On the days of the 8th and 9th of July in 1999, a simple protest by students in Tehran, Iran brought to be by shifts in government and the shut down a reformist newspaper company became a violent battle between the government and students which continues to resonant in history today.
In the political fight, former presidents, Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani fight for reforms and support while the new president. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and his mentor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran. Khatami and Rafsanjani support the students and join them in the fight for democracy and reforms. Ahmadinejad and Khamenei are the conservative spectrum of government. The student protest occurred during the term of Khatami also
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In opposing views, Khamenei orders increases security to stop any plans of producing change with “his regime” (Maloney). Khamenei wants a homogenous society and economy all in his favor to prolong his power and influence in Iran.
Protest by civilians and rebels are common in Iran. Protests about religion and politics are the norm in Iran where physical conflicts will the effect of these protests. This instance is different from the protests and the Iranian Revolution before. The government authorities have made efforts to shut down media in Iran. There is set policy put into motion on July 7th, 1999 of keeping out journalists from foreign countries, so the “communication is barred” (“Student”). In retaliation of this policy, students
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There are reports of students and leaders of organization, who support the reforms, are missing and some are reportedly last seen being detained by Iranian police under Ahmadinejad. Even though to the outside world, it seems all is well in Iran, there are “riot police and Islamic militias armed with tear gas and batons clash with the demonstrators in the area of Tehran University campus” weeks after the Eighteenth of Tir incident. Clashes and violent demonstrations predominantly happen in Vali-ye-Asr Square. The “tug of war” between the students and government are even more frequent (Sahimi). The July 9th incident acted as a spark to ignite more frequent and violent fights in sociopolitical spectrum of Iran. Reform policies and a crackdown on reformist followed after the riot. A new law was passed with “any violent or peaceful act by a person or group against the regime” which included speech and criticism about the dictatorship of Iran (“Students”). Because of the huge significance of the Iranian Student Protest of July 9th, 1999, anniversaries are held every around the world to support the reforms in Iran. Due to the law against media, the students and reformist in Iran have no voice, therefore the supporters outside of Iran are their voice. The fight
Student Demonstrations - The student demonstrations began due to the rise off tuition fees made by the government that soon lead to rioting and protests from the students. These demonstrations effected the Public Services greatly as the majority of Police Officers were on the streets trying to prevent the rioting from getting out of hand and too dangerous, while the Ambulance Service and Paramedics were on standby ready for any casualties if the situation escalated. The demonstrations showed both students as well as the Police in a bad perspective. A couple of ways in which the media did this was by only showing
When Society does not agree with a new policy that the Government put into place, it normally results in protests near Governmental Buildings with signs criticising the work of Government. However, protests are both
non-violent protests that caused the government to get into action as a result of failure of court
These events of protest occurred in 1999. Protesters around the world gathered in places like Seattle, India, and all over Europe p rallied against capitalism. At these events, people asked for a peaceful change from capitalism to communism. Even though these places stayed capitalist, many people still believe that there should be governments using the communist ways. Although these protests didn’t reach their goal, the debate is still fought over(Patricia Levy).
In the late 1970's, the world was hit with the events of the Iranian Revolution, a movement in which the Shah was overthrown in replacement with Ayatollah Khomeini. Causes for this movement included the economic, political, and socio-economic conditions in Iran before the Revolution. Economically, the Shah's hopes for the country ended up being their downfalls while politically, the Shah's ruling as a dictator prohibited the freedom of the Iranians. Socio-economically, the Shah didn't place much emphasis on religion, angering the majority of the population. The overthrow of the Shah led to the uprise of a religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, a figure supported by many. Unlike advice
In August of 1978 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini responded to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi’s declaration that there would be free elections in Iran with, “The people will not rest until the Pahlavi rule has been swept away and all traces of tyranny have disappeared.” Khomeini led the resistance movement against the Shah during the Iranian Revolution despite being in exile. The popular resistance to the Shah begins in January 1978, transforms into a revolution in September of 1978 and eventually leads to the Shah stepping down in January 1979 and Ruhollah Khomeini becoming the Supreme Leader of the new Islamic Republic. This paper argues that the events of Black Friday 1978 are the turning point in the Iranian revolution. Black Friday changed a religious protest movement into a revolution that demanded an Islamic Republic headed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to replace the Shah’s monarchy. To understand how Black Friday came to pass, the background of the event starting with the first protest in January of 1978 will be examined. This will show that Black Friday was the first non-religious demonstration, thereby changing a protest movement into a true revolution. Then the significance of Black Friday will be examined by exploring the fallout of Black Friday, how the revolution changed shape after this historic event. To conclude this paper the importance of Black Friday today will be examined by looking at how it
He encouraged his supporters to engage in massive but peaceful protests, that spread through the country in 1978. The Shah and his forces responded by attacking the protesters, killing hundreds. This caused the protests to grow until it callumated in Black Friday on September 8th 1978. The Shah declared martial law and his forces killed thousands of protesters. Losing international support from the United States, the Shah fled to Egypt and the Ayatollah returned back to Iran. Protest continued with many blaming the United States for the Shahs actions and taking hostage workers at the US Embassy in Tehran. They would be held as captives until January of
Rebelling has been a part of many people’s lives whether people try to or not, but not acts of rebellion are the same. In Iran, the Iranian people rebel against the Ayatollah in many minor and subtle ways. These small acts of rebellion could result in imprisonment or even death. In Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, the people of Iran bravely protest against the Islamic government in many subtle ways which show their determination to risk everything and fight for not only what the believe in, but also their country.
The holding of hostages continued for month’s event after the death of the Shah. Throughout their captivity, the hostages were paraded in front of the media. Though the hostage takers were not members of the Iranian government or military, their allegiance to Khomeini and the Islamic government shaped a worldwide crisis.
The [Bush] administration found it consistently difficult to get the measure of Tehran. Bush depicted it as a “nation held hostage by a small clerical elite that is repressing and isolating its people,” but the reality was far more complex. (482)
In addition, the author recalls the Iranian government closing down all bilingual schools or any other symbols of “capitalism” and “decadence”. These became symbols of regression in the eyes of the Ayatollah and everyone must conform. The author struggles with the very idea of politics and religion during this period as laws of forced veiling and oppression came into conflict with her preconceptions of religion. The author cites an instances where the police locked the outside doors of an Iranian cinema, set it on fire, and prohibited people from rescuing those inside. According to the text, “The BBC said there were 400 victims. The shah said that a group of religious fanatics perpetrated the massacre. But the people knew that it was the Shah’s fault.” The secular Iranian perspective of the injustices being committed by the newly formed Islamic Republic was troubling. A release was sought by this group of people, the only problem was enjoying life and not getting caught.
Iran has always, it seems, been the breeding ground for some kind of political upheaval or another. In recent times, back in 1979, there was a major revolution which was, in some ways, similar to the revolution we are seeing today. The people were angry and they were tired of being controlled by the government that was in power. They had concrete ideals and were incredibly passionate about their revolution. The revolution Iran is experiencing today does not appear to be quite as passionate and does not appear to maintain a belief in any real solid political system. They just know they want something different. In the following paper we present an illustration of the current revolution that is taking
The tactics and methods used by MEK to hold true to an established goal that have not changed much since its start, have modeled the environment and conditions that have changed drastically over time. The goal of MEK has always been to establish ideology that blends Marxism, feminism and Islamism that would look like a democratic interpretation of Islam with nationalist political foundations. In MEK’s journey, they have found who they have fought with and fought against has changed, making alliances and changing direction of fire and terrorist activity. The MEK has found a less violent way to attack the Iranian government, through political and relationships with in the global community. This group has just moved into this new phase of operation, where violence has been given a back seat for now. MEK will continue to press for media attention in the future, and its rhetoric will become more sophisticated over time. The use of large rallies and demonstrations, shown constantly and holding on to a message that makes sense will win over the populous. Especially if the current Iranian regime holds to its active human rights activities. There will become a time when MEK will need to revert to terrorist activity and employ the use of conventional means to outs the current government, if the group is serious to insert itself into a new government with the population supporting it. The MEK is being patient, in standing for 50 years with maintaining its desire to create a democratic government that honors human rights and provides for freedoms not experienced by the Iranian people. This patience has been seen in other revolutionary terrorist groups and has been seen as one of the successful aspects obtaining the group’s goals. MEKs tactics currently presents a more ethical approach to its goals. This is in sharp contrast from the groups beginning and prove to be a more effective means in making true
INCREDIBLY, religious hardliners may have started the protests that have spread across Iran. Preachers in Mashhad, Iran’s second city and a stronghold of the clerical regime, called their followers onto the streets on December 28th to protest against rising prices, most recently of eggs. Many of those who turned out supported Ebrahim Raisi, a conservative cleric, in the presidential election last May. “Death to Rouhani,” they chanted, referring to President Hassan Rouhani, whose liberal economic policies they oppose and whose budget in December called for sweeping
The public whom are now informed through journalism and photography are often puzzled about the stories or photos, which causes protest events to develop. In the film “Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark” through the media we can see the repressed citizens of Bahrain wanting a change in their government. The citizens of Bahrain assembled together protesting for a new democratic government. With journalism reports from Al Jazeera, the world was now hearing their story. Countries around the world heard the cries of the Bahrain citizens wanting for a change. But with the protest, the Bahrain’s government was quick to suppress the pro-democratic activists. An NPR article “Bahrain: The Revolution That Wasn’t” Kelly McEver discussed, “Bahrain’s uprising was suppressed in a harsh crackdown. Thousands of people were rounded up, detained, and sometimes tortured…Several people died while in custody. (McEver)” Protests may lead to better outcomes, but in this instance the outcome lead to death of many Bahrain’s citizens.