On the occasion of March 29 and the nationalization day of the oil industry
Buy lips from the lips engineer
It has been said that some people with certain characteristics are found in the world once every hundred years. The existential effect of these is world-wide and they cause transformations that are not confined within geographical borders.
The late Dr. Mohammad Mosadegh was one of such personalities. I remember his time. I think I was in the first or second grade of elementary school when his struggles reached their peak. I remember that his government brought fish from the north of the country by truck in response to the movement of the butcher’s guild, which had made the meat more expensive, and they sold 5 rials each at the intersections. As a result, within 24 or 48 hours, the meat rush ended.
Also, in the left newspapers, they drew his caricature in the most ridiculous way, for example, in a wedding dress and next to Churchill (if I’m not mistaken), but no action was taken against those newspapers. It is as if he had ordered those who attack and insult him to do nothing.
At that time, there was an engineer whose name was Iraj Zandi (if I remember correctly) and as a #protest against #unemployment, he had set up a lip shop right in front of the university, and he was selling lips and had a placard saying “Buy lips from the lip seller engineer” And he was strangely busy! Within a short period of time, he was able to rent one of the shops of the university and put the sign “Technical Office of Engineer Zandi” on the door. I don’t remember which sect and sect he was from. But he claimed that Mossadegh said “go sell lips” in response to his glory of unemployment.
In those days, both sidewalks of the present-day Elkhebal Street (in the vicinity of Tehran University) were gathering places for supporters of different parties and groups, and no one had anything to do with anyone. It was just words and maybe the voices got louder, which never reached the point of a fight. Of course, at times, several parties that imitated the collapsed fascist parties of Italy and Nazi Germany used sticks and machetes, and the party that imitated the Soviet Communist Party, which was dissolved but still existed, fought in the same way.
The late Mossadegh became the leader in a country that did not “exercise democracy” – or did very little – and with us people who change direction very quickly and our coldness and warmth depend on eating a cranberry or a raisin, and nationalized the oil industry. girdled The existence of these characteristics of our people made it difficult to implement democracy and people’s rule in Iran, and Mossadegh’s rule was associated with events, methods, and practices that have raised doubts and reflections.
Also, these characteristics of our nature made “nationalization” not possible and implemented except with the assassination of Lieutenant General Haj Ali Razmara (who was strongly against it).
I remember the excitement of the people and the threats of England, which wanted to launch a paratrooper, and then the naval blockade of Iran, which was the name of the oil tanker “Rosemary”, which was allegedly blocked.
On August 28, I was at my aunt’s rented house – at the end of University Street – corner of Heshmat al-Douleh. I could hear the sound of gunshots and the news of Colonel Mumtaz’s resistance came that he did not surrender until his ammunition ran out, and moreover (as far as I know) the coup plotters did not harm him because his mission was to defend the Prime Minister’s house and he had done his duty.
From the window, I could see the property being looted. After all, some people took clothes sticks and honey table and then set the house on fire. I could see the smoke.
Mossadegh’s movement was the beginning of nationalization all over the world and this memory remained in the minds of the oppressed nations, and we, of course, argued for a long time whether March 29 should be closed or not?! Of course, this day is a public holiday.
A leaf from the memories of the late Bahman Keshavarz March 1394
@mehrdad_rafie
This post is written by MehrdadRafiei