Statement From The Women's Forum Against Fundamentalism In Iran (WFAFI) On The Iranian Election

Received via email from WFAFI:

With the widespread protests in full swing, Iranians are sending a strong message to the world that there is no republic in the “Islamic Republic of Iran”. Iranians live under a system of theocracy which makes mockery of democratic processes such as elections. Still, the doubtful White House refuses to call the recent elections in Iran a sham and rigged because it is pinning is hope on negotiation even with the unelected and Supreme-Leader-selected Ahmadinejad.

The fact is, theocracy has been in full swing since 1981. Over the past four years, many have come to know what Ahmadinejad is all about, the excitement is now over the new guy, Mirhossein Mossavi. A quick glance on history of crackdowns, massacres and wave of suppression, however, implicates both Ahmadinejad and the so-called “opposition candidate” Mossavi.  Both men were directly and indirectly engaged in:

• The 1980 engineering of “Cultural Revolution” in the universities and the subsequent crackdown on all opposition groups from 1981-1986 which led to mass arrests and executions, including execution of pregnant women, 9-year-old girl and 70-year-old grandmother.
• The 1988 massacre of political prisoners which led to killings of thousands including many women. The chain killings of the writers and intellectuals with at least 133 people killed, mostly in Tehran, during the 1990′s.
• The worldwide assassination of exiled political opponents which took lives of at least 210 people from 1991 to 1997.
• The crushing of student movement, mass arrests and executions in the summer of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
• The crackdown and mass arrest of women on International Women’s Day in 2004, 2005, and 2006
• The weekly public hanging including several hangings and stoning of women in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

So, even if the Supreme Leader, Khameini, would have sanctioned Mossavi’s presidency, he is still responsible for his crimes against the Iranian people given the above glimpse into his past. One has to keep in mind that the post-election protests in Iran is not about Mossavi. It is about rejecting the regime in its entirety. As the demonstrators shout “down with dictatorship”, they are taking advantage of the opportunity of regime’s infighting to press for their demands and desire. Unfortunately, the mainstream western media and  analysts have failed to recognize this glaring fact.

The world community must look beyond Mossavi and take note of the message that is coming from the Iranian people. It is time to isolate the regime and recognize its illegitimacy of all its factions. It is unacceptable that as Iranian people paying the the price of freedom with their lives, the world continues to “monitor the situation” in silence. Washington needs to be reminded that democracy is more than the mocked elections that just took place in Iran. The ongoing protests is about human rights, equality, respect for civil society, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of association and that is the weapon Iranians are using against the regime in Tehran.