Conference on 'Overthrow Issue'; Hamed Sheibani Rad to VOA: A Start of Joint Cooperation to Move Away from 'Non-Issues'

A joint conference by the Iran Novin Party and the Iranian Issues Think Tank titled 'The Overthrow Issue: Strategies and Tactics' was held on Sunday, April 21, featuring an unreleased speech by Majid Tavakoli, a political theorist currently imprisoned in Evin. Hamed Sheibani Rad, the Secretary General of the Iran Novin Party, stated to VOA on Monday, April 22, that 'the overthrow issue: strategies and tactics should be the main concern of the overthrowing community and a daily topic in cyberspace, but unfortunately, it is not.' He explained with two reasons: 'There is not a day that the regime (Islamic Republic) does not create chaos and crisis to disrupt peace and stability in the region and does not engage the overthrowing community in non-issues; non-issues that have largely managed to remove the main issue, namely the strategies and tactics of overthrow, from the political and activist discussions of today.' The Secretary General added that 'aware agents and unaware servants are tirelessly trying to turn the margins into the text and the text into the margins,' and on the other hand, the strategies and tactics of overthrow are 'an issue that is hard to respond to, and political groups and activists may not have a clear answer for it. We all know that the Islamic Republic must be overthrown; the discussion today is not about why it should be overthrown. However, how to overthrow it is a complex issue.' He stated that, based on this, 'the Iran Novin Party and the Iranian Issues Think Tank decided to collaborate on several projects to shift this dusty atmosphere filled with non-issues towards the main issue, namely how to overthrow the Islamic Republic, and to enter the space of political and activist discussions in Iran.' According to him, 'this conference was the first step in this matter,' and these two civil institutions tried to address 'the general points of the matter' in this conference, including several unreleased videos of Majid Tavakoli, a political prisoner who 'has a strategic perspective on this matter and has so far tried to address the issue of overthrow and the strategy of overthrow with a relatively deep view, to be symbolically present in this conference while being behind bars, and have his thoughts and words broadcasted.' The Secretary General also expressed hope that these two civil institutions could take 'effective steps' in this direction and turn 'the overthrow issue into a daily topic in the social media space and among concerned individuals.' Hossein Torkashvand, the editor-in-chief of the Iranian Issues Think Tank, began his speech at the meeting 'in the name of the Iranian nation,' honoring the memory of 'those who sacrificed their lives for the dignity, freedom, and prosperity of Iran,' and paying respect to 'political prisoners who spend their honorable lives behind bars to assist the Iranian people,' mentioning Majid Tavakoli, a political prisoner. He emphasized that Iran 'is under the yoke of the clerics in a steep decline and degeneration,' and in various areas, 'the suffering that people endure is truly unbearable,' and 'the grave responsibility of national forces is clearer than ever.' Hossein Torkashvand noted that 'we are not dealing with a normal government,' stating that behind the 'normal' appearance, 'mafia groups are making decisions, and the anti-Iranian cartel of the Islamic Republic has no regard for the fate of Iran and Iranians.' He stressed the necessity and urgency of saving Iran. The editor-in-chief continued to address topics such as 'extreme political thinness of Iranians,' 'the necessity of reviving politics,' 'the image of change with reference to methods of struggle against the Islamic Republic, including honorable sabotage,' and 'the image of the future after the Islamic Republic,' and 'the necessity and urgency of saving Iran.' Reza Arab, the Secretary of the Strategic Studies Office of the Iran Novin Party, described the 'strategic and tactical lines' that this party is pursuing 'in the path of overthrow' at this meeting held in Brisbane, Australia. This member of the Iran Novin Party stated that overthrowing is the most important part of the transition from the Islamic Republic, emphasizing the necessity of 'preserving territorial integrity and maintaining national solidarity, and strengthening the national transitional government,' and said that Iranian nationalist groups must start working on this now. Saeed Ghasemi Nejad, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, was another speaker at this conference, stating that 'overthrowing an existing order and replacing it with a new order' requires answers to three fundamental questions: 'Why should the existing order be overthrown? How can the existing order be overthrown? And what new order can be replaced?' He also considered the clarification and establishment of answers to these three questions as 'essential for Iranians to achieve the goal of overthrow.' During the joint meeting of these two civil institutions, an unreleased speech by Majid Tavakoli, a political prisoner, was broadcasted, in which he challenged political forces outside the country, emphasizing that the formation of multiple and diverse solidarities indicates a lack of unity among them. According to Majid Tavakoli, 'there is no such thing as organization, and what exists is within the realm of permitted and controlled opposition, directed and planned, and nothing that leads to fundamental changes comes out of it.' He stated that 'progressive forces' also exist in this context, saying that these forces are marginalized and 'the permitted opposition space has been created to control the situation.' This political prisoner, in a speech recorded before his arrest, also emphasized that 'what can answer all issues at once' is 'the issue being raised in the Security Council.' Majid Tavakoli also stated, 'If we do not have an organization for change, we can have a complete and comprehensive thought that answers all issues for change.'