Wall Street Journal<\/a> explaining why the current wave of protests in Iran are completely different from the 2009 protests about the rigged re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.<\/p>\nMaryam Rajavi, the leader of Iranian opposition coalition the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), wrote: \u201cThen, the cause was a rift within the regime. Now, the people are demanding an end to the regime.\u201d<\/p>\n
The current protests, which began over a sharp increase in the cost of living in late December, have turned into widespread demonstrations for the end of the corrupt clerical regime and spread far further than the 2009 protests ever did and show the international community that the Regime is on borrowed time.<\/p>\n
Maryam Rajavi explained: \u201cThe clerical regime stands on shaky ground, and the Iranian people are unwavering in their quest to bring it down. Slogans against velayat-e faqih, or absolute clerical rule, called for a real republic and explicitly targeted the regime\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. This dispels the myth, still harboured by some governments that Iranians distinguish between moderates and hard-liners in Tehran. It also undercuts flawed arguments depicting a stable regime.\u201d
\nEconomy
\nMillions of Iranians live in poverty but the Regime is doing nothing to help. Instead, they are spending $100 billion to prop up the Syrian Regime and support terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas instead.<\/p>\n
The regime\u2019s latest budget allocates over $26.8 billion to military and security affairs and the export of terrorism in addition to the $27.5 billion in military spending from institutions controlled by Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). By comparison, the healthcare budget is just $16.3 billion.<\/p>\n
Maryam Rajavi wrote: \u201cWeak and vulnerable, the regime spends such astronomical sums on regional meddling as part of its strategy for survival.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Iranian protesters have been chanting \u201cDeath to Hezbollah\u201d and \u201cLeave Syria, think about us instead\u201d, proving that they oppose the Regime\u2019s deadly destruction of the Middle East, especially at the expense of their own people.
\nIt is also worth noting that the Regime\u2019s corruption is widespread and well known. That is why there are no illusions of internal reform from the protesters; simply, the Regime must go.<\/p>\n
Maryam Rajavi wrote: \u201cThis systemic economic mismanagement has its roots in the political system, and it grows worse every day. That is why the demand for regime change surfaced almost immediately. It seems to be the only conceivable outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much bigger than 2009<\/strong><\/p>\nNot only are the current protests much wider spread geographically, they are also much wider spread in terms of demographics. Rather than being made up of mainly middle and upper-class Iranians, these ones are made up of people from every class, ethnicity, religion, and gender.<\/p>\n
Maryam Rajavi wrote: \u201cThe recent demonstrations span a much broader swath of the population\u2014the middle class, the underprivileged, workers, students, women and young people. Nearly all of society has been represented on the picket line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blame<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Regime has inevitably blamed anyone but themselves for the current protests. Their main target? The leading opposition group, Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK).<\/p>\n
All Iranian officials from the very top to the lowest ranks have toed the line and blamed the MEK for inciting these protests. The Regime has not only blamed the MEK for the protests, but have also warned against any Iranians joining the MEK.<\/p>\n
Maryam Rajavi wrote: \u201cThe torrent of statements by regime officials reflect their panic at the expansion of the nationwide uprising and the rising popularity of the MEK and the NCRI.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crackdown<\/strong><\/p>\nIt is no secret that the Iranian Regime is brutal in their suppression of the people\u2019s protests, as they are on a daily basis with the Iranian people.<\/p>\n
Maryam Rajavi wrote: \u201cThe IRCG has killed at least 50 people and wounded hundreds. By the end of the ninth day of protests, at least 3,000 had been arrested, according to our sources in the country. Numerous reports indicate that security forces literally knock on people\u2019s doors and warn them against attending demonstrations. The net of suppression has been cast as wide as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The international community cannot keep silent about this. The United Nations Security Council needs to adopt punitive measures against the regime\u2019s crimes; not just current crimes, but also in relation to the 1988 massacre in which 30,000 political prisoners were slaughtered. Their murderers have not been punished, but promoted.<\/p>\n
Maryam Rajavi wrote: \u201cPerhaps the final difference between the 2009 protests and the recent uprising will be that the latter succeeds in overthrowing the reviled theocracy in Iran. The people of Iran fervently hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NCRI Staff NCRI – The president-elect of the Iranian Resistance has written a powerful piece for the Wall Street Journal explaining why the current wave of protests in Iran are completely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[178],"class_list":{"0":"post-24145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-iran-protests","7":"tag-save"},"yoast_head":"\n
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