In contrast to some analysis that one section is
representing the workers and lower casts and the other section
represents the middle class or neo-liberals, it must be said that none
of the above sections have such a followers or representations.
The Iranian People’s social movement which is at one of its critical
junctures has faced many ups and downs in the past thirty years. This
recent uprising cannot be considered separate from the struggles of the
past thirty years, as it follows the same path and makes similar
demands. These are the same demands that were never fulfilled, they have
been brought up time after time by various sections of the society and
they were met with severe repression by the authorities.
In some articles and essays of leftists in the west – people who the
Iranian left expected their support – refer to what occurred after the
recent election as a “coloured revolution”. Such analysts sometimes even
wished for its failure and congratulated the winning side, perhaps
because the anti-American rhetoric of the Iranian government were the
only thing that got published in Western media. In some media outlets
there were much noise made over the coverage of what happened after the
election, and people who knew nothing of the demands of our people
portrayed themselves as such staunch supporters that one begins to think
they were the orchestrators of the movement. In this age of media
manipulation, confusion and lack of reporting on events and positions,
many opinions are changed and made appear as if the movement was
pre-planned. It is interesting to note that there are two different
groups that called this movement a velvet revolution. Both groups saw
the appearances and both groups, from the left and the right, called
this popular movement a velvet revolution, and neither have an
understanding of the Iranian society and its recent movements.
There are plenty of reasons and evidence that in the last thirty
years, the ruling governments of Iran were supported by the USA, its
allies, and generally the western world. There has been no open conflict
between them and what we've witnessed in the past (slogans like “Down
with the USA”, “Death to Israel” and the like) was all a cat and mouse
game to distract the popular views. The only true determinant in
policies was the vast economic profits...