IND:  Although not from a major publication, this essay is a must read.

The Green Movement that began with “Where is my Vote” as its central slogan has become the umbrella for brilliant, spontaneous, and horizontally organised collective action that is proving increasingly difficult to defuse. Less than five months after its birth, the Green Movement has transcended its original objective of restoring people’s stolen votes, to openly questioning the cornerstone of the Islamic Republic, the absolute power of the supreme religious leader. Taboos are broken.

“Down with the Dictator” has become the central cry of the protesters in Tehran, Shiraz, Karaj, Qom, Isfahan, Tabriz, and other cities across Iran. Down with the Dictator is also written in large letters on walls and storefronts in poor and rich neighbourhoods of the capital. “Everyone knows the dictator is [Supreme Leader]Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei,” a resident of Tehran said. “The government keeps painting over the slogans, but finding freshly written ones on the same spot or near to it the next day.”

The Green Movement has broken its shell. It is now a non-violent movement with revolutionary demands and ideals.

It has bypassed the limited political demands of Mir Hussein Mousavi, and other reformist leaders. Mousavi, the original inspiration behind the Green Movement, has been pressing his supporters to remain within the confines of the constitution of the Islamic Republic.

“We demand the unconditional enactment of the constitution and the return of the Islamic Republic to its original ethical foundations. We demand an Islamic Republic, not a word more, and not a word less,” said Mousavi in a recent public statement.

Meanwhile, the protesters were calling for the creation of an Iranian Republic to replace the Islamic Republic. For the first time in the past 30 years, the protesters are also calling for a secularisation of the state.

The radicalisation of the Green Movement found a special voice during the recent anniversary celebration of the US embassy takeover in schools across the country. Defying the authorities in a Tehran high school, hundreds of students marched through the building during their break, singing “My High School Friend”, a popular protest song, and a rallying cry among anti-government Iranians.

This time, however, the students had changed the lyrics. They had replaced the lyrics “Who can solve this problem except for you and I” with “Who can topple this government except for you and I”. The genie is out of the bottle.