Current Event #8: Challenging Iran, with Youtube Videos

Click here to read The New York Times article, from April 9th, 2010. Mohsen Sazegara acknowledges that many Iranians are apathetic in regards to nonviolent protest, especially considering Iran's history. But, Mr. Sazegara, an architect of the Revolutionary Guards, believes that many are disenchanted with the Islamic Republic and harbor a mystic background that could be focused into nonviolent protest. In an attempt to promote mysticism, Mr. Sazegara has been producing 10 minute YouTube videos that he sends into Iran nightly. In summary, Mr. Sazegara is trying to destroy the very system that he created. Thirty-two years ago, he was hired as a press aide for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini while studying physics in the United States. From there, he took on a series of various jobs, including a position drafting the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. It was finally this past decade that Mr. Sazegara began to oppose the government and its structure. He claims that "the problems are not accidental; they are essential. It doesn’t make any difference who are the people. It is the structure.” It is here, in his faux colonial town house in the United States, that Mr. Sazegara records and updates nightly videos opposing the government that he once supported. He developed this idea following the government's barring of his encouragement of post-election protests on the Voice of America show. According to Mr. Sazegara, his "strategy is nonviolence, so we should learn how to protest but not to be killed,” he said. “We should learn to oppose the regime, how to paralyze them, how to wear them out, but not to be killed, not to be arrested.” While Mr. Sazegara isn't trying to lead a protest movement, he is rather trying to amplify the feelings of many. Some, however, have grown frustrated with his actions as they believe he truly is trying to create protest and is giving the government fuel to portray the opposition as a foreign plot. As of now, Mr. Sazegara remains hopeful for the future. In reference to the Green Movement, he says that "when the balance switches depends on too many factors, and nobody can see an exact date." This article is important because it discusses the civil right of freedom of speech and censorship of the media. It also talks about the growing Green Movement, as well as the legitimacy of the government.

Thanks to The New York Times for the image!

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