Over 300 Activists Call for 'Structural Change' and 'Referendum for the Realization of National Sovereignty'

More than 300 political, social, and cultural activists issued a statement on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, emphasizing the necessity for 'structural change' and holding a 'referendum to realize sovereignty based on the vote and will of the people.' They pointed to the 'accumulation of social, political, and economic crises stemming from the mismanagement of the government over recent decades,' stating that this situation has left Iran facing a wide range of bitter consequences. The signatories added, 'In response to the current situation, protests from various sectors of the nation have brought ongoing movements to the forefront, shaking the pillars of power.' The statement referenced the killing of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police last September, noting that 'the generation raised under the current regime' took to the streets with the slogan 'Women, Life, Freedom,' disrupting the government's calculations. According to these activists, 'the cracks this time have created much deeper rifts in the political system, leading to heavy costs for the government and serious internal losses. The audacity of this agitated generation was such that it broke the wall of fear that previous generations had.' The signatories declared that 'the solidarity against compulsory hijab and executions has revitalized national cohesion and the sense of solidarity among Iranians inside and outside the borders.' They added, 'The rebellion of women against years of accumulated humiliations was so shocking that there was no power to deter it.' They emphasized that 'force, imprisonment, and torture were weapons, but they could not make women and youth submissive,' and noted that 'non-violent protests were ongoing for several months and spread continuously across cities, with civil disobedience led by women continuing.' The statement also referred to the Iranian government's extensive use of repression, which has resulted in thousands of students, job-seeking graduates, teachers, university professors, workers, filmmakers, writers, journalists, and civil and political activists being 'captured; hundreds have been killed; pellets have blinded many eyes, and suicides and various physical and mental health issues resulting from these events have increased.' The signatories pointed out that 'the government continues to entrench itself against the people, taking the slightest criticism to the brink of enmity, reducing lawful demands to the elimination of citizenship rights, and imprisoning every professional and civil protest.' They wrote that 'it is even more astonishing that in such a challenging and crisis-ridden environment, the hijab remains the primary issue and a matter of dignity or, rather, a tool to conceal crises and cover up corruption, inefficiency, and the destruction of social capital.' These activists expressed renewed sympathy for all families affected by the protests over the past year, honoring 'the uprising of youth in search of freedom and equality, and especially the resistance of justice-seeking and freedom-loving women,' and emphasized their commitment to support them in realizing the citizenship rights of all people in Iran. In this regard, they called for 'serious steps towards convergence among all components of civil society and the organization of resources and capacities of generations and national assets enriched with accumulated knowledge and action, whether professional, political, or social.' The more than 300 signatories of this statement also wrote that 'the structure of religious despotism shakes both our national foundations and will lead the path of future transformations from uprising and movement towards rebellion.' They stressed the necessity of 'structural change' and holding a 'referendum to realize sovereignty based on the vote and will of the people.' Among the signatories are Hashem Aghajari, Hamid Asafi, Ali Babachahi, Mostafa Badkoubeh, Akram Zinali, Parvaneh Salahshouri, Tahereh Taleghani, and Parvin Fahimi. Recently, an increasing number of figures who were considered part of the so-called elite and insiders of the regime have begun to voice sharp criticisms of the Islamic Republic. For instance, Mehdi Nasiri, a conservative political activist in Iran and former editor-in-chief of the Kayhan newspaper, noted that the slogan 'Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic' implies that 'freedom' does not currently exist in Iran. He also emphasized that the 'grand narrative of the Islamic Republic' has now 'come to an end and is finished,' and that it is now caught in the 'lap of the Russians' and 'Chinese' and has 'consented to barter oil for food' with the United States. Iranian human rights activists state that all laws of the Islamic Republic are gender apartheid and that this government is fundamentally based on apartheid.