Iran: The people have spoken up

Sudden protests in the second largest Iranian city of Mashhad in late December triggered agitation among people in other parts of the country. Protests erupted when people could not withdraw their deposits from banks. A number of credit institutions also collapsed across the country.

People demonstrated in front of government offices and demanded their money to be reimbursed. They blamed the government for its failure to boost the economy following the nuclear deal. The high-handedness of the Revolutionary Guard (RG), a paramilitary, further augmented the discontent of the people. The RG that functions under the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to receive large budgetary allocations, at a time when common people find their life-long savings evaporated.

The unrest spread to all major Iranian cities. Students and the teachers of universities joined the protests. Thousands took to the streets and demanded fundamental changes in the governance of the country. About 21 demonstrators got killed with many injured. About 3,700 demonstrators, including 90 university professors, have been imprisoned.

President Hassan Rouhani defended the right of the people to vent their disapproval without resorting to vandalism. A spokesman of the interior ministry claimed that the protests were orchestrated by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Iran is blessed with oil, gas and other resources. It is a vast country of 80 million people with rich literary and cultural heritage. It has many historical sites, huge sea ports and long beaches. The extensive road network connecting the major ports with remote areas made it ideal for investment in multiple sectors including auto-industries. During the rule of Reza Shah Pahlavi, especially in the 60s and 70s, the country was fast progressing with an emerging educated and prosperous middle class.

Despite economic prosperity and resurgence of the middle class, the people were increasingly getting hostile to the Shah regime. This was attributed to absolute denial of civil liberty. Prime Minister Hussain Ali Mansour was assassinated in mid- 1960s. The government instead of unearthing the underlying causes of the assassination imposed further restriction on civil liberty. Consequently, the dissidents either went underground or left the country. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was among those who took refuge in the Iraqi city of Najaf, one of the holiest places of the Shiite Muslims. He was well treated by the Iraqi government.

The Algiers's agreement in 1975 brought about a semblance of working relationship between the two neighbours. Both Iran and Iraq agreed to stop supporting the armed groups fighting against their respective governments, accepted the Shaatil Arab as the border between Iraq and Iran in the south and expelled political dissidents of the neighbours from the country. Consequently, Ayatollah Khomeini was also asked to leave Iraq. He went to France and settled in the outskirts of Paris with his entourage.

Expulsion of Khomeini from Iraq did not whittle down the growing resentment against the Shah. On the contrary, Khomeini's speeches in audio cassettes found way to Iran and inspired people all over the country to participated in the 1979 uprising demanding removal of the Shah. When the law-enforcing agencies failed to quell the unrest, Shah left the country. Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini returned from Paris and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established,   hundreds of civil servants were purged, and political leaders and military personnel, allegedly loyal to the Shah, were executed. In the midst of the mayhem, Iraq invaded Iran. The war lasted for nine years, killing a million people.

The Islamic revolution introduced a unique political order where elected representatives would require vetting by the Supreme Leader in order to be functional. Ayatollah Khomeini became the Supreme Leader and retained the position until his death in 1989. He was succeeded by his son Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In all major decisions, including international agreements, the Supreme Leader - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the moment - has the final say. Judges, members of parliament, ministers and the president are subservient to the Supreme Leader. People aspiring to participate in elections at any level need to undergo screening by the office of the Supreme Leader. This is an autocratic system with zero space for dissents. This system has been in place for nearly four decades.

A MARKED DEPARTURE: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a marked departure from the past, acknowledged that hardships have led to the present discontent in the country, saying, "problematic financial institutions made people dissatisfied". He suggested that grievances of the people must be addressed as much as possible and took upon himself the task of following up the demands. This is an unprecedented shift on the part of the Ayatollah.

President Rouhani, on the other hand, said, "It would be a misrepresentation of events and also an insult to characterise that people had only economic demands. People have social and political demands too."

As soon as the news of unrest in Tehran broke out, the Trump administration jumped into action. At its behest,  an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council was convened in the first week of January to condemn Iranian government and express solidarity with the protesting people of Iran. Representatives of other member countries pleaded calm and opposed moving any resolution that would escalate the tension. They warned the United States not to take unilateral action on Iran Nuclear Deal that the international community, including the United States, had concluded with Iran in 2015. Russian representative questioned the very rationale of convening the Security Council to discuss the situation. He considered it an internal affair of Iran. No resolution was passed - the United States ended up humiliated and rejected.

Last week, Trump administration announced, "We will not remain silent as the Iranian dictatorship represses the basic rights of its citizens and will hold Iran's leaders accountable for any violations." Earlier, Trump offered the Iranian people America's unwavering support and committed to provide assistance in the days ahead.

The admission of Ayatollah Khamenei that people are dissatisfied with the financial institutions underscores that legitimate grievances of the people can no longer be dismissed as provocation of external enemies. President Rouhani has rightly admitted that social and political issues are also troubling the people. Given these realisation by Iranian leadership, a reform of the present system in the country is an imperative. People have to be given the opportunity to participate in the governance of the country. They must have access to the resources of the country and authority to set priorities of the government. The present system unfortunately treated the people as irrelevant and made them vulnerable to external provocation. This is a grave threat to Iran's security and should be addressed with utmost urgency.

The writer is a former official of the United Nations. [email protected]