Tomorrow is the anniversary of the brutal assassination of a true patriot.
Dr Shapour Bakhtiar was our last hope during the chaos of 1979. After 25 years of being a member of the opposition to Shah’s regime, a firm opponent of all totalitarian rulers, Dr Bakhtiar courageously accepted the prime minister position at the very end of the Persian monarchy, fighting to save his beloved country from the bloody claws of the islamic theocracy. His voice was only brave one, resisting the impeding catastrophe that eventually fell upon our Iran.
Dr Bakhtiar foresaw what other intellectuals of the times were too blind to see: He called for a peaceful transition to a democratic government instead of an islamic republic.
Dr Bakhtiar endured accusations, harrassments and protests every day of the short time he was in office, and faced with all the emotionally charged riots, he offered Iranians the only time in the history when freedom of speech was enjoyed by all, the newspapers and newsletters were distributed without any censorship. The TV and the radio, although run by goverment, covered all the news without bias or any cover-ups and most importantly he disbanded SAVAK.
How did the people of Iran respond to such a great man? I don’t even want to remember the insulting slogans, the false accusations and the ignorance that had creeped over our people…
I am sure some of you remember those days better than I do. But does any of you still cry when you think back and wonder why nobody supported this great man’s fight to save Iran?
Dr. Bakhtiar was brutally assassinated by the agents of IRI in 1991 at his home in Paris.
May this lone hero of our times rest in eternal peace.
Part 1
Part 2
