Four years have passed, four years since the day that the agents of darkness and ignorance savagely murdered Darush and Parvaneh Forouhar ( www.forouharha.com ) in the sacred sanctuary of their house.

Forouhars, the founding members of HEZBE MELATE IRAN ( Nation Party of Iran ) were arguably the most outspoken domestic critics of the Islamic Republic and openly called for a secular democracy. They further had committed a life time to their just struggle against the Shah and later Mullahs.

Forouhars were actually early supporters of the revolution in 1979. Darush Forouhar was a member of the provincial government of P.M. Bazargan, but quickly rebelled against the expanding powers of the Islamists and their values.

On the night of November 22, 1998, The very Islamist values that Darush Forouhar opposed and feared in the early years of the revolution, were once again manifested when the IRI agents ransack Frouhar's home-office and turned his chair to face Mecca then sat him down and stabbed him not once, not twice, but twenty times. The agents later went upstairs and murdered Parvaneh Forouhar who was already in bed resting. ( www.daadnameh.org )

This gruesome murder had a very personal effect on me. I saw Darush Foruhar on regular basis at family gatherings and other gatherings and had visited his Hedayat street house at least a dozen times. So since then, every time I hear the name Foruhar, my heart starts to ache for Darush Foruhar a truly larger than life and unique figure who always wore his own uniquely styled coats and spent dozens of minutes in front of the mirror brushing his unique Qajari-style mustache.

It's because of this uniqueness of Forouhars' actions, styles, and thoughts that I personally think that those fanatic reactionaries who murdered Forouhars, did not eliminate Forouhars but rather immortalized Forouhars. Forouhars may be dead, but their values are livelier than ever.

On this fourth anniversary of Frouhar's immortality , Let us remember Forouhars and other murdered dissident intellectuals, by following their path; the path of Mossadegh; the path of democracy, independence, and freedom.

About the author:
Mani Farhoomand considers himself "a student-activist, amature filmmaker, and wannabe freelance journalist." He also runs the website www.OFilm.net.

... Payvand News - 11/24/02 ... --