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US hails Iran's 100th anniversary of constitutional revolution - AFP via Yahoo!

-The United States hailed Iran's Constitutional Revolution that occurred one-hundred Years ago as of this past Saturday. After reading the comments that were made by representatives of the American administration I found myself happy at the acknowledgement, but betrayed at the same time. Our constitutional Revolution was a huge step in the history of our nation. However, that same step towards democracy and openness brought undemocratic and corrupt responses by Western nations that eventually lead to the Islamic Republic of 1979. It was the West, in particular Britain, that helped the Shah at the time of the Constitutional Revolution betray his own people and regain control of the country. It was Britain again that helped the Shah hunt down the fathers of that revolution so that democracy would not flourish. It was the United States in conjunction with Britain that sought the coup of The Great Prime Minister Mossadegh. Finally it is the West, in particular the European Union that supports the dirty mullahs that rule over our beloved country today.

So while I thank the United States for acknowledging our Constitutional Revolution of one-hundred years ago, it is only a small expression of gratitude. It is time that the Western nations put aside their interests in short term gain for the long term assets that can only come with an open and honest relationship with the Iranian people. It is time that the West stops its animosity towards an open and democratic Iran and starts supporting the true grass-roots democratic movements that are emerging in our country.
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The United States hailed Iran's constitutional revolution on its 100th anniversary as a defining but short-lived advance toward democracy, and voiced support for Iranians it said who still hoped for an open society.

The August 5, 1906 decree, which called for the creation of an elected parliament, the Majlis, "serves as a defining political moment for advancing the democratic ideas it represented," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement released Friday.

"Iranian nationalists set forth a powerful and revolutionary concept: a written constitution founded on the rule of fair and just laws, providing for a free press and respect for individual rights," McCormack said.

"This short-lived but noble constitutional movement was a significant victory for Iranian democracy and for the cause of freedom in the Middle East."

Since then, McCormack said, Iranians have continued the struggle against unchecked power, corruption and wide disparities in wealth.

"The United States supports the aspirations of the Iranian people for an open society that encourages debate, allows for freedom of the press, champions human dignity and ensures justice, the rule of law and government accountability," he said.

The State Department message aimed at Iranians came against a backdrop of mounting tensions over the Iranian government's nuclear program and its support of the Shiite militia Hezbollah, based in southern Lebanon and currently engaged in fighting with Israel that has killed more than 900 people, mostly civilians, since July 12.

Earlier Friday, the United States issued a new rebuke to Iran and Syria, accusing them of directing Hezbollah to attack Israel.

"Iran created Hezbollah in 1982. Iran has funded Hezbollah and Iran has provided the long-range rockets that are raining down on the northern part of Israel right now," Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, said in a CNN interview.

"Iran is acting in a way that is fundamentally contrary to the hopes of all of us for stablility and peace in the Middle East."

On Monday the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling on Iran to freeze sensitive nuclear work by the end of the month or face possible sanctions.

Tehran contends that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes but the US and other countries suspect it is a cover to develop nuclear weapons.

Original Article

The Untimely Death of Akbar Mohammadi - The Iranian

-It is a shame that the Islamic Republic took the life of another brave Iranian struggling to bring freedom to the only country he loved. I don't have much to say because talking about this man will never bring him back. The time for talk is over. We must stand up and fight the Islamic Republic who has terrorised our people for so long! We must seek revenge on the murderers of our political prisoners. The Islamic Republic has been killing our free thinking youth since its inception and Mr. Mohammadi is the latest victim of the Islamic Republic's tyranny. He will never be forgotten for his sacrifices and I sincerely believe that his death should be brought two-fold upon the Islamic Republic's head. It is time to use the Qur'an's own teachings on the Islamic Republic - an eye-for-eye. This is the only language the susk-maar-khor mullahs understand.

Marg Bar Jumhurieh Eslaamee!
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For six long years, Akbar Mohammadi endured harsh interrogation and unbearable torture at the hands of those who have made Iran into a vast prison for all its citizens


It is with great sorrow and total grief that I am writing these few lines. Ever since I heard the news of Akbar Mohammadi’s untimely death in prison, on July 30th, I have only cried at the thought of how a young man’s life has been taken so tragically; how he will be missed by his mother and father and his sisters and brother; how his prison mates will miss him. He was innocent and only drawn into a life that he had not anticipated. He was a student at Tehran University who became caught up in the Events of 18 Tir; He was arrested and imprisoned, interrogated and tortured. He lost the best years of his life during which he, like many fellow students, still had dreams for a future, his own and that of his country.

The men who tortured him took away his life, his youth and his future. They were men who are clinging to power out of greed and for self preservation, who have appropriated everything for themselves while leaving nothing for others. Akbar Mohammadi lost his life because he believed in freedom and the struggle for the preservation of what is noble and sacred to all of us: the freedom of humankind, love for others and the belief that all human beings are created equal.

I had the privilege of translating his prison memoirs recently. As I read through the one hundred or so pages, I came to know a young man who was innocent, pure of heart, someone from a small town in Mazandaran who became active in the political scene because he saw the injustice of his society and wanted to make a difference. For six long years, Akbar Mohammadi endured harsh interrogation and unbearable torture at the hands of those who have made Iran into a vast prison for all its citizens.

He wrote:

My name is Akbar Mohammadi. I am sure you have heard of my name either on the radio or on television, and/or have read about me in newspapers, of my continuing struggle against the Islamic Republic; I am not sure, though, if you have any idea what happened to me in the prisons of the regime.

For this very reason, I want to write my story and let all my compatriots know what took place. By writing this memoir, I intend to document everything in the archives of history which will one day expose the true nature of Iran’s present rulers.

I was born into a middle class family in Amol, in the luscious greenery of the beautiful province of Mazandaran, in the land of Maziar, adjacent to the land of Babak Khoramdin.

In 1994, after finishing high school, I came to Tehran. After passing the entrance exam for the university, I was admitted to the school of Health and Human Resources at Tehran University, to study to become a social worker.

As a freedom loving student, I saw the injustice and the lack of freedom prevailing in society; thus I began my political activities. What changed me was the tragic death of the Forouhars in 1998, the exposure of these murders in the newspaper Salaam, and the paper’s subsequent closing. This tragic event had an enormous impact on many of us.

My older brother Manouchehr Mohammadi and I were arrested during a peaceful student demonstration, which began in the universities on 18 Tir/8 July 1999, starting in Tehran and subsequently spreading to many other cities, and which was broken up by the regime’s security guards.

It is ironic that I was kicked out of the University on the 27th of Khordad 1382 (June 2003) because of my long absence (I was in prison!!). What you will read in the following pages are the events that led to my arrest (after 5 days) by the security forces and all that happened to me while in custody. I must add that all the pain and suffering which I endured are not all spelled in this memoir as I have tried to forget most of it...

The Basij militia had come from other parts of Iran to Tehran to suppress the dissent. They were youngsters, who had become pawns. They acted from pure conviction and most were from the rural areas and poor families. They had told them that the folks in Tehran and university students were anti-religious and anti-Islam.

They were brainwashed thinking that we wanted to do away with Islam. They were told that we wanted to spread prostitution and corruption throughout Iran. Since most of these young people loved guns and wanted to see the capital city, they had come to Tehran, where they were given guns to suppress the students, many of whom had also come from the same rural areas where the students had come from.

His final words were:

This is a token of what happened to me in the last few years in the horrific prisons of the Islamic Republic; I can’t recall everything. I just hope that one day, the dark shadow that is taken over our country, the dark shadow of dictatorship, injustice and oppression will be replaced by the light of democracy, freedom on the plateau of Iran. I hope we will never see a single political prisoner, the reign of terror, torture, oppression and fear.

Until that day... I say,

Long live freedom, End to tyranny, Long live Iran. -- Akbar Mohammadi, Ideas and lashes: The prison diary of Akbar Mohammadi

Original Article

The passing away of Akbar Mohamadi - MPG

The Islamic Republic has yet again managed to silence another voice of resistance.

Akbar Mohamadi, who had been jailed due to his activities relating to the July uprising of 1999, died on Sunday July 31, 2006 as a result of his hunger strike in the infamous Evin prison in Tehran.

The Marze Por Gohar Party would like to express it’s deepest condolences to Akbar Mohamadi's family.

Original Article