Congress to consider commemorating the 1906 Constitutional Revolution in Iran

Kamran Beigi, PRESS RELEASE:

A panel of five experts on Iran will discuss H.RES.942, a resolution submitted by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) commemorating the 100th anniversary of Iran’s first Constitutional Revolution. The panel discussion will take place on Friday, August 4 in Room 1300 of Longworth House Office Building, from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Questions and answers will follow.

The resolution recalls that in the summer of 1906, thousands of Iranians, provoked by the corruption and oppression of their rulers, gathered in the public squares of Teheran in silent civil disobedience, intimidating the government with their quiet demand for a democratic constitution and a broadly representative congress. Finally, on August 5, 1906, Mozafaredin Shah issued an edict for the writing of a democratic constitution that would surrender power to the people. Although the subsequent history of that document was mixed, as a result of the intervention of the imperial powers and internal disagreements, it remains a model of democratic procedure for Iranians today who are seeking democratic freedoms from the present regime. READ MORE

Included on the panel are Iraj Aryanpour, former undersecretary to the Iranian cabinet and staff member of VOA; Dr. William Royce, a producer at VOA, and former head of the Farsi service; Kamran Beigi, specialist on contemporary Iran; Dr. James P. Lucier, former staff director of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Professor Mansour Kashfi, President, Kashex International, a petroleum consulting firm.

The speakers are expected to present the historical background of the democratic revolution of 1906, and relate it to the aspirations of the Iranian people today and U.S. policy.

Read the resolution here.