As the
driving force behind the massive protests that followed the disputed
reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the summer of 2009,
Iranian youths have demonstrated that they are committed to democracy,
as well as social and political reform.
Over 70 percent of Iranians are under the age of 35, and with
increasing political corruption and rising unemployment and inflation
(not to mention the constant annoyances of censorship, absurd
"morality" laws and archaic dress codes), these young Iranians are
growing progressively more disenchanted with the current regime. The
pro-democracy Green Movement that emerged in 2009 had been brewing for
at least a decade. The largest mass protests before that summer
occurred a decade earlier, in the summer of 1999. Again, youth were at
the forefront.
Thus, the series of demonstrations in 2009 that drew over a million
protesters into the streets of Tehran and other major Iranian cities
represented a kind of sequel to the 1999 student demonstrations that
drew thousands.
Despite
all the efforts that were put forth to engender support of the Iranian
youth movement for democracy, the Iranian government crushed the
peaceful protests, through the use of brutal force, imprisoned and
killed those responsible for the movement. Despite widespread
appeals
for support, to leaders in every UN member country, the international
community failed to (1) protect the youth, and (2) support the rule of
international humanitarian and human rights law.
Today, the leadership in Iran, responsible for War Crimes and Crimes
Against Humanity in 2009, are providing the military and strategic
guidance for the leadership in Syria. Despite the perpetration of
genocide and torture of civilians, the victims of these war crimes and
crimes against humanity have been abandoned by the international
community for over one year. See:
Syria:
International Humanitarian & Security Discussions: Humanitarian
Intervention Initiative.
