As the new Iranian uprising continues to evolve, so have various facets of the movement's strategies and the nature of Islamic Republic itself. A government like the Islamic Republic, whose legitimacy is derived from God, does not need the people's approval to rule, as the most recent [s]election clearly demonstrated. When one is not concerned with being viewed as legitimate, one can implement all sorts of brutal and violent tactics against the population, such as beatings, rape, torture and executions without fear of repercussions as the last thirty years will attest to.

Even on paper, the notion that one can orchestrate a “velvet revolution” or even remove key regime institutions, with regime officials leading the charge, sounds ridiculous. However, attainability and viability are not terms which reformists or their supporters at the American State Department are very familiar with. The reformists simply calculated that Iranians would pay the price for the uprising, while the Islamic Republic's reformist faction would ride the 30-years-of-discontent train. The extent to which Iranians loathed the regime was and continues to be very evident as by the 2nd day of the uprising slogans were already veering off the “reformist” track and becoming much more radical and anti-regime. “Death to the Islamic Republic”, “Independence, Freedom, Iranian Republic” and “Ey Iran Ey Marze Por Gohar” are not reformist chants by any stretch of the imagination.

The uprising proved yet again the bravery of the Iranian Nation and their desire for fundamental change, not just mere cosmetic “reforms.” The uprising has also provided critical hands-on experience to Iranian political activists.

Unfortunately the reckless planning and wishful-thinking by the regime reformists and their supporters at State essentially ensured that purely peaceful demonstrations would be brutally crushed by the regime. The self-serving and foolish actions by reformist have yet again removed another set of valuable tools from an ever-dwindling set of options for the peaceful establishment of a secular republic in Iran.

The Islamic Republic's reformists are a liability for the movement. Those advocating that the movement should harness the power of reformists are making an invalid point. Reformists simply don't have power; if they did they would have kept themselves out of court and jail. The same reformists that are complaining about rape in jails, arbitrary detentions, torture and executions are the same people who previously oversaw these very same programs. Just because reformist factions of the Islamic Republic are now on the receiving end of the barbaric policies they helped formulate and implement does not mean Iranians will forgive or forget what atrocities they committed previously.

There's a common sentiment across the world that Iranians should defend themselves and attack back just as they are attacked by trained and armed security forces. While American's have the second amendment which gives them the right to bear arms, Iranians certainly do not. One could argue that had Iranians the ability to arm themselves, they would never have found themselves in the position they are in now, whereby an anti-Iranian entity has occupied their motherland for over thirty years.

Iranians have tried different approaches to establishing an Iranian government for the last thirty years, and though our options are decreasing, our chances of succeeding are increasing. Already the movement has cut the size of the regime by half -- no small achievement for a movement that has to fight with both the regime and foreign entities that seek to support, engage and ensure survivability for the Islamic Republic.

The Marze Por Gohar Party along with like minded organizations and personalities will continue our struggle and formulate new strategies to realize Iranian people aspiration for Independence, Freedom and Iranian Republic.

Down with the Islamic Republic

Long Live Iran