Behind the Headlines/January 28

I have been absent for a few days as I had to go to Los Angeles to launch my new book called Only The Voice Remains.

I was very happy to see that most of the people who had attended the book launch were young Iranians.

As such, in tonight’s program we will discuss the issues that young Iranians are facing after forty years of the Islamic revolution with our guests Heshmatullah Tabarzadi in Tehran and Alireza Haghighi in Toronto.

Heshmatullah Tabarzadi:

Our people have paid a heavy price over the last forty years to achieve their freedoms and independence. But sadly their national movement in that respect has fallen completely under the leadership of the clerical establishment, which is only interested in securing their power and material interests.

When in Paris in exile, Khomeini promised that he would bring a democratic republic to the Iranian people in which even communists were free. But as soon as hegained the power he monopolized it in favor of his religious clique and everyone realized how he had deceived us.

In my view the last forty years have been the darkest chapter in our country’s history.

Alireza Haghighi:

I would separate the current challenges that our nation is facing from those of the past. The Islamic revolution has had many angles to it.

During the time of the Shah due to an increase in the oil revenue and then sudden fall in it we had a period of discontent and the flight of the rural populations to the major industrial cities added to this dissatisfaction of the masses andthey became the soldiers of the religious forces in their fight against theShah’s regime.