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| Ural Hatemi |
Ural Hatemi considers the current popular uprising in Iran as a continuation of the movement that began in the last days of 2017, initiated by the lower classes. In an interview with Voice of America, the sociologist states that the rebellion that began in December 2017 with protests from the poor classes marked the start of a new era in Iranian politics.
Ural Hatemi says, “We should not view these protests as just something that started a few days ago. I believe that in December 2017, a new era began for the Iranian government, politics, and people. This began with the protests of the poor, the hungry, those with low living standards, the marginalized, the underprivileged—those who couldn’t benefit from the country's oil, trade, and economy and were left impoverished.”
The author of the journal Maduniyyat believes that with the beginning of this new era, the political path followed by figures like Hassan Rouhani, aimed at keeping the Islamic Republic afloat, has come to an end.
"In my opinion, in these two years, especially with what is happening now, those political currents have closed their chapter. The rhetoric of 'reform' or the rhetoric of 'hope,' as used by people like Hassan Rouhani, has expired. All these discourses used to keep this government alive have come to an end in Iran. No political current can operate in Iran without addressing poverty, unemployment, and rent-seeking," he says.
According to Hatemi, the poor and deprived classes have started a rebellion not only against the Iranian government but also against other political factions that have ignored the problems of these classes for years.
He points out that the Iranian government has not learned from the massive protests two years ago:
“The events of 2017, which were suppressed by the state with great violence and brutality, actually sent a message to the government. No matter how dictatorial the government is, if it were smart, it should have known that it needed to address this issue. It needs to reach out to the poor.”
Hatemi says, “The state that has sown oppression for 40 years is now starting to reap what it has sown.”
“This government has been reaping what it sowed for 38 years, since two years ago. What did it sow? All that repression, oppression, injustices, corruption, discrimination, rents (leases), spending the people’s rights on other countries to further its ideology. It is now reaping the oppression it sowed two years ago, and we will see the results. The protests continue.”
Iranian political activists have criticized the international community's response to the events unfolding in Iran.
Ural Hatemi joins in these criticisms. According to him, “Looking at what is happening in Iran today, with the level of violence and brutality the government is applying, and all the inhumane actions, we hear nothing from international organizations and countries against the Islamic Republic. They are not responding honestly. International organizations, especially European states, are undergoing a major test.”
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Ural Hatəmi: 40 ildir zülm əkən İran dövləti artıq əkdiyini biçməyə başlayıb