Iranian regime fails to stop ancient Persian festival & New Year celebrations

Iran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi.

Received reports indicate that the regime's brutal forces have attacked Iranians celebrating the Festival of Fire (Chaharshanbeh Souri). This is an ancient Persian celebration, predating Islam by a couple of thousand years; it marks the approaching of the Iranian new year (which is also pre-Islamic), celebrated on March 21, the vernal equinox. People build small bonfires and jump over the flames to purify and purge themselves of all the negativity and pain of the passing year so that they can begin the new year with a clean spirit and fresh outlook. During this celebration, it is also customary to light sparklers and throw fireworks. Since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, the mullahs have done everything they could to dissuade the people of Iran from continuing these Persian celebrations, calling them pagan in an attempt to eradicate the Persian heritage from Iran.

Over the past few weeks, there were threats of major March 14 clashes, as the mullahs continued to force the issue of this celebration being haraam — religiously prohibited or unclean — because it occurs during the religious month of Mohharram, which is fraught with mourning for Shiite martyrs. Fatwahs were issued by various major and minor clerics. The regime also warned against sparklers and fireworks, insisting that they are banned; shops that sold these items were closed and padlocked by the regime's security forces from weeks before.

Last week, KAYHAN, the mouthpiece newspaper belonging to the Fuehrer Mullah Khamnei, in yet another shameless and fascistic attempt at destroying all things Persian, pronounced the observance of the ancient Persian New Year and the pre-New Year celebration of the Festival of Fire to be Haraam (forbidden by Islam or religiously unclean).

Mullah Golpaigani who wrote the edict indicated: "The use of fireworks, sparklers and fire crackers which will lead to fun, conviviality and frolic is haraam and any further references to all Persian traditions and culture before Islam is directly anti-Islamic and immoral."

Ahmadinejad and members of the Mullah hierarchy who knew that all of the regime's measures against this festival may fail, left Tehran leaving the majority non-Iranian security forces to savagely attack the Iranian people who have refused to give up their ancient Persian celebrations.

The guards have launched tear gas and have begun viciously attacking people, especially women, children and student activists. The regime's paddy wagons are installed all around the cities of Iran and the security guards beating celebrants have begun beating and arresting them. The streets of cities all around Iran from Tehran, Esfahan, Shiraz, Ardebil, Kermanshah, Mahabad, Baaneh, Mash'had, etc. are filled with people and in places such as the Gowhardasht neighborhood of the Tehran-suburb of Karadj have taken over the regime's police headquarters in that area and have set that building on fire. READ MORE

In Tehran alone, the 600 mobilized 18-wheeler paddy wagons that were put in place for the March 8th commemoration of International Women's Day have been kept in place in order to facilitate arrests and detentions. It is reported that the regime has mobilized Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinians Basijis against the people in the streets.

According to ILNA, the regime-run news agency, the regime fearing the celebrations, has covered the skies of Tehran and all other big cities in Iran with helicopters, making traffic an excuse.

Revolutionary Guard Sojedi-Nia the director of the Motor Vehicles department of the regime expressed alarm and fear that the traffic jams and gridlock stemming from the Chaharshanbeh Souri celebrations will require constant helicopter surveillance. Also 30 "secret" bases will be controlling the situation from their posts. Also, the Ministry of Education and Training received orders to close all schools in Tehran. The director of public relations in this ministry also announced that the disciplinary and security forces of the regime handed down these specific orders.

The regime fearing the worst and attempting to maximize control and oppression, has ordered that all cellular telephones and internet connections in several provinces and all major cities be completely shut down and blocked.

The regime organized it's agents and elements around the world to call into the Iranian opposition radios and TV stations [broadcast from L.A. and other places] in order to insult, invective and demoralize the Iranian people as well as offer up false reports on the reality of the events occuring inside Iran; this is in order to quash the voices of the people who call in from Iran in order to report inside Iran on the situations in their respective neighborhoods and cities.