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Feb 11, is the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution. It's probably the most memorable day in the life of all living Iranians. On that day the rule of the Shah of Iran along with 2500 years of Monarchy was over. The new government called the Islamic republic took over. The day of Feb 11, 1979 was one of the few jubilant days in our tumultuous political history. There were a lot of hopes for future. Unfortunately with time we managed to exchange a king with absolute powers, with an Ayatollah with absolute powers .We gave up the crown for a turban. Last 30 years have been a heaven for ultra religious fundamentalists who have taken over the country and hell for everyone else.
On Feb 11; traditionally the supporters of the Iranian government as well as government employees, school children and all those who have no other choice are bused in to the freedom circle. There are the rituals of self adornment and damning everybody else. The most famous slogan has always been "Death to America".
This year is going to be different .During the elections of June 2010 there were high hopes that there would be a change in the top leadership of the Islamic republic. Unfortunately, the people in power decided that they were not going to permit such a change. They cheated in the election. These events have given birth to an uprising called the green movement.
ashura protests
The leaders of green movement are a part of the Islamic Republic. They have the backing of several powerful Ayatollahs along with several millions of angry Iranians who are fed up and are not scared any more. They are quite wise; although they fight they do not push it too far.
The Lady behind everything:
All these years we were hoping for a man who would show up and get the job done, Just to add to our complicated life, the man with guts turned out to be a lady with grits .She is the wife of Mr. Mousavian who was the real winner of the election.
Mrs Rahnavard-Mousavian
Our new politician is brilliant. She dresses up like a peasant from rice paddies. However, she has a Ph.D., in political Science. She is the first woman in history of Islamic republic to take the role of presidential campaign manager .She is quite dynamic and articulate. She compensated for her husband's lack of charisma by energizing the population on her own. Having studied in a university environment, she is by far more familiar with the people's complaints of the regime than other candidates.She does not manifest the dogmatic deficits of the ayatollahs .She promised the kind of freedoms that the population is dying for .Freedom of speech, Woman's rights and human rights Her intelligent planning and successful campaigning caused the debacle of last June election. The Khamenehee-Ahmadinegad camp were taken by such a surprise that they could not utilize the usual method of changing of the ballot boxes to win ,they had to use the see through method of announcing imaginary numbers which caused the uprising of the population.
The Future?
In preparations of upcoming anniversary both sides have been mobilizing their followers. The government has announced many times that it is going to crush any anti-government demonstration .
Basiji
yet the leaders of the green movement continue on asking people to come out on that day. The main slogan has changed to "death to the dictator" and the dictator does not like hearing what the people are saying.
It is difficult to predict what will happen, but two things are for sure 1) there would be people who will be coming out and they will demonstrate against the government. 2) The government will keep its promise and will use its most savage force. The question in hand is the size of each group and the number of casualties.
Many Iranian intellectuals believe that the events of Feb ll would be a good measure of the events to come.
