June seems to have it all.
The month started with the simultaneous anniversary of the liberation of Europe in the West and the crushing of liberty in Tiananmen Square in the East. At the time, it seemed to encapsulate the “good” and “bad” of global events.
Later in the month came President Obama’s speech in Cairo. This speech was a welcome outreach to the Muslim World. However, a country’s fundamental security interests do not change overnight just because its leader does. Accordingly, while the speech was necessary, it must fall into the “feel good” category as American policies are unlikely to change much even if the atmospherics do.
The month is ending with yet another major marker in global affairs. This time in Iran where the brutal suppression of protests mark an ugly turn of events following what in all likelihood was a rigged election. The image of Neda – a young Iranian woman shot dead by the Basij – is likely to be replayed in the month of June for years to come.
While i doubt that the Iranian regime will fall any time soon (barring a miracle), the protests will not have been in vain. Before this election, Iran regarded itself as an Islamic Republic. Now it has turned into a plain old dictatorship. No amount of revisionism or blaming Britain can restore its credibility. Nor, can the Iranian government count on this being a repeat of Tiananmen Square, where the authorities were able to retain their rule after the crushing of student protests. In China, the Communist Party was able to deliver economic growth in place of political freedom. In Iran, the mullahs will be able to deliver neither prosperity nor freedom.
The protests in Tehran and other Iranian cities, therefore, may not have overthrown a government yet, but they have robbed it of all legitimacy and mark the point that historians will say its eventual decline began.
For this reason in the June of future years, the remembrance of the good of D-day, the bad of Tiananmen and the feel good of Cairo will not be topped off by the memory of the brutality of the Iranian regime, but by the inspiration of its citizens who would risk everything for their freedom.
