By Navid Felker
For the past two weeks, the people of Iran have been protesting and participating in the most significant uprising the country has seen for more than a decade. The people are calling for regime change and will not accept the brutal, corrupt and belligerent rule of the mullahs.
Protests and anti-government demonstrations have been taking place in more than 172 cities across the country. There have been more than 10,000 arrests of protesters. Thousands have been injured and there have been at least 450 deaths.
The Iranian regime is losing control and it is very clear that the uprising presents a very imminent threat to its survival. The regime’s violent reaction to the uprising has shown that the regime sees no other option than trying to brutally silence the people.
The people of Iran have the full backing of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the PMOI / MEK, the main opposition to the Iranian regime. The opposition and the people want the regime to be replaced with a democratic alternative that respects the human rights of the people and values democracy, freedom and equality.
The MEK’s “Resistance Units” across the country are playing a big role in the protests and demonstrations. Over the past year, they have intensified their activities in a real push to advance their cause. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the NCRI, had previously called on the Iranian people to “place everything at the service of the uprisings” and this is certainly what is happening. The people are making great sacrifices and they are literally risking their lives in order to advance this uprising.
Despite full alert of the regime’s security forces due to #IranProtest,#MEK Resistance units posted large portraits of @Maryam_Rajavi,the President-elect of #NCRI& @Masoud_Rajavi,the Iranian Resistance’s Leader,in various parts of #Tehran&other cities,like Tabriz,Orumiyeh&Kerman. pic.twitter.com/7CJkcMiYbY
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 28, 2019
People across the country are boldly displaying large posters of Maryam Rajavi and Massoud Rajavi in public places, showing that the opposition is very widely supported across the country, contrary to claims made by the regime.
The regime has been unable to dismiss the role of the opposition and, on Tuesday 26th November, the country’s Interior Minister made some admissions on television. Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli said that the impact of the uprising has been significant and that a state of emergency has been declared in five of the country’s provinces, including Tehran.
The Interior Minister also stated that hundreds of state-affiliated banks have been destroyed, dozens of petrol stations have been ruined and that there has been significant damage to more than a hundred government centers. He also said that the protesters have destroyed dozens of army and police centers and almost 200 police vehicles.
The response of the international community, like during the 2009 and 2018 uprisings, is crucial and will make a huge difference in the outcome. The two beforementioned uprisings, although mentioned by the international community, were not properly addressed, leaving the people battling injustice on their own.
In the immediate term, the NCRI has called on the UN to urgently send a delegation to Iran to assess the situation and take action to ensure that the mistreatment of the protesters is halted, and to prevent further deaths and casualties.
