Party of Sepeedjamegan”

    “Party of Sepeedjamegan”    
October 25, 2011

In my opinion the 1979 revolution, regardless of who or which foreign power had triggered it if any, was a genuine uprising of the majority of people of Iran against a corrupt dictatorial regime. In other word it was genuinely an uprising and revolution of the people of Iran, from every segment of Iranian society, seeking change and longing for freedom.

According to New York Times almanac; percentage of  populous participated in last three major revolution was"
1- The French Revolution of  1789-99;  0 1%
2- The Russian Revolution of 1917;        01.5%
3- The Iranian Revolution of  1979;        10%

Unfortunately due to none existence of an organization on behalf of the majority who made the ouster of the Shah possible the revolution was hijacked by a minority group that had the organization, the fund, the establishment for gatherings (the Mosques), and a sufficient number of unsophisticated “fourth-class” followers to make the take over possible. As I mentioned in my memoir; "Reza Shah vs. Mohammad Reza Shah"; http://maziaraptin.blogspot.com/2012/04/reza-shah-vs-mohammad-reza-shah.html
 that you can find on this blog, according to the Kenneth Pollack’s book, “The Persian Puzzle” the above “fourth class citizens” was a new class of poor people created by the Shah’s corrupt and mismanaged regime.

Right after the revolution and departure of the Shah, the mullahs knew that the majority of people of Iran would not accept a theocratic regime. That is why when Khomeini entered the country he promised that the religious leadership, including him are not interested in the business of governing the country and had said that they will go to Qum and will leave the governing of the country to the politicians.

That “smooth talking” gave him enough time for his maneuvering. Using his organizations (the mullahs all over the country) and his establishments (the Mosques all over the country) made him able to expand his power base which had created a bandwagon forcing the prominent leaders such as; Karim Sanjabi the leader of “Jebhe Melli”, Mohsen Pezeshkpour the leader of “Pan Iranist Party”, Dariush Froohar the leader of the Party of “Melate Iran” and others to jump on that deadly wagon oblivious of, by doing so, they had signed their own death sentences.
At that point, the time became right and ripe for Khomeini to reveal his real intention of creating a theocratic government and becoming a politician as well as the spiritual leader which is a well known principle in Islam, remembering Khalafat system of government.

Of course we know now and Khomeini knew then that his promise of not engaging in the business of the politics of the country was a lie. But what people of Iran did not know at that time and Khomeini did know was that lying in Shiia Islam, not just is allowed but, in certain circumstances is a must (vajeb) considering if the lie will benefit Islam. This religion-approved lie is called “Taqieh”. Please refer to a book by Shoja Aldin Shafa titled “Tavallodi Digar”.

Even though the majority of people of Iran are Muslims but they are not affected by the Arabo/Islamic culture of lies. They are still under the influence of their ancient Mehrian culture; in which lying is considered a major vice and consequently they were not expecting to hear a lie from a top spiritual leader like Khomeini. And the rest is history.

Well that is passed and can not be undone. The reason that I brought up the above subject is for those who forgot the events of those chaotic days and for the younger generation of Iranians to know that the 1979 revolution was a genuine peoples’ revolution but it was stolen from people and the reason behind it was the lack of existence of a political party that could appeal to the majority who made the revolution possible. In other word; it was the lack of a well established political organization in advance that had left the revolution to be hijacked by a more organized group, in this case the mullahs.

As I mentioned in my memoir “Reza Shah vs. Mohammad Reza Shah”, disgusted with the Shah’s corrupt regime; in 1972 when I was a major In the Iranian Air Force I resigned my commission and resided in the United States since.  You can read the memoirs on this blog: http://maziaraptin.blogspot.com/ 

When the revolution of 1979 took place and subsequently the mullahs had taken over with all those enthusiasms demonstrated by the people I became even more disgusted thinking; this is what the people have wanted, let them have it, and I decided to forget about Iran.

It took couple decades for the people of Iran to see the true face of Islam and realized that their good dream was nothing but a nightmare. When in mid 1990s I saw on television the student uprisings in Iran I realized that the people really did not want the theocratic government and woke up to their mistake and are trying to correct their mistake and they need help from their fellow Iranians abroad. Once again I saw hope for Iran and became interested in getting involved and started writing political articles.

In 1998 I suggested the formation of a political party that would appeal to the majority of freedom seeker Iranians. I wrote a charter for such political party and named it “The Party of Sepeedjamegan” and put it on the internet. But the oppositions, specially the “Shahollahies” were too fragmented and my suggestion did not attract the opposition groups. I suggested that any freedom seeker Iranian; even the monarchists could set aside their differences and could participate until Iran is free then bring their idea forward through national referendum. But they were too arrogant. They tried their own ways and failed again and again.

Lately a few opposition activists have been complaining that everything that they had tried so far has failed because the majority of people of Iran that want free Iran are silent (Silent Majority). And they have suggested that the US invasion is the only answer to the overthrow of the IRI. My response to this group while opposing to any kind of foreign invasion was and is; it did not work because it was not done properly and if you try another 33 years the same way that you had tried before it will fail again and again. Pleas refer to:

http://iranpoliticsclub.net/club/viewtopic.php?t=1632&highlight=&sid=3dc749ded433597ed74f1b261467d4a6

A free Iran is a possibility:

But there is a correct way to free Iran without the help of any foreign invader and that is; as I had suggested in 1998; unity,
 But unity needs a leader to energize the silent majority. The silent majority is silent in every country of the world. It is not exclusive to Iran alone. Human, like all social mammals, has the herd mentality which is instilled into its gene. That is why in every mammalian society, including in all human societies, there are only a few leaders and the rest are all herds. So please do not blame the silent majority, they are not at fault. It is the minority leadership that should be taking the blame. It was the minority leaders that for the last 33 years were unable to devise a formula for freeing Iran.

In the first ten or so years of mullah rule the silent majority in Iran, who put Khomeini in charge, were still hopeful but after that, especially since early to mid. 1990s, they have realized that accepting mullah leadership was a mistake and were ready for a new revolution but they did not see any leader or leaders yet to be able to count on. Thousand even gave their lives but there was no leader to take them home. They even resorted to Mousavi who himself is an akhoond. Is that a desperation and longing for a leader or what!

 All opposition groups abroad that the silent majority could count on are fragmented with no organization and consequently with no plan.

Necessity for creation of a new political party

The recent history has demonstrated that a revolution can succeed without any foreign invasion. In 1979, the Shah’s regime had the fourth largest armed forces in the world with the latest and the most sophisticated weapon system with its powerful SAVAK but came down by popular uprisings, (the silent majority).
 In 2011 Mubarak of Egypt was overthrown after more than half century of dictatorial regime without any foreign invasion which has created a prospect of a free and independent Egypt. But one can not anticipate a free and independent Libya with several foreign powers, thirsty for oil, involved in the invasion of that country. Every invasion has a price tag on it.

As I mentioned above the reason for the failure of the oppositions in their 33-34 years of struggles against the IRI is the non-existence of a political party that could appeal to the “silent majority”. The only road to success is by energizing the silent majority and they are the only force that a patriotic person should and could rely on.

Creation of a political party

The way to do it is the creation of a political party that can meet the desires of the majority of the Iranian population. In that case there is no need for a full participation of the silent majority either, only a partial participation will do the job. The rest will remain silent as silent majority usually do. But they do not rise against you either. They support you by staying silent which is a plus. But the real responsibility lies on the shoulders of a handful of thinkers with leadership qualities, or a coalition of thinkers and leaders. 

That is why in order for the next revolution to succeed there should be an organization capable of uniting the progressive minded opposition groups, a political party with goal and plan devised by the leadership that would appeal to the majority of people of Iran; an organization with a correct charter that could bring the groups in question together.  

Bellow is the charter of the Party of Sepeedjamegan. The charter is written in a way that it could be used as a ground work for writing the next constitution of Iran. In other word, the people should know what exactly they should be expecting before joining or advocating the party or its movement.

I named the party “Sepeedjamegan” after the group that was formed by our forefather( Ibne Moghanah) after the invasion of the Arabs in seventh century AD and subsequent murder of Abo Moslem Khorasani. They had chosen that name because the invading Arab tribes used to wear black attire and had black flags. The Persians, regardless of their religious beliefs, had chosen the White Jerseys to contrast the Arab’s black. Consequently I figured out that the name will have a unifying effect among the present day Iranians, regardless of their religious beliefs or ethnicity.

Plan for the formation of government in exile

The plan is that the Party would be open for membership to all like-minded Iranians, inside and outside of Iran . After gaining enough members, within some period of time, the party could find its leaders through individual participation in its day to day activities involved. The next step would be the election of the party leadership and eventually formation of a government of Iran in exile. At that point the Party could seek its formal recognition, from those countries that oppose the IRI, as the legitimate “Government of Iran in Exile”. 
After the removal of the present day regime, the government in exile, by having the organization, would be able to move in and take over on a temporary basis and immediately would set a date for an election for preparation of creating a new constitution, as well as for the election of parliament and a new administrative government.

Believe me; there are a few governments out there that are waiting for such an opportunity. When that is achieved then plenty of funds available in those nations belonging to Iran could be transferred to the party and money is always the life blood of any organization and the government in exile would be ready to govern. This; I consider readiness. What do we have now, what did we do last 33-34 years that we could count on? Nothing!

The Charter of the Party of Sepeedjamegan:

Formation of a free democratic “republic” parliamentary system of government based on constitutional law which embraces the followings:

1- Absolute separation of religion and State.

2- Individual freedom to a degree that will not infringe the freedom of others.

3- Equal rights for all individuals under the law.

4- Equality of all political and religious groups.

5- Freedom of religious activities only to a degree that it will not infringe, jeopardize or compromise the freedom of others. In other word; any religious activities in public places would be prohibited. Religion is a private matter and must be kept private.

6- The right of groups and individuals to ownership of estate and businesses.

7- Freedom of trade, travel, job, marriage, and assembly under the law.

8- Equality of genders in all matters.

9- Freedom of speech and the press to a degree that does not infringe the rights of other groups and individuals.

10- Create an educational system based on science without any influence from any religious views or ideologies and a long-term program to educate all people.

11- The revival of the purity of the Persian language and an effort to revive the Iranian national prides.

12- Devise a program for revival of ancient Iranian culture based on “Andishe Nik, Goftare Nik, Kerdare Nik” free of any religious tone and an intense effort in abolition of the “culture of slavery” that exists in present day Iranian society by making perjury, bribery, and deceptions illegal and making flattery a taboo through education and arts including the usage of medias. Please read "Culture of Slavery" on this blog.

13- To hold the government accountable for provision and creation of job opportunities, basic healthcare for all, and a social security system for the elderly, disabled, sick, and poor.

14- Free and compulsory quality education from kindergarten through twelve.

15- Facilitate access to higher education by increasing the number of junior colleges and universities and modernize all fields of studies in order to bring them up to a world-class higher educational system level. Also set a ground work in universities for scientific research in all fields of science, bring businesses and universities together for joint research in different areas of science and technology.

In short; to remedy the 1,400 years of stagnation, in science and technology, education is number one necessity for the nation and again it must be placed in the constitution to be taken seriously and become routine.

16- A long-term plan for modernizing the nation through scientific research and development in all areas of science and technology. Please read; "Brainstorming for the Future Secular Government of Iran" on this blog.

17- Create a friendly relationship with all countries of the world based on equal partnership and a mutual respect for the sovereignty of the parties involved.

Note: Considering our bitter passed experiences with certain countries a special treaty must be signed by those nations promising not to interfere in our internal affairs nor they should be having any espionage activities in Iran. 

18- Maintain strong armed forces for the security of our borders with a clause that the Armed Forces are for the security of the country against the foreign invaders and can not be used for internal security against Iranian citizens.

19- Seek national healing to make us able to create a collective force for advancement. Do not make the same mistake that Khomeini has made by murdering the oppositions, especially the military personnel which dismantled the arm forces and caused the opportunist Saddam Hussein's invasion. 

20- Create a modern legal system by accepting a criminal and civil code which has a great regard for “due Process” and is based on human rights founded by Cyrus the Great.

21- Privatize almost all government owned industries and businesses.

Adapt a system of free market enterprise and promote commerce.

Create a comprehensive Short-term and Long-term industrialization plan through devising a favorable business laws and tax incentives, promoting and encouraging the export industry particularly the export of home-made industrial and technological products. The goal should be to reduce the country’s heavy dependency on oil.

22- Change the origin of present day calendar to 2,500 BC when the Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus the Great or the date of formation of The Med Empire (the first Iranian empire), with the approval of the people through national referendum.

23- Replace the present day Arabic alphabet with Latin alphabet which would, not only facilitate our communications with most parts of the world but more importantly it will also facilitate the academic and scientific researches.

24- Vigorous campaign against corruptions, starting with all levels of the government offices.

25- Accept “Ey Iran Ey Marze Por Gohar” as the nation’s national anthem with the approval of the people through national referendum.

26- Accept the green, white, and red flag with Frouhar (the ancient Iranian emblem) in the center. The alternative to the Frouhar would be the lion without the “sword of Abolfazl” that the mullahs had added to it during the Qajar era.

Notes:

 a) Contrary to the general belief, the Frouhar emblem was not created for Zoroastrian religion but was the emblem of Hakhamenied (Achaemenid) dynasty with no religious tone.    

b) The lion was used as symbol of bravery by the Meds.

PS. We need a constitution with unchangeable articles which will include the doctrine of great Iranian philosopher Zarathushtra especifically his principle of “Strive for Knowledge” which Iran, after 1,400 years of starvation in scientific areas is in dispread need of. Please refer to: “There is no Need for Religion” on this blog, http://maziaraptin.blogspot.com/2012/02/there-is-no-need-for-religions.html
  also published in PayamAshena and on IPC site http://iranpoliticsclub.net/philosophy/no-religions/index.htm

All expression of opinions and suggestions are appreciated.

Maziar Aptin

sepeedjamegan@gmail.com