Let’s make a note of it: If we remain divided, there won’t be a chance against the powerful Islamic regime with the vast and destructive power apparatus who has no problem in using it against their own population as they did in the 2009 Green Movement.
Sadly, my experience tells me that Iranians are inherently too stubborn to work within a group like Japanese are. A Japanese proverb says “A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.” This means that ten arrows are stronger than a single arrow. If you change the arrows to people, you will understand more about why the Japanese are so group oriented.
If my assessment is accurate, we are in it for a long haul.
After 40 long and draining years since the arrival of the Ayatollah Khomeini, I am puzzled as to why our political activists or groups have never compromised or found a common ground to work with one another for the sake of Iran and rescue her from a further drift, into the abyss.!!!
National Council
After 40 years in exile, with nothing to show for it, some groups gave it another shot at it to sit down, listen and communicate through a venue called the “National Council” known in Persian as (Shoray-e Melli). Many of us were under the assumption that since “the fire of youth turns to the ashes of old age,” perhaps there was a chance for them to come to a tentative meeting of the minds.
The National Council initiated its operations in April of 2013. Mr. Reza Pahlavi led the first general meeting, a loosely based umbrella group of 36 opposition organizations. Although, I understand, Mr. Pahlavi has since resigned from this organization along with a few more groups.
While this author wasn’t present, I hoped yet again this Council would become an ice breaker, a bridge of trust for further teamwork amongst Iranians irrespective of belief or ideology. Also, we should never count on any foreign country to save Iran. That’s a terrible mistake. History has proven this, time and again.
The MEK
It is no secret that our wealthy competitor known as “Mujahedeen Khalgh” or just MEK, a Marxist Iranian opposition group that claims to be the government in exile, is known as the cult of Rajavi, and feels it has the upper hand with the unlimited support of many current and former US and European officials and funds, though, with zero support of the Iranian people from the inside.
Personal note
I never had the privilege of meeting Mr. Pahlavi in person, but after 40 years of activism, his maturity, knowledge, charisma and full understanding of the current events in Iran is quite impressive and noticeable. He has become a quite articulate politician. In my opinion, Mr. Pahlavi has become the very asset that the opposition has desperately been seeking for years to represent them. It is urgent to stand with and support him at this crucial time.
Undeniably, Mr. Pahlavi is very popular among the Iranian people (young and old) and recent protesters on numerous occasions have been chanting his name to return home and “Make Iran Great Again.”
Mr. Pahlavi’s calm temperament and demeanor, makes him an ideal catalyst among different opposition groups. In a recent interview, he said: “He believes the people in Iran and abroad “trust” in his “vision” for a future Iran. He adds: “The reason they look up to me in some ways, is because of my own track record.”
Question to oppositions: What are you afraid of? It is either now or never. Nonetheless, it is freedom and democracy seeking secular Iranians who are thoroughly capable of dislodging the tyrannical Mullahs. They will eventually accomplish this task with or without any help from the outside, yet, it would be expedient to give these valiant fighters a hand so that future generations can recall this generation of Iranians as trailblazers who had the courage to break from the bleak past and launch a bright future.
Mr. Pahlavi on his recent interview with Mr. Mehdi Falahati ,on June 8, 2018, was asked what has he done and what plans he envisions for the future.
Mr. Pahlavi asserted, let me make one thing clear, so that my compatriots understand my goal. I don’t have the slightest ambition or personal desire to capture power. However, I feel committed and obligated as an Iranian that it is my national duty to support and fulfill the will of my people. And, even more important than this, the rights of its citizens to decide their own destiny.
Well, this forty years’ battle has been arduous and unpredictable. What has changed today is that we have a new generation in Iran who cannot be blamed for the calamity of the 1979 revolution. Today, clearly, they are searching for their own path in life. They also have arrived at the same conclusion that for as long as this regime is still in power, Iran will never see daylight anytime soon.
As you know, Iran is going through national protests across the country. Truck drivers have joined the strike for quite some time now. Before that, we saw the protests in Kazeron and elsewhere in Iran. What these waves of protests tell us is that they are united. They speak with one voice. This is the will of the people who are telling the regime, your time is up. Leave! Let me add that I have always chosen a path without violence and civil disobedience. And now we are witnessing that I was proven right in my analysis and organized protesters participated in this demonstration.
Falahati: What is your definition of civil disobedience?
Pahlavi: Look, you must fight for your rights. If you don’t, no one will give them to you. Today, this society is vibrant and they demand their rights. They object to lawlessness. They go on strike! They give slogans. They speak out. They support one another. And especially, this includes the blue-collar workers and regrettably today poverty is widespread among the Iranian people. What disappoints me are, the more moderately wealthy Iranians who are comfortable, have yet to enter the fray, not only to join their compatriots, but also to take some leadership role. You cannot believe in street slogans as final words. This work requires leadership and teamwork. Hence, we have a good start, but it must reach the finish line. And, that’s exactly why we must do our homework and teamwork, finding experts in every field who are willing to work together. I do my share and I expect others to come forward and use their expertise in every field, to help out, short or long term for a new Iran.
Conclusion
Great opportunities don't come every day -- recognize and seize them with every chance you get. If we fail to take action with this golden opportunity now, future historians will ask: how could the entire group have seen it coming and done nothing about it? What kind of opiate were these people on?
