One year on from the 2019 protests over the sudden tripling of fuel prices, alongside numerous other economic complaints, and the Iranian government has still failed to resolve the problems its people were facing, which means that another nationwide protest is coming and this one is likely to shake off the ayatollahs’ grasp on power.
“When in November 2019, people became aware of the gasoline price hikes by the leaders of the three branches of powers, protests ignited. Some considered the information method and, more importantly, the sudden increase in the price of people’s product basket, as the real reason for these protests, because all the people were affected,” Sharq daily wrote on Saturday.
The protests began over economic issues, but quickly became political and spread across the entire country. The protesters demanded regime change and attacked the oppressive centers.
The government failed to address any demands or even lower the fuel price instead of imposing a heavy crackdown and killing 1500 protesters in the streets while arresting thousands of others. Instead of quelling the people’s anger, this just increased the hatred people have for the entire ruling system.
“The flames suddenly engulfed dozens of cities and the initial protests gradually [reached a height] that could have been extinguished in another way… The course of events from then until today must be addressed, and we should be concerned about what is happening in society,” Sharq added.
This refers to the crises that have engulfed the regime since November 2019, including the slaying of its terror mastermind Qassem Soleimani, increased international isolation, rising economic problems, the people’s growing hatred of the regime, and, of course, the coronavirus outbreak, which the ayatollahs have failed to deal with.
“We cannot easily ignore the November 2019 protests, although it can be ignored. Unfortunately, the authorities, who must find the root causes of such incidents and eliminate them and seek treatment, have decided to do a cover-up. When the scope of the protests is widespread, and on such a large scale, the administration should look for a way to find the source of the protests,” the daily continued.
In this article, the paper also spoke about protests from across the social strata prior to the uprising, which the government sought to quash, and the people’s demands, which the authorities ignored. All the people wanted was to prevent the rulers from destroying the economy with mismanagement and corruption, but the state attacked the people instead.
Furthermore, in its Saturday edition, Siasat-e Rouz daily wrote that the government is trying to blame economic problems on other causes, but admitted that “mismanagement and inconsistency” by the regime were the reason for issues like the prices of meat, poultry, rice, and fruits increasing every day.
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