Nationwide Protests in Iran and the Right to Self-Determination
The nationwide protests in Iran have led to the repeated sharing of an old video of Ayatollah Khomeini’s speech about the right to self-determination, which has even turned into a hashtag and a diverse content creation topic on Twitter. Meanwhile, supporters of the current discourse of power in the Islamic Republic believe that the legitimacy of the 1979 referendum remains intact and no one has the right to question or challenge it.
However, Ayatollah Khomeini’s ruling contradicts the opinion of his current supporters because he believed that even if the Qajar and Pahlavi governments had come to power through a referendum and voting, since the generation has changed, the opinion of the previous generation does not hold legal validity.
The principle of the right to self-determination, although not explicitly stated in the constitution, is both one of the fundamental principles of international law and, according to Ayatollah Khomeini’s speech, one of the documents and principles of the Iranian revolution’s discourse.
Now, the protesters are saying the same thing when it comes to the demands of the ’80s generation, when it is said that this generation’s demands differ from the previous generation’s and even act differently in their style of demands and struggle. This very discussion of the new generation’s right to choose and decide their fate is brought up. More than four decades have passed since the yes-or-no referendum on the Islamic Republic, and the majority of those who voted in that referendum are no longer alive.
An examination of the age distribution of the population over the years shows that only 14% of those eligible to participate in the Islamic Republic referendum in March 1979 were over eighteen years old at the beginning of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s reign in 1941 and could have agreed with him. Now, the population who were over eighteen in 1979 and could agree with the Islamic Republic has reached the same 14% in 2021 and, for the first time in 2022, has fallen below that percentage.
What did Khomeini say?
We assume that an entire nation voted for one person to be a king. Very well, since they are in control of their own destiny and have the right to determine their fate, their vote is executable for them. However, if a nation voted, even if all of them did, for the descendants of this king to also be kings, what right does a nation fifty years ago have to determine the fate of the future generation? The fate of every nation is in its own hands.
In the past, let’s assume that during the early Qajar period, we were not there. If we assume that the Qajar monarchy was established through a referendum and the entire nation, we assume, gave a positive vote, they gave a positive vote for Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar and those kings who came later.
In the time we were present, during the reign of Ahmad Shah, none of us experienced the time of Agha Mohammad Khan. What right did our ancestors have to vote for the Qajar monarchy so that Ahmad Shah would be king in our time? The fate of every nation is in its own hands. A nation a hundred or a hundred and fifty years ago had its own fate and authority, but they did not have the authority over us to impose a king upon us.
We assume that the establishment of the first Pahlavi monarchy was by the people’s choice and that the Constituent Assembly was also established by the people’s choice. This would mean that, assuming this invalid matter is correct, only Reza Khan would be king, and only over those who were present at that time.
But how can Mohammad Reza be king over this population, most of whom, except for a few, did not experience that time? What right did the people of that time have to determine our fate in this time? What right did they have to determine our fate? Everyone’s fate is with themselves, unless our fathers are our guardians.
Unless those people who were a hundred or eighty years ago can determine the fate of a nation that comes into existence later, this is another reason why Mohammad Reza’s monarchy is not legitimate.
Moreover, even if we assume that the monarchy established at that time and the Constituent Assembly were legitimate, this nation, whose fate should be in its own hands, says now that we do not want this king.
The Right to Self-Determination in International Documents
The principle of self-determination is one of the foundational principles of contemporary international law. This principle is mentioned in Article 1 of the Charter and is among the goals and purposes of the United Nations. The Charter refers to the right to self-determination as one of the bases and foundations of friendly and peaceful relations between states and nations. This principle was first introduced in Wilson’s 14-point declaration and then in the Covenant of the League of Nations.
During the drafting of the Charter, the responsible committee deemed several points necessary for the application of the principle of self-determination, including a close relationship with the real desires of the people, freely expressed, and in accordance with the Charter’s goals, such as territorial integrity and the absence of any obligation for minorities to achieve independence.
This principle was mentioned in paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Charter. The right to self-determination was specifically defined since the drafting of the human rights covenants in 1966 as the right of people to determine the political, economic, and social system within which they live. In general, internal self-determination means the right to have a democratic government.
Referendum for Sovereignty for the Right to Self-Determination and its Organization by One or More Groups, whether National or Otherwise, is proposed. In this section, wherever the term ‘referendum for sovereignty’ is used, it means a referendum for the right to self-determination and its organization by the people, although some referendums may be for other purposes than sovereignty, such as referendums for determining borders or cultural rights and the like.
Related articles to this writing have been published in Iran Gate, and we suggest reading them if interested.
- Power and the Taboo of Referendum
- Iran’s Future in the Cloud of Doubt
- Iran Moving Towards a Dead End with Neutral Gear