NEWS CENTER - There are public squares bearing the name of revolution and freedom in every city of Iran. Thousands of people who tried to travel the short but arduous road from Revolution Square to Azadî Square in 43 years were killed and executed. The Iranians seem determined to pave the way this time.

 

The protests that have been going on across Iran since September 16, when Jîna Emini died as a result of police violence in Tehran, have left behind two and a half months. According to the report of Iran Human Rights Organization dated November 28; at least 448 people, including 60 children and 29 women, were killed as a result of the regime's attacks on demonstrations in Iran and Rojhilat. Of the 72 people killed by the regime forces between November 16-21, 56 of those people were from Rojhilat. Almost half of the deaths in 26 of Iran's 31 provinces occurred in the provinces of Sistan and Balochistan and the cities of Rojhilat. It is stated that at least 43 people were killed during the protests in Tehran. Of course, these are official figures. The majority of the people I interviewed stated that many families had to hide the information that their children were killed by the regime as a result of the threats of the regime. It is stated that more than 18 thousand people were detained during the protests in the country where thousands of people were injured.

 

FROM MAHABAD TO TAHRAN

 

After visiting the cities of Rojhilat, I wanted to observe the situation in Tahran, the capital of Iran, which has a population of about 18 million. I took the bus from Mahabad Bus Terminal in the evening and reached Tehran in the morning. Despite the wide roads, the traffic is very heavy from the entrance of Tehran and the vehicles are moving slowly. About an hour after I enter the city, I arrive at the West Terminal right next to the Azadî Tower, one of the important centers of the city. I walked towards the Azadî Tower, which is visited for the first time by those who come to the capital from the surrounding cities to take a breather and rest. In the park where the Azadî Tower is located, there are preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar. Again, statues representing the trophy were placed around the puck. A few young people from Khuzestan, one of the poorest provinces in the country, hoping to find a job, are trying to rest on the grass despite the cold weather. After taking a few photos here, I started to wander around the capital. There is a morning crowd on the streets, people are in a hurry to get to work.

 

MORALITY POLICE BECAME OBSOLOTE!

 

While wandering around both side streets and main streets, I see a significant increase in the number of women walking without hijabs as an objection to Gaşt e İrshad (morality police) compared to my previous visits. Whether the regime declares it or not, the streets of Tahran show that the morality police has no power, just as I have seen in the cities of Rojhilat.

 

'DEATH TO DICTATOR' AND BLOODY HANDS

 

I wanted to go to the Nehc-ül Belağa Park, which was built in a large part of the Ferehzade valley between the Nîayeş, Hemet and Yadîgarî Imam highways. This large park, which Tahran residents visit to relax and have a picnic, is mostly visited by high school students coming out of school during the lunch break. At many points, male and female students sing and laugh. Young people, who eat and drink there with stuff they buy from the buffet together, do not care about anyone. While wandering the length of the park, the graffitis of the slogans "Dictator Khamenei", "Mahsa (Jîna) Emini", "Zen, Zendegî Azadî (Jin, Jiyan Azadî)" draw attention on almost every wall. The inscription "Death to the Dictator" shows that the young people do not hesitate to write their slogans on the walls.

 

While going from this large park towards the city center, there are "bloody hand" signs and  graffitis on almost every overpass and on the walls to draw attention to the murders of the regime forces.

 

THE EVİN PRISON EXECUTIONER!  

 

While waiting at a bus stop, the inscription "Merg ber Xamaney Celadî Zindanî Ewîn" (Death to Evîn Prison Executioner Khamenei) draws attention. Evin Prison is the largest prison for political prisoners in Iran. Some of the wards of this prison, which is frequently mentioned with torture, are managed by other institutions outside the control of the regime's judiciary. It is stated that the 209 and 240 wards of the prison are under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards, and serve as an unofficial detention center where the interrogations and tortures are covered up and kept secret. Evîn Prison came to the fore with the news that at least 4 detainees lost their lives and more than 60 were injured in the fire that broke out on October 16.

 

PRESS IS TARGETTED

 

As they continue to tour the city, motorised police teams are standing by in front of almost every government office. In Tahran, where protests are mostly held in universities and between neighborhoods at night, posters supporting the regime, explaining that foreign powers are confusing the country were hung on billboards by the supporters of the regime. Again, at some points, the names of some international media organizations are targeted as "murderer" under the names of the police officers who lost their lives in the demonstrations, especially on the telecommunication boards on the walls and sidewalks.

 

PRO-GOVERNMENT MEDIA CONTINUES WITH THE DISINFORMATION AND LIES

 

During my stay in Iran, all the official television channels focused on special programs explaining that the popular uprising was organized by "foreign powers". Again, a special documentary is made directly on the slogan "Zen, Zendegî Azadî (Jin Jiyan Azadî)", and the "harms" of this are told by male and female religious officials and shown on television almost every day. A citizen, whom I asked if documentaries consisting of the life stories of policemen and soldiers who lost their lives in previous years, were given during this period, states that such programs were made before, but after the demonstrations started, they focused on showing them. In most of the newspapers published in the country and in the news and some infographic studies served by official agencies, human rights organizations inside and outside the country, European countries, Saudi Arabia and the USA, artists, politicians and activists living in the diaspora are targeted.

 

OBTAINING INFORMATION FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES

 

Ignoring the murder of children, women and young people, the press attributes the protests of the shopkeepers strike which they carried out by closing their shops to "bullying", and the marches of the young people who take action to "vandalism". The sources I interviewed stated that despite all this, such black propaganda and broadcasts aimed at perception did not find a response in the public as before, and people mostly followed telegram channels and different sources by breaking the internet ban. 

 

FROM REVOLUTION TO FREEDOM...

 

There are "Revolution" and "Azadi (Freedom)" squares in every city of Iran. These two names are given to important squares in Tehran. There is a remarkable designation for these names spoken among Iranians and people of Rojhilat. When I told the friend who accompanied me on my trip that this situation caught my attention, he said: "You are right. There are squares with these names everywhere. This is our interpretetion of it. 43 years ago, the peoples made a revolution. But at the point reached in 43 years, people haven't yet reached freedom. The roads from Revolution Square to Azadî Square have always been closed."

 

Thousands of people were killed, executed and exiled while trying to travel the short but arduous road from Revolution Square to Azadi Square for 43 years in Iran.

 

After the murder of Jîna Eminî on September 16, the peoples who took to the streets and raised their objections are determined to pave the way to the freedom (Azadi) this time.

 

(The end)

 

MA / Abdurrahman Gök