Iran Uprising: Historic Parallels To Today's Protests
Huffington Post Stuart Whatley First Posted: 06-16-09 08:01 PM Updated: 06-16-09 10:01 PM
The massive socio-political movement in Iran, following the highly controversial announcement Saturday declaring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the victor of that state's presidential election, is reminiscent of a number of other such uprisings during the past few decades -- with some being notably more violent than others. However, it should be noted, the situation in Iran is by no means a "revolution" at this junction, and experts and pundits aplenty agree that such an appellation would be both premature and inappropriate. Nevertheless, a look back is merited, given the situational picture painted by images, video and reports that have made their way out of Iran thus far.
An especially violent historical parallel is Rhodesia's (now Zimbabwe) Second Chimurenga, that began in 1964 and lasted until 1979, which began as a civil disobedience movement, but escalated into civil war against the minority white colonial ruling faction. The eventual result was Zimbabwean independence, with Robert Mugabe taking power over the new Republic of Zimbabwe in 1980.
A more peaceful example is Portugal's 1974 Carnation Revolution, which saw thousands of civilian dissidents take to the streets to side with military insurgents in the country's two-year-long civil war (?!). The eventual result was an almost bloodless coup whereby an authoritarian regime was supplanted by democracy.
A very obvious parallel to Iran today is of course the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979, when demonstrators brought the country to a standstill and forced the US-backed Shah to flee. The result was that the monarchy was replaced with the current Islamic Republican system.
A popular uprising that saw far more bloodshed, however, is the 8888 Uprising in Burma (also known as Myanmar), when on August 8, 1988 student protesters joined with monks, doctors, housewives and even children in a call for democracy. The movement ended with the slaughter of thousands of protesters by the Tatmadaw (Burmese Armed Forces). This is also when opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, now on trial, entered politics. Read more here.
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Excepção feita àquela cena bizarra da publicidade à morte da mosca em directo, o presidente dos EUA na sua entrevista sobre o Irão tem toda a razão: esta admirável gente iraniana não merece só um líder reformista, merecia sim um regime novo. mas veja-se o que aconteceu na Birmânia (Myanmar)há pouco tempo. Ou na China há anos.
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