Forgetful Iranians
Even though many things are less bad than the current terrorist regime of the Mullahs, nostalgia for the monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlewi isn't exactly a good idea. For dissidents, life during his reign was certainly no walk in the park.
In 1957, the Shah established the SAVAK secret police. "Writing at the time of the Shah's overthrow, Time magazine on February 19, 1979, described SAVAK as having "long been Iran's most hated and feared institution" which had "tortured and murdered thousands of the Shah's opponents". The Federation of American Scientists also found it guilty of "the torture and execution of thousands of political prisoners" and symbolising "the Shah's rule from 1963–79." The FAS list of SAVAK torture methods included "electric shock, whipping, beating, inserting broken glass and pouring boiling water into the rectum, tying weights to the testicles, and the extraction of teeth and nails"."
I came across the demonstration march this afternoon at Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna.
Forgetful Iranians
Even though many things are less bad than the current terrorist regime of the Mullahs, nostalgia for the monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlewi isn't exactly a good idea. For dissidents, life during his reign was certainly no walk in the park.
In 1957, the Shah established the SAVAK secret police. "Writing at the time of the Shah's overthrow, Time magazine on February 19, 1979, described SAVAK as having "long been Iran's most hated and feared institution" which had "tortured and murdered thousands of the Shah's opponents". The Federation of American Scientists also found it guilty of "the torture and execution of thousands of political prisoners" and symbolising "the Shah's rule from 1963–79." The FAS list of SAVAK torture methods included "electric shock, whipping, beating, inserting broken glass and pouring boiling water into the rectum, tying weights to the testicles, and the extraction of teeth and nails"."
I came across the demonstration march this afternoon at Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna.