that has ruled the country for the last thirty years. This popular mass action which began on June 12th by hundreds of thousands of disgruntled citizens who believed that the presidential election results were fraudulent is within the framework of Iran's constitution and its laws. People have a right to peaceful demonstration to express themselves and to ask for justice to be served. The massive voter turnout for opposition and reformist candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi clearly expressed the will and desire of a majority of Iran's population for change in their political future. Iran is in the midst of huge wave of transition and its people are demanding that their voices be heard, honored and respected. Efforts by the authorities to crack down on the protesters and deny them their rights are illegal and add insult to injury on this proud nation.
The other post election phenomenon which is unprecedented in modern Iranian history is that the movement for change has also united Iranians abroad and motivated them to also demonstrate their support for their fellow citizens in Iran. For the first time Iranians from all walks of life have put aside their own differences and political affiliations and are united in their sympathy and support for freedom democracy and justice in their home country. Numerous protests have been held in over 80 cities around the world including many in the United States, in places such as Washington, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco which are major hubs for Iranian expatriates. Just last week alone there were 15,000 participants in a mass rally in San Francisco. These are independent actions by Iranians abroad and are not a sign of intervention by Western countries, as the regime in Tehran would like to blame. Iranians are also demanding that those hundreds or possibly thousands of demonstrators who have been arrested in Iran to be released. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have issued statements and organized global protests urging Iranian authorities to end the crackdown on opposition activists and release those detained and allow access to lawyers.
We believe that the Islamic regime in Tehran should realize that they cannot continue to suppress such a large movement by increasingly repressive measures, which bears the risk of transforming the country into a military state. The last revolution that deposed the Shah and brought in the Islamic Republic began in the same manner and with every arrest and death the populace became more emboldened and the slogans became worse. Perhaps the authorities are already realizing this given the fact that Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered the closure of the notorious Kahrizak prison and President Ahmadinejad has announced the release of 140 detainees from the protests. But a lot more needs to be done in the line of freedom and justice, and security forces must adhere to the constitution to guarantee the voice of the people in decision making if Iran still wants to be an Islamic Republic and not turn into a theocratic and military dictatorship.
