Iranian dissidents and Iranians living in the Islamic Republic are using the social media phrase “No to the Islamic Republic” to form greater connective tissue between their aspirations for a new society.
“Launched in just the last few weeks with a plain but captivating slogan and graphic, the international 'No to the Islamic Republic!' (or 'N2IR') campaign is a call to any and all who oppose a regime that has left no Iranian family untouched by its evil,“ wrote Mariam Memarsadeghi, an advocate for a democratic Iran, on the website of The Bulwark on Wednesday.
She added that the campaign embodies a “concerted people-power campaign for the peaceful overthrow of the Islamic Republic and transition to liberal democracy is a testament to the Iranians’ refusal to play by the rules of their oppressors any longer.”
The National Union for Democracy in Iran tweeted : "One of Iran’s most famous singers and national super star, Ebi, and his wife and partner @HamediMahshid
join the #No2IR campaign”
One of #Iran’s most famous singers and national super star, Ebi, and his wife and partner @HamediMahshid join the #No2IR campaign.#نه_به_جمهورى_اسلامی _ pic.twitter.com/08vjskb15Y
— National Union for Democracy in Iran (@NUFDIran) March 18, 2021
Memarsadeghi, the cofounder of Tavaana, an E-Learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society, wrote that "An outgrowth of the campaign has been the call for a boycott of Iran’s next presidential election, scheduled for June. Like many other despotic governments that make a show of pseudo-democracy, the Iranian regime counts on turnout.”
She continued that "Having not seen a single promise of reform prove true, Iranians have come to understand that the ‘reformist’ politicians are guilty of some of the regime’s biggest lies, ineptitude, and corruption, and complicit in the Supreme Leader’s calls for killing.”
The exiled Iranian prince Reza Pahlavi circulated a video message on Monday joining the “No to the Islamic Republic” and said the “No to the Islamic Republic campaign is the connecting link between all the dissidents.”
According to the London-based Iran International website, “in the past few days it has turned into a new movement with social media users have posted images and videos of themselves holding placards reading ‘No to the Islamic Republic’ or attaching stickers and posters in public places, many in Iran.”
Reza Pahlavi said that there is “no Iranian family that has not paid a price, and this regime has killed a member of my family and some of my friends as well.”
The UAE-based outlet The National reported that “The Farsi language hashtag Na be joumhoriye Islami, (No to the Islamic Republic), has so far attracted the support and endorsement of thousands of Iranians in and outside the country, with the number increasing by the day.”