Status: 05.12.2022 08:55 a.m
The protests in Iran continue. From today until Wednesday, activists want to hit the country’s economy by boycotting shops and bazaars. Many see the government’s announcement that it will disband the vice squad as a diversionary tactic.
Activists in Iran have called for new nationwide protests and strikes. The so-called 14-15-16 protests – the numbers are the date in the Persian calendar month of Azar – are expected to last from Monday to Wednesday and hit the Islamic system in particular economically.
Iranian people have been urged to avoid shopping on these three days to prevent any money from circulating in the Iranian banking system. According to the protesters, as many shops as possible should remain closed, especially in the economic centers of large cities and in bazaars.
Dissolution of the Morality Police
Before the three-day protests, Iran’s Attorney General Mohammed Jafa Montazeri’s statement about the dissolution of the vice squad sparked discussions in the country. It seems as if the regime is giving in to pressure from the demonstrators. After all, the protests have been going on since mid-September. The Revolutionary Guards are not getting them down or want to put them down completely yet.
But a lot of things don’t go together, reports ARD correspondent Karin Senz. Recordings of Montaseri’s press conference are nowhere to be seen or heard. There is only a photo and written quotes. The state television station Al Alam writes that no official official has confirmed the end of the vice squad. An Iranian expert tweeted that only the Interior Ministry could announce something like this. This indicates that the leadership in Tehran does not agree on how to deal with the protests, he said sent.
Activists also reacted skeptically to the announcement. You speak of a diversionary maneuver. In addition, Montaseri made it clear that the judiciary would continue to deal with the behavior of society, i.e. continue to monitor the headscarf requirement.
Compulsory headscarves will probably be enforced in Iran even without a vice squad
Oliver Mayer-Rüth, ARD Istanbul, daily news at 8:00 p.m., December 4th, 2022
Observer: Mobile units could be eliminated
Observers assume that it is possible that only the mobile units of the moral police on the streets will be eliminated or that their tasks will be taken over by another authority.
The government’s reaction comes as no surprise to the people of Iran: “In the past, many officials have often spoken of distancing oneself from the vice squad, so none of this is new,” said a woman from Zahedan in the south-east of the country Iran in a voice message dem ARD Studio Istanbul present
A woman from Tehran also assumes the same. She sent this voice message:
If what the prosecutor said is at all true, then they will wait a bit and then create a new organization with the same tasks.
Government plans commission of inquiry
The Ministry of the Interior also announced a committee of inquiry into the events of the past few months. However, demonstrators, system critics or other parties do not want to participate, it is said.
Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi explained the reasons why the protesters had no representatives at all, “besides, we were dealing with rioters and troublemakers and not with demonstrators.” According to the minister, the committee of inquiry is about “exploring the roots of the protests and therefore only relevant authorities and independent legal experts will take part in the committee’s discussions”.
However, critics warned that an investigation into the protests without the participation of protest leaders or opposition politicians would not yield constructive results. Some called the proposal “absurd”.
Protests for two months
The vice police were the catalyst for the system-critical uprisings in the country that have been going on for more than two months. In mid-September, the Islamic moral guardians arrested 22-year-old Mahsa Amini because a few strands of hair were said to have stuck out from under her headscarf. Amini died a few days later in the custody of the vice squad.
Since then, people in Iran have been protesting against the Islamic system and its antiquated laws and regulations. For observers, statements such as the dissolution of the moral police, promises in parliament about a revision of the laws or planned committees of inquiry are only the system’s attempt to calm the tense situation before the three-day protests.
With information from Karin Senz, ARD Studio Istanbul