February 9, 2025
Forty-six years ago, the people of Iran rose up against the tyranny, dependency, corruption, and injustice of the Shah’s regime and brought about a revolution that was unparalleled in terms of the level of participation of different strata and classes in it. This revolution occurred as a result of years of repression, discrimination, and inequality. The Pahlavi regime had left no way for reform. The people took to the streets with the hope of freedom and justice. The result of that revolution, in the name of the people, was in favor of the mountebanks, and its outcome was far from people’s wishes. A reactionary force took the helm of affairs, which overshadowed all the dark deeds of the former regime.
The Shah’s regime suppressed leftist, progressive, and democratic forces, and in the political vacuum that emerged, the only movement that was able to present itself as a dominant force was the religious institutions led by Khomeini. They gained the trust of the people with vague, equivocal and false promises, but it soon became clear that their goal was not freedom, but replacing the monarchy with a religious tyranny. A revolution that could have opened a path to democracy and justice was pushed onto a path that resulted in nothing but repression, killing, poverty, destruction, discrimination and corruption.
The newly arrived in power, without reaching the goal, began to violate the rights of citizens; they intensified discrimination against women; they turned the protests for the rights of our Arab compatriots into blood in Ahvaz; their cannons and tanks from the ground and sky tormented the people of Sanandaj and made the city of Gonbad mourn the loss of its four brave sons. In order to establish themselves, the reactionary forces launched the massacres of the 1980s and even massacred thousands of political prisoners who were serving their sentences in prisons. Since then, this regime has not stopped pressuring, killing and suppressing.
Today, after 46 years of repression and killing, the Islamic Republic is caught in a cycle of various crises and is at its weakest point. Labor strikes, protests by teachers, retirees, the women's and youth movement, national and ethnic activists, the popular uprisings of January 2017 and November 2019, and the revolutionary movement "Women, Life, Freedom" have shaken the foundations of the system. The forces of repression are worn out and hesitant; the regime is engaged in a power struggle over Khamenei's successor and has lost its influence in the region one after another. Changing this system is no longer a possibility but is becoming a reality whose signs can be seen everywhere.
Our country is once again on the verge of a profound change. This time, if the leftist and democratic republican movements and all the forces that have their hearts set on democracy act wisely, the future can be shaped differently. The experience of 1979 showed that simply rejecting a regime is not enough; what is important is what replaces it. If the people are organized, informed, and united, they can take control of their own destiny by overthrowing the corrupt and tyrannical regime of the Islamic Republic. General strikes, civil disobedience, and solidarity among diverse groups in society are the keys to achieving fundamental, lasting, and democratic changes.
The Left Party of Iran values the people’s rise against dictatorship, dependency, and discrimination, and, learning from the results of the Bahman Revolution that led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic, calls on the left, republican, and pro-democracy forces to unite their ranks. Today, a heavy responsibility rests on all of us. In a world where the far-right is gaining power in the world, the slightest negligence can drag Iran from this tyranny to another dictatorship and tyranny. 46 years after the Bahman Revolution of 1979, Iran is on the verge of a great transformation. The Islamic Republic will come to an end, but the future of Iran depends on the choice of the people. There is still time to shape history consciously and for the benefit of the people. Let us understand the situation!
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran
February 9, 2025
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