Iran, March 12, 2018 – Tuesday night, on the eve of Wednesday 14th March, millions of Iranians across the globe will come out of their homes to celebrate the Festival of Fire, Chaharshanbe Suri. This ‘Persian Fire Fest’ celebrates the removal of bad spirits and negativity, in place of love, hope and positivity. Occurring a week before Nowrouz – the Iranian new year – these festivities have been celebrated for thousands and thousands of years.

 Chaharshanbe Suri – Ancient Fire Festival – Celebration in Iran

As such its message and celebration is imbedded into Iranian culture and part of a proud peoples’ identity: which is of grave concern to the government of Iran and its authoritarian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
Currently, Iran is going through an undisputable and inevitable change. The build-up of decades of oppression, corruption, brutality and public executions has resulted in a multi-class nationwide uprising calling for the end of Khamenei and Rouhani’s rule.  The Iranian people, in this most recent ongoing revolution, have been comprised and let by four factions of society most feared by the Iranian government: Woman, Students, Youth, and Workers. These groups have been in the centre of this four-decade struggle, and on occasions such as the Fire Fest, they have sacrificed their freedom and even their lives in order to pave the way for a free, democratic and prosperous Iran.
The night of bonfire festivities has long been a thorn in the side of the Supreme Leader’s dictatorial rule. The government has banned anyone attempting to come out to the streets to celebrate the festival and have cracked down viciously on any sales of fireworks, sparklers or anything bonfire related. Many have been arrested, imprisoned and tortured for participating in this celebration. There are many reasons why the Iranian government is so afraid of this celebration.
Ever since their hijacking of the 1979 peoples’ revolution, the Iranian regime has relied on a number of inhumane tactics to keep its stranglehold over the Iranian people and create their empire based on Islamic fundamentalism and terror.

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One of the ways they do this is through oppressing the Iranian people. By taking away freedoms, worth and dignity – the regime intends to demotivate, depress and crush the spirit of the Iranian people. Together with arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, brutal torture, and senseless private and public executions; they wish to exterminate any sense of hope, aspiration or belief amongst the citizens.
As such, to see friends and families showing kindness through the sharing of gifts on Nowrouz or to see children smiling and jumping with joy over bonfires on Chaharshanbe Suri, it is of great concern to the Iranian regime, to the extent that they refuse to call it ‘Chaharshanbe Suri’, meaning ‘Wednesday Celebrations’ and instead call it the last Wednesday of the year. These celebrations encourage the Iranian people through the occasion of joy to rise up and release themselves from the grip of the Iranian regime; and this is what they fear.
Further, the Iranian Fire Fest has been used as a mean to show opposition in face of tyrannical rule in Iran, with people burning pictures of heads of the regime, representing a call for an end of tyranny in face of freedom and liberty, and light taking over the darkness, nationwide. Any occasion where there is an opportunity for the people to gather – is of great concern to the authorities. In the current popular uprisings, this day is ever more significant.
During the Iran Protests which broke out nationwide in 142 cities, people from all walks of life came together with chants of “Reformists, Hardliners, the game is over!” and “down with Khamenei” “Down with Rouhani”.  But the protests have not died and were not limited to the two week protests which caught international attention, on daily basis these protests and acts of resistance are being carried out through different means by defiant Iranian woman, students and youth, workers, farmers and all ethnicities and sectors of society; using every possibility and opportunity to voice their protest against the heads of this corrupt regime, from Khamenei to Rouhani, and calling for regime change. The people of Iran, in this struggle, are as united and high-spirited as ever. This defiance is visible in their protests, slogan and graffiti on city walls, to their presence on social media; inspired by a leader, Maryam Rajavi,President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran that strives to bring democracy, rule of law, freedom of attire, choice, religion, elections and many more humanitarian rights to the people of Iran. Thousands in the Iranian diaspora across the globe stand united by their side.

In this regard, the Iranian regime is very afraid and shall attempt, but once again fail, to contain the Iranian people on this great fire fest.
Finally, the Iranian regime feels threatened by Iran’s positive culture and the people’s strong identity. For them; there is no room for celebrations of love, hope and freedom – only that of hate, obedience and submission. Therefore, by banning people from celebrating this occasion, and arresting those who do, the government wishes for the people to forget about their culture of thousands of years; and instead for the people to abide by the insensitive culture of Islamic fundamentalism and oppressed obedience. However, their attempt to wipe out and rewrite Iranian values and customs, has failed.
Their suppressive motives and actions have not only encouraged the Iranian people to celebrate further as an act of defiance but has made them stronger in their devotion to preserving their culture and national identity: a devotion which shall prove to be pivotal in the demise of the Iranian governments rule.
As the Iranian people prepare to fulfil their justified destiny on the evening of Tuesday 13th March, the Iranian regime trembles in fear: and rightly so. The will of the Iranian people is not one of hatred, obedience and submission – but love, hope and freedom. And they shall prevail.