Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets this week to protest against the riding cost of living and overall malaise engulfing the country's economy,
Protests over spiraling inflation and the plummeting value of the local currency, the rial, began with shopkeepers in Tehran closing their doors on December 28. The uprising has continued each day, spreading to several universities in the capital, as well as to other areas around the country.
Iranian security forces have responded at times with volleys of tear gas and batons, though President Masud Pezeshkian has promised that the government would make "new decisions" that he said would improve the economic situation of Iranians.
Shirin Ebadi, who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy and safeguard human rights in Iran, spoke with RFE/RL's Radio Farda by phone on January 1 on what is driving her compatriots to confront the authorities and what makes these protests different from previous ones.
Radio Farda: How significant are the protests in Iran in your view and what message are the protests are sending?
Shirin Ebadi: The recent protests reveal one clear reality: many Iranians have decided that the current establishment must end -- at any cost and as soon as possible -- before the country they love is further destroyed. Iran is facing severe shortages of clean air, water, and energy, while people struggle to survive.
As even the president has acknowledged, the country sits on immense wealth, yet its people are hungry. Responsibility for this situation lies squarely with the establishment -- from the core centers of power to its powerless officials, including the president himself. All share the blame for the poverty and misery imposed on a once-prosperous nation.
Radio Farda: How different are these protests from previous ones?
Ebadi: What distinguishes this wave of protests from previous ones is the growing realization within the establishment that repression and killing no longer work. Using force against people who have nothing left to lose would only intensify public anger -- like pouring gasoline on a fire.
People have nothing to lose, they can't stand it anymore. People's tables are empty and hunger has pressured people so much that they have given up on life. The establishment understands it and it doesn't want to pour gasoline on the fire.
Radio Farda: Iranian officials have said that economic demands from people are legitimate while warning against antiestablishment protests. Do you think people see a difference between the two?
Ebadi: The wrong policies of the Islamic republic and corruption have created poverty and misery for the people. Therefore, when people say their tables are empty, it brings shame on this establishment. When we say people are hungry, it means the establishment should change.
For 47 years, it's what they've done to turn Iran, which was prosperous, into the current situation. Don't forget the day the Islamic republic was created the dollar was 7 tomans. Now the dollar rate is over 135,000 tomans. What caused this? The incompetency of the establishment, the corruption of politicians, the privileges they have created for themselves and their families.
Radio Farda: Antiestablishment protests have been taking place in Iran for years, for decades, amid a widening gap between the people and the authorities? Where do you think the current round of protests will take Iran?
Ebadi: I hope this time people will win and the establishment falls and the people will reach their long-time wish to decide about their future in a referendum under the supervision of the UN. The establishment has lost the power and will to repress because it knows that killing people, as during the previous protests, will be like pouring gasoline on the fire of their anger.
