Interview with Mr. Koroush Parsa
Q. How do you see the current political situation in Iran?
A. Currently, the Islamic republic and Iranian people are primarily dealing with the adverse effects of the corona pandemic. The regime and people has been dealing with the effects of sanctions on one hand and as such as resources are getting extremely limited, the public has zoomed in on the corruption and combined effect is continuous delegitimization of the Islamic Republic. All this does not mean the regime will collapse imminently. Lack of a strong opposition that can lead the people and gain people’s trust is a major obstacle in removing the Islamic republic and begin the transition to democracy. Currently the dire economic situation is driving the possibility of another economic based insurrection similar to the one in November 2019 and December of 2017. It is hard to predict the level of the organization of such an uprising, but the race is on for taming such an insurrection into a none violent movement that force a transition to democracy in Iran.
Q. Over the last few years the world has witnessed many protests beginning with the green movement. Do you think Coronavirus has put an end to these protests or we will be witnessing more in the future?
A. Natural progression of the protests will continue post coronavirus, as a matter of fact with a slight relaxation of measures, we are witnessing resumption of scattered protests. Because of the corona virus blow to the Iranian economy which is post two years of negative economic growth and high inflation, the negative growth streak and high inflation will continue in 1399. The main motives for October 2017 uprising and November 2019 uprising still remain and has intensified post October 2017 uprising.
As such Iran is still pregnant and is due another major uprising unless drastic changes occur.
Q. What do you think the role of Iranian opposition groups outside of Iran should be? And do you support external interference to Iranian politics?
A. One of the metrics in rating various democracies in the world is the degree of foreign government’s interference and influence in the state. In the IS elections, foe reign nationals cannot contribute to a campaign, as such it is clear that a better and more authentic democracies are borne from within. However, moral support is certainly needed and welcome to advance the cause of democracy and human rights in Iran.
Iranian opposition groups depending on their resources can help their counterpart movement in Iran by
- primarily being their mouthpiece in the first rate media, specifically strong first rate TV programs.
- creating a line of human rights defense by continually applying international pressure on the Islamic republic
- Forging strong alliances with likeminded organizations to create synergies and ultimately creating hope for the future for the Iranian people.
- Breaking the inside Iran/outside barriers by strengthening presence in social media.
Q. How do you see the future of Iran shape?
A. Difficult to predict, but accumulation of pent-up demand and inability to reform, is taking the country toward a more drastic change, hopefully the country will transition to a genuine democracy which any itself depends on what we all do,Iran will have bright future, coalescence of Iranian natural and Human Resources with a democratic development plan and use of a few million Iranians abroad who bring decades of experience and knowledge back to a free and secular democratic republic of Iran, can bring Iran to the top 20 economies in the world within a decade. Such an Iran will be a stabilizing force in the Middle East and a good partner for peace and prosperity in the region and not a destructive force.
PhD in Electronics and communications from University of New York. Mr. Parsa has inventions in the field of 3G and 4G wireless communications.
Active in the Iranian Internet Human Rights Group between 1992 and 1999; founder of the Internet Democracy Network in Iran, a platform based on republicanism. One of the founders of the Center for the Defense of Democracy in Iran. One of the founders of the Alliance for the Promotion of Secular Democracy in Iran in 2010, a Republican which with alliance with other organizations formed the Union for Secular Republic and Human Rights in Iran. Mr. Parsa lives in Connecticut, USA.
