Iranians call for regime change à la Arab revolutions

The Solidarity Committee to Protect the Iranian People’s Will, a non-profit organization launched by a group of Iranian-American activists, held a conference in Washington, D.C., to discuss the impact of Arab revolutions on the political scene in Iran.

This included an analysis of lessons learned and mistakes made, as well as ways of creating a “spring” for Iran that would bring about the change they seek.

This conference establishes a bridge between Iran and the Arab world, said a Washington-based Iranian activist, Ali Afshari.

“Iranians are keen on changing the regime in the manner of the Arab Spring and they are after seeing that happen peacefully,” he said.

Afshari added that Western, American, and international assistance is required for this change to take place, provided that it is offered unconditionally.

The conference was held at George Washington University and was attended by American and Arab academics, Iranian activists and members of the opposition, and American human-rights activists interested in Iranian affairs.

The conference, which invited Amnesty International and several human rights organizations working on democracy in Iran, focused on the Arab Spring and the impact of the fall of Arab regimes, some of which were Iranian allies, on the opposition movement in Iran.

Attendees analyzed each case of the Arab Spring – Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, and Syria – and tackled the reasons for the eruption of revolutions in each of those countries, the results, and the drawbacks, as well as how the reformist movement in Iran can benefit from their achievements and avoid their mistakes.

Ali Abu Zakouk, a former professor who fled Libya for the U.S. after being arrested and tortured by the Qaddafi regime, discussed how the Iranian opposition movement, which he referred to as the “Iranian revolution,” inspired the Arab Spring and paved the way for it. He is also the co-founder of National Front for the Salvation of Libya and head of the Libya Forum for Human and Political Development

The Iranian opposition figure Akbar Ganji, a former official in the Islamic republic who was imprisoned during Mohamed Khatami’s presidency for demanding radical regime change, spoke about the Iranian influence on the Arab Spring.

He started with the Iranian Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini against the shah, which he fervently supported at the time. However, he later began criticizing the revolution and accused Khomeini of replacing the dictatorship of the shah with that of the Supreme Leader (Velayet-e-Faqih) and of becoming another despotic leader.

He added that Khomeini, who started off as a religious scholar and a hermit, deceived Iranians with the idea of the religious government, and warned Arabs of falling in the same trap. He called upon Arabs to establish civil states that allow for the smooth transition of power and the establishment of full democracy.

Ganji criticized statements by the Iranian regime about wiping Israel off the map, which he labeled “stupid,” adding that Israel is here to stay. In addition, he criticized the position of the United States on the establishment of a Palestinian state, which he said is the right of all Palestinians.

Mariam al-Mamlouk, an academic and researcher born to a Tunisian father and an American mother, argued that the Iranian people would need foreign assistance to launch their. She pointed out that the case was quite different in Tunisia, where the departure of the president, Zein el-Abedine Bin Ali, made regime change much easier.

(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)