This blog will discuss many issues pertaining to current events and encourages others to discuss and do the same. The goal is to raise the level of discourse and hopefully have a good time sharing thoughts and ideas.
Showing posts with label Mir Hosein Mousavi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mir Hosein Mousavi. Show all posts
Iranian police fired tear gas and beat anti-government protesters with batons to disperse thousands attending a graveside memorial Thursday for victims of post-election violence, witnesses and state television said.
Police barred opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi from joining the crowd around the grave of Neda Agha Soltan, a young woman was shot to death at a June 20 to protest the disputed presidential election. The 27-year-old music student's dying moments on the pavement were filmed and circulated widely on the Web, and her name became a rallying cry for the opposition.
It is being reported that demonstrators were shouting "Neda is alive, Ahmadinejad is dead" and the LA Times is reporting that the demonstrators ended up overwhelming the security forces in the cemetery:
Thousands and possibly tens of thousands of mourners, many of them black-clad young women carrying roses, overwhelmed security forces today at Tehran's largest cemetery to gather around the grave of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman whose videotaped shooting at a June 20 demonstration stunned the world.
[...]
Among those arrested was award-winning director Jafar Panahi, whose movies "The Circle" and "Crimson Gold" have garnered international acclaim, along with his wife and daughter, a source close to the family told Agence France-Presse.
But as people poured out of the nearby subway station and taxis along the highway, security forces retreated. One witness said police released detainees and began cooperating with the mourners, directing them to Section 257 of the cemetery, where Agha-Soltan and others were buried.
Here is some video said to have been shot today in Iran:
Yesterday, citizens of the Greater Cincinnati Area gathered on Fountain Square to rally in support of the people of Iran, the second such rally within the last month. The rally was entitled, "United for Iran: Global Day of Action" and included speeches by those who organized the event, chants, signs, a song, and the formation of a human chain to symbolize solidarity with those in Iran who have been protesting since the contested election on June 12, 2009. From the organizer's Facebook page:
Join us, all Iranians and Non-Iranians, in expressing solidarity with the freedom-seeking protesters in Iran. Many of our own friends and relatives are bravely marching on the streets, and we feel a duty to support them by keeping up the momentum and continuing to raise awareness of these important events in Iran.
Around 80 people attended this event which is down slightly from the attendance of over 100 at the first rally and the decrease was mainly attributed to a threat of thunderstorms as well as the diminishing media coverage. There was a noticeable increase in the attendance of non-Iranians at this rally as well as those who drove by Fountain Square while honking their horn and giving their "thumbs up" in support of the demonstrators. Also in attendance was Democratic candidate for Cincinnati City Council, Nicholas Hollan, who felt it important to show his support for not only those gathered in Cincinnati, but those who continue to raise their voice in Iran. I had an opportunity to ask him a few questions at the conclusion of the rally and that interview will be available within the next few days.
Demonstrators young and old holding signs of support and handing out fliers to passers-by gathered around the bullhorn at a little after 4PM as the rally kicked off:
After the introduction and as more people joined the rally, attendees began chanting their support for the people of Iran:
"Natarseed, natarseed ma hameh baham hasteem" (Don't be afraid, Don't be afraid, we are all in this together)
"An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
and "Basiji Basiji stop the violence now" were just some of slogans that echoed throughout Fountain Square and attracted new people to join the rally. A flier that was being passed out by organizers stated:
"The Iranian government is in clear violation of the Iranian people's human rights. We are here to stand with the people of Iran in their fight for civil and human rights. We urge all of you to take action with us. We cannot let all those that gave up their lives demanding freedom to be forgotten. We want to let our Iranian brothers and sisters know that we hear their voices and they are not alone!"
Demonstrator Jay Sardinia then took the microphone and spoke about the spontaneity of the protests taking place in Iran as well as the struggles that the face the Iranian youth:
Following Sardinia's speech, attendees at the demonstration formed a human chain around the perimeter of Fountain Square's corner of Fifth Street and Vine while continuing to chant and sing to show their support for Democracy and against the violations of human rights in Iran.
Once the two-hour rally concluded, I was able to once-again speak with organizer Nazanin Tork about the her goals for these demonstrations, the media coverage of the continued unrest in Iran, and what is next:
Yesterday about 100 Iranian-Americans, Cincinnati community members, and residents of the Greater Tri-State area gathered on Fountain Square for a rally in support of and in solidarity with the citizens of Iran who have been voicing their opposition to the recent election results.
Demonstrators began arriving on the Square a few minutes before 4 P.M., mainly wearing black to mourn those who have been killed during the Iranian Government's crackdown on peaceful dissent. The rally was largely organized by Iranian-Americans Ghoncheh Boroujerdi, Ahoo Tabatabai, Golnaz Shafeei, and Nazanin Tork on Facebook and the stated mission was listed as follows:
Join us, all Iranians and Non-Iranians, in expressing solidarity with the freedom-seeking protesters in Iran. Many of our own friends and relatives are bravely marching on the streets, and we feel a duty to support them by keeping up the momentum and continuing to raise awareness of these important events in Iran.
Here is some audio and some images from the beginning of the rally:
As the rally progressed, people marched on the square carrying signs, chanting slogans, and mourning the loss of all of those who have been killed in Iran since the crackdown. There were many images of Neda, whose violent death was captured on video and broadcast to the entire world as well as images of others who have lost their lives in the clashes with Iranian authorities. At one point flowers were collected on a make-shift shrine made out of a folding chair in front of a poster of images of those who have died.
As the people continued to step forward to the bullhorn to speak and offer words of solidarity in both English and Farsi, attention was drawn to a sign carried by one of those attending the rally. The sign read, "U.S. Out of the Middle East". A handful of demonstrators began to shout at the organizers and at the man holding the sign saying that this was not the message that they wanted to express. "I am not hear for the Middle East," one man shouted, "I am here only for the people of Iran!""Who installed the Shah?" shot back another demonstrator, "If you want to hold a rally for him, go across the street!" This smaller group became more and more vocal and even tried to use other signs to block the sign in question. Organizers quickly took to the bullhorn to try and keep the peace and announce that everyone was expressing the same solidarity in different ways, but those who objected to the sign continued to shout over the organizers and start chants of their own.
The confrontation reached its climax when one demonstrator walked over to the man holding the sign and forcefully ripped it from his hands. The ripped sign was thrown to the ground as police approached and organizers took to the bullhorn to regain control by asserting that this rally was organized as a peaceful event. Audio of the confrontation can be heard below, the main female voice is that of organizer Nazanin Tork. The climax of the argument happens at around 2:23 in the video:
After control was regained by the organizers of the event, the rally continued and ended peacefully without incident with chants of "Don't be afraid, we are all in this together" and "Fake Republic, sham election, this became our call to action".
After the event was over I was able to ask one of the organizers, Nazanin Tork, a few questions about the goals of the rally as well as the confrontation (Note: images in this video are not from the Cincinnati rally):
Iran's Security Forces and the Basij are showing no signs of retreat as the brutal crackdown on demonstrators continued today in Iran. Here is video of an interview that an Iranian student gave to CNN earlier today describing the violence:
More video from today's protests:
and the courage of the protesters continues to stay resolve as demonstrated in this video. The woman in the video has been translated as saying to the police "Beat me!":
Opposition Mir Hosein Mousavi's wife has likened the situation in Iran to "martial law":
Iran's supreme leader said Wednesday that the government would not yield to demonstrators demanding the annulment of a disputed presidential election. The wife of the opposition leader said protesters would not buckle under a situation she compared to martial law.
Reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's official Web site said a protest was planned outside Iran's parliament Wednesday afternoon. A helicopter could be seen hovering over central Tehran, but there were no immediate, confirmed reports of a demonstration.
Mousavi's Web site had distanced him from the protest, calling it independent and saying it had not been organized by the reformist candidate.
It is now being reported on the Huffington Post via a twitter message that Mousavi's legal adviser, Ardeshir Amir Arjman, has been arrested. There are also reports saying that Mousavi himself is "virtually under house arrest" and is being watched at all times by the secret police.
It also appears that pressure has been put on the family of Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman whose death was famously captured on camera over the weekend. A friend of the doctor (who is seen in the video) who tried to save her posted an email from the doctor who said he was fleeing Iran for Britain. The Guardian is also reporting that Neda's family has been kicked out of their apartment in Tehran by the Iranian authorities. Iranian authorities are also claiming that she was killed by protesters and not by security forces:
Neighbours said that her family no longer lives in the four-floor apartment building on Meshkini Street, in eastern Tehran, having been forced to move since she was killed. The police did not hand the body back to her family, her funeral was cancelled, she was buried without letting her family know and the government banned mourning ceremonies at mosques, the neighbours said.
"We just know that they [the family] were forced to leave their flat," a neighbour said. The Guardian was unable to contact the family directly to confirm if they had been forced to leave.
The government is also accusing protesters of killing Soltan, describing her as a martyr of the Basij militia. Javan, a pro-government newspaper, has gone so far as to blame the recently expelled BBC correspondent, Jon Leyne, of hiring "thugs" to shoot her so he could make a documentary film.
and the unrest isn't just in Tehran. This video is reportedly from Kerman:
Despite the break-up of yesterday's rally to mourn the dead in Tehran, people still looked for other peaceful ways to demonstrate. Here is a video of people turning on the brights in their car and honking their horn:
and despite the presence of police and Basij, demonstrators are still making their presence known:
In a move that has been expected, Iran's Guardian Council has announced that they will not nullify the results of the election as is being called for by the opposition leader Mir Hosein Mousavi. From Iran's state-run Press TV:
Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, the council's Spokesman said late on Monday that most of the complaints reported irregularities before the election, and not during or after the vote.
[...]
"If a major breach occurs in an election, the Guardian Council may annul the votes that come out of a particular affected ballot box, polling station, district, or city like how it was done in the parliamentary elections," Kadkhodaei said.
"Fortunately, in the recent presidential election we found no witness of major fraud or breach in the election. Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place," he added.
In the continuation of various forms of protest, there are reports that a movement to begin a national strike is taking shape. The AFL-CIO released this statement:
The AFL-CIO, representing over 11 million working women and men in the United States, expresses its deep concern over the immediate situation in Iran, following the contested election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Several people have been killed and many more wounded and injured by Iranian government forces attempting to repress massive demonstrations demanding either an annulment of the elections or a vote recount.
Our Federation, joining the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the global labor movement, calls on the Iranian authorities to cease and desist their violent repression of these peaceful demonstrations, as well as fully prosecute under due process of law all of those responsible for the tragic and reprehensible deaths and injuries.
The AFL-CIO also condemns and demands an immediate end to the continued violations of fundamental worker rights in Iran, including the recent arrest of four trade unionists and a journalist for participating in May Day rallies in Tehran - Jafar Azimzadeh, Said Youzi, Kaveh Mozaffari, Gholamreza Khani and Mehdi Farahani Shandiz. We also condemn the ongoing detention and harassment of Mansour Ossanlou and Ibrahim Medadi of the Tehran Bus Workers' Union, Farzad Kamangar of the Teachers' Union, Ali Nejati of the Sugar Workers, and Mahmoud Salehi of the Bakers' Union.
Reports are coming in from social networking websites that Iranians are attempting to organize a national strike in reaction to the country's disputed election. A similar event happened in 1979, when Iranian citizens organized against the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi.
Many writers are suggesting that the next move by defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi will naturally be to encourage an oil industry strike. Oil revenues account for 80% of the government's incoming budget. A national strike could prove to be a powerful tool in crippling the establishment forces inside Iran.
In a disturbing report, 19 year old Kaveh Alipour was shot in the head and killed by security forces on Saturday while returning from an acting class in Tehran. When his family heard of his death they went to claim his body and were asked to pay a "bullet fee" for the reimbursement of the cost of the bullet that took his life:
Upon learning of his son's death, the elder Mr. Alipour was told the family had to pay an equivalent of $3,000 as a "bullet fee"—a fee for the bullet used by security forces—before taking the body back, relatives said.
Mr. Alipour told officials that his entire possessions wouldn't amount to $3,000, arguing they should waive the fee because he is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war. According to relatives, morgue officials finally agreed, but demanded that the family do no funeral or burial in Tehran. Kaveh Alipour's body was quietly transported to the city of Rasht, where there is family.
and finally, a picture of Neda, whose graphic death was captured on video this weekend, has been circulating and is below:
The second of three children, she studied Islamic philosophy at a branch of Tehran's Azad University until deciding to pursue a career in tourism. She took private classes to become a tour guide, including Turkish-language courses, friends said, hoping to someday lead groups of Iranians on trips abroad.
Travel was her passion, and with her friends she saved up enough money for package tours to Dubai, Turkey and Thailand. Two months ago, on a trip to Turkey, she relaxed along the beaches of Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast.
She also loved music, especially Persian pop, and was taking piano lessons, according to Panahi and other friends. She was also an accomplished singer, they said.
But she was never an activist, they added, and she began attending the mass protests only because she was outraged by the election results.
[...]
Her friends say she, Panahi and two others were stuck in traffic on Karegar Street, east of Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square, on their way to the demonstration sometime after 6:30 p.m.
After they stepped out of the car to get some fresh air and crane their necks over the jumble of cars, Panahi heard a crack from the distance. In the blink of an eye, he realized Agha-Soltan had collapsed to the ground.
"We were stuck in traffic and we got out and stood to watch, and without her throwing a rock or anything they shot her," he said. "It was just one bullet."
Blood poured from the right side of her chest and began bubbling out of her mouth and nose as her lungs filled up.
"I'm burning, I'm burning!" Panahi recalled her saying, her final words.
Those nearby gathered around. A doctor tried to help, Panahi said, telling him to put his palm over the wound and apply pressure. A driver coming from the other direction urged the crowd to put her into his car.
A frantic search for a hospital followed. They took a wrong turn down a dead end and switched her limp body to another car.
Along the way, protesters and others screamed at drivers to clear a path in the snarled traffic. The medical staff of Shariati Hospital made a heroic effort to rush her into surgery, but it was too late. She was dead by the time she arrived at the emergency room, Panahi said.
"This is a crime that's not in support of the government," he said. "This is a crime against humanity."
Kasamin Makan, Neda Agha-Setan's fiancee, was interviewed by BBC Persia, noting that Neda would have turned 27 this year. "Neda's goal was not Mousavi or Ahmadinejad, it was her country and was important for her to fight for this goal. She had said many times that if she had lost her life or been shot in the heart, which indeed what happened, it was important for her to continue in this path," he said.
Considering her young age she has taught a lesson to us all.
About the day of the incident, Mr. Makan said: "When the clashes were occurring, Neda was far away from the demonstrations, she was in one of the side alleys near Amir Abad. Thirsty and tired or being cooped up for about an hour in the car in heavy traffic with her music instructor, she finally gets out of the car and, based on the pictures sent in by the people, armed forces in civilian clothes and the Basiji targeted and shot her in the heart."
"It was over in a matter of minutes, the Shariati Hospital was nearby, the people around her tried to bring her to the emergency room by car, but before that could even happen she died in her instructor's arms."
Mr. Makan added: "We got her body back finally yesterday with some diffculties. Of course, her body was not at the Tehran Coroner but at a one outside of Tehran. The medical examiners wanted parts of her body, including a portion of her femoral bone but the chief medical examiner would not say why and no explanations were ever given."
"Finally the family consented just so they could get her body back as soon as possible, since just this issue could have resulted in delaying the reception of the body. We buried the body in a small area in the Zahra Cemetery in the late afternoon of 31 Khordad. Also, they had brought in other people who had been killed in the protests so it seemed that the whole event was scheduled to be such."
About payment for releasing the remains, Mr. Makan had this to say: "No specific amount has been paid at this time, although hospitals, clinics, surgeons and medical examiners have been ordered by the Iranian security services, based on various orders, not to list 'bullet wound' as the cause of death on the death certificate in order to prevent the families from filing international complaints in the future. I haven't seen the release notice of Neda's remains yet, but I will obtain it from her father in the coming days."
Mr. Makan regarding government ban of memorial service for Neda Agha Setan said: "We were going to hold her memorial Monday 1st of Tir at 2:30 PM at a mosque at Sharyati street north of Seyed Khandan. But Basijis and mosque officials refused our request for her memorial service so to avoid further public confrontation and instability. They knew that Neda was an died innocently, and people in Iran and the international community are informed of that fact. So they decided to avoid a situation where a mass rally would take place. In any way, we do not have permission for a memorial service for now."
However, many eye witnesses told BBC Persia that a large gathering took place with the intention of performing a memorial service at Al Reza Mosque at Nilofar square in Tehran. But the security forces intervened by throwing people out of the mosque and intervening with the service.
Mr. Makan also commented on fake pictures of videos claiming to be Neda at various sites:"I was looking at some sites including 'iReport'. There was a picture of a young woman with green signs from previous calm demonstrations and had claimed it was Neda before being shot. These pictures have no relation to the event. It seems that Mr. Mousavi's supporters are trying to portray Neda as one of his supporters. This is not so. Neda was incredibly close to me and she was never supportive of either two groups. Neda wanted freedom and freedom for all."
BBC Farsi tried to contact Neda Agha-Sultan's other family members but was told by a close relative of hers that, for reasons of their own, the Agha Sultan family could grant an interview.
Demonstrators were scheduled to hold a rally today to mourn Neda and all the dead from these protests, but Iran's Security forces and the Basij broke up gatherings. Here are a couple of videos that are apparently from today:
Check out the front page of Iran's Kayhan Times. The translation is "$400 Million CIA Budget For Creating Riots After The Election." Obama continues to have a tough line to walk in dealing with this situation.
Iran's state media is reporting that Iran is going to release a "box by box" vote count:
Amid claims of a 'rigged-election' by certain defeated Iranian presidential candidates, a top election official says the box-by-box details of the vote will be released.
"During previous elections in the Islamic Republic, statistics concerning individual ballot boxes were considered confidential information … this kind of information was only available to certain officials," deputy head of the Interior Ministry's election headquarters Ali-Asghar Sharifi-Rad said Sunday.
According to Sharifi-Rad, the Ministry had, however, decided to publish the results "box by box," to resolve ambiguities about the disputed election in which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a landslide victory, ILNA reported.
The numbers do not add up. You can't have more voters than there are people. You can't have a complete liberal and pragmatic-conservative swing behind hard liners who make their lives miserable.
The election was stolen. It is there in black and white. Those of us who know Iran, could see it plain as the nose on our faces, even if we could not quantify our reasons as elegantly as Chatham House.
It has been just a few short days since graphic video was captured of an Iranian woman named Neda, being gunned down in the streets of Tehran and dying on camera. Neda's last moments have become a symbol of the brutal crackdown on all protesters that has been imposed by the Iranian Security forces and the Basij.
A blogger, who is reportedly in touch with Neda's family, gave a little more background on her story (translated by a reader at the Huffington Post):
she was born in 1982, apparently her full name was Neda Agha-Soltan, and she was at the protest with one her professors and several other students. She was, they said, shot by a basiji riding by on a motorcycle. Also, she was apparently buried today at a large cemetery in the south of Tehran. ABC News' Lara Setrakian writes, "Hearing reports Neda was buried in Behesht Zahra cemetery earlier today, memorial service cancelled on orders from authorities."
CNN, who stumbled out of the gate on their Iran coverage but have since recovered, ran this report on Neda yesterday (Graphic Content is contained in the video below):
Iran's revolution has now run through a full cycle. A gruesomely captivating video of a young woman — laid out on a Tehran street after apparently being shot, blood pouring from her mouth and then across her face — swept Twitter, Facebook and other websites this weekend. The woman rapidly became a symbol of Iran's escalating crisis, from a political confrontation to far more ominous physical clashes. Some sites refer to her as "Neda," Farsi for the voice or the call. Tributes that incorporate startlingly upclose footage of her dying have started to spring up on YouTube.
Although it is not yet clear who shot "Neda" (a soldier? pro-government militant? an accidental misfiring?), her death may have changed everything. For the cycles of mourning in Shiite Islam actually provide a schedule for political combat — a way to generate or revive momentum. Shiite Muslims mourn their dead on the third, seventh and 40th days after a death, and these commemorations are a pivotal part of Iran's rich history. During the revolution, the pattern of confrontations between the shah's security forces and the revolutionaries often played out in 40-day cycles.
Melody Moezzi, a Huffington Post contributor, appeared on CNN last night to discuss the significance of Neda and the impact that civilian deaths will have on the opposition movement:
It is also being reported that Karroubi, a reformist candidate who has backed Mousavi, is calling on people to gather in Tehran at 4PM today to mourn Neda. This comes as the Revolutionary Guard has vowed to crush any further protests today.
There are already reports that police are using force to break up any demonstration or protest that attempts to form:
Riot police attacked hundreds of demonstrators with tear gas and fired live bullets in the air to disperse a rally in central Tehran Monday, carrying out a threat by the country's most powerful security force to crush any further opposition protests over the disputed presidential election.
[...]
Witnesses said helicopters hovered overhead as about 200 protesters gathered at Haft-e-Tir Square. But hundreds of anti-riot police quickly put an end to the demonstration and prevented any gathering, even small groups, at the scene.
At the subway station at Haft-e-Tir, the witnesses said police did not allow anyone to stand still, asking them to keep on walking and separating people who were walked together. The witnesses asked not to be identified for fear of government reprisals.
Just before the clashes, an Iranian woman who lives in Tehran said there was a heavy police and security presence in another square in central Tehran. She asked not to be identified because she was worried about government reprisals.
"There is a massive, massive, massive police presence," she told the Associated Press in Cairo by telephone. "Their presence was really intimidating."
There is also reporting now coming in, that the rally to mourn Neda is being broken up by the Basij. ABC's Lara Setrakian tweets:
e-source: "People are trying to gather in 7 Tir square, but being dispersed before they can gather momentum. Many many Basijis"#iranelection
there is no other option: everyone has to get involved to help us.
UPDATE: Neda was apparently employed at a travel agency in Iran and was engaged to be married. BBC Persia has an interview with a man claiming to be Neda's fiance. This has yet to be translated. Iran's government banned Neda's family from holding a public funeral on Monday.
There are reports that there were demonstrations today in Iran, but that they were largely peaceful after yesterday's demonstrations that resulted in Iranian Security forces brutally cracking down on protesters. Here is some of the latest:
Iran's Guardian Council has announced on Iran's state-controlled Press TV, that the tallied votes in 50 Iranian cities exceeds the number of registered voters in those cities. Even though this effects around 3 million votes:
"it has yet to be determined whether the amount is decisive in the election results,"
There is also a report that a photojournalist who runs TehranLive.org, has gone missing:
A NOTE TO OUR READERS: We are saddened to report that the Iranian photojournalist, whose pictures appear in this gallery, is missing. He has not been in contact with us; this morning we received the following email from one of his relatives. We will update this space when we have more details.
A journalist for Newsweek also has reportedly been detained:
A Canadian journalist working in Iran for Newsweek magazine was detained without charge by Iranian authorities Sunday, the magazine said, adding that Maziar Bahari had not been heard from since.
"Newsweek strongly condemns this unwarranted detention, and calls upon the Iranian government to release him immediately," the New York-based weekly news magazine said in a statement.
It said Bahari, who has been living and covering Iran for the past decade, was "detained without charge by Iranian authorities and has not been heard from since."
"Mr Bahari's coverage of Iran, for Newsweek and other outlets, has always been fair and nuanced, and has given full weight to all sides of the issues. He has worked well with different administrations in Tehran, including the current one," it said.
Earlier today, I posted the horrifying video of the death of a young girl named Neda who was shot and killed yesterday during demonstrations. Another video has now been posted that shows Neda and her father participating in the protests a little while before she is shot and killed. She is in the jeans and standing next to her father who is in the blue and white striped shirt. Her father later tried to help keep her alive after she was shot:
An Iranian-American who makes documentaries and music videos, recently made a music video at the request of her cousin who lives in Iran. He and his friends reportedly were watching it before going out to protest and the Iranian-American who made the video submitted it to the Huffington Post. Here is the music video:
Yesterdays demonstrations and the brutal crackdown on the citizens in Iran have left us with some very disturbing videos and images. The chaos that is depicted in much of what happened yesterday is in sharp contrast to the videos that I posted earlier in the week that depict the demonstrators marching peacefully, at times in silence, through the streets of Iran. After the Supreme Leader's speech the other day, a crackdown was imminent on those who are wishing to express their right to vote freely and fairly, and have their voices of justice heard over the voices of oppression and tyranny. The videos I am going to post are all reportedly from yesterday.
This first video is of crowds that managed to gather to march through the streets:
This video is reportedly a confrontation between demonstrators and the Basij on a freeway in Iran. It looks like this video may have been shot from a rooftop:
I will give these next two videos a disclaimer for their graphic content. It turns out that images taken from these next two videos are some of the more famous images that came out of yesterday to show the extreme brutality and violence used by the security forces. I was surprised to hear that CNN aired these videos.
These two videos are from different angles from the same event and show a woman who has just been shot in the street. She dies on camera. The videos are extremely graphic and hard to watch so viewer beware. Still images of this same event can be seen here if it is easier for you.
A woman submitted a poem to the Huffington Post that talked about the loss of her "sister" and is apparently in reference to the woman in the two videos above.
Yesterday I wrote a note, with the subject line "tomorrow is a great day perhaps tomorrow I'll be killed." I'm here to let you know I'm alive but my sister was killed...
I'm here to tell you my sister died while in her father's hands I'm here to tell you my sister had big dreams... I'm here to tell you my sister who died was a decent person... and like me yearned for a day when her hair would be swept by the wind... and like me read "Forough" [Forough Farrokhzad]... and longed to live free and equal... and she longed to hold her head up and announce, "I'm Iranian"... and she longed to one day fall in love to a man with a shaggy hair... and she longed for a daughter to braid her hair and sing lullaby by her crib...
my sister died from not having life... my sister died as injustice has no end... my sister died since she loved life too much... and my sister died since she lovingly cared for people...
my loving sister, I wish you had closed your eyes when your time had come... the very end of your last glance burns my soul....
sister have a short sleep. your last dream be sweet.
Yesterday, Mousavi was apparently taking part in the protests and released a statement that he was ready for death. President Obama released the following statement:
The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.
As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.
Martin Luther King once said - "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.
The world is watching. Below is another video of another man who has been shot and killed. There is some graphic content in this video as well:
According to CNN and some tweets that I am reading, it appears that demonstrators are continuing to gather in Iran on Sunday to continue to voice their opposition.
The above video is reportedly from today and shows clashes between protesters and security forces. As I am posting this CNN is showing this video on television as well and are claiming that there is not any audio to this video. This is the third time I have heard them claim this about various videos that they are getting into their newsroom and it is simply not true, there is obviously audio. I also find that much of the time their television cameras are filming these videos on a computer screen. Kind of speaks to which medium has provided better coverage of these events.
Aljazeera is reporting that a suicide bomber blew himself up near the shrine of Imam Khomeini. Hard to interpret, since I don't take the reformist camp for seedy terrorist types. My guess, if its true, is Mojahedin-e Khalq or MEK or something very like it (which, if true, would be bad publicity for the reformers, since MEK is universally hated in Iran.)
Iranians are tweeting regularly that this bombing was done by the state in order to label the protesters as terrorists.
It's really striking when you actually know what she's saying: At first she's worried about her mom, who has left the house. She's concerned that her mom may be caught up in a scene like the one she's watching. But when she starts crying, it's actually because she sees "them" (she never says who exactly, but you can assume from context that it's the basiji) climbing balconies and breaking into houses with bricks. She keeps screaming: "They're going into people's homes!" and "They're destroying everything!"
The AP is reporting on some of the clashes between protesters and security forces:
Eyewitnesses described fierce clashes near Revolution Square in central Tehran after some 3,000 protesters chanted "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to dictatorship!" Police responded with tear gas and water cannons, the witnesses said. [...]
English-language state TV said a blast at the Tehran shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had killed one persona and wounded two but the report could not be independently confirmed due to government restrictions on independent reporting. [...]
Web sites run by supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi said he planned to post a message, but there was no statement by the time of the planned street protests at 4 p.m. (7:30 a.m. EDT, 1130 GMT).
Reports are also coming in of a bombing at a mausoleum and Iran's state media is attributing this bombing to a suicide bomber. Iranians on Twitter are skeptical and are even floating the idea that the government may be behind the bombing in order to claim that they are fighting against terrorists. Ann Curry of NBC tweeted:
"Iran state tv claims explosion at tomb of revered Ayatollah Khomeini. Would incite anger against protesters. Is it true? ... Remember Iran govt is the only source of this explosion report. NO independent confirmation and misinformation is dangerous."
Here is some video that is reportedly from today that shows Iranians fleeing what looks like a cloud of tear gas:
It is becoming clear from numerous reports that I am seeing from various live-blogs of this situation that the Basij have tight control of the streets. There are many reports that are saying that it is "impossible" for protesters to gather in a large group and that they are being forced into smaller groups in side streets where they are being beaten and tear gassed. It appears that things are deteriorating quickly.
You could feel the tension in the those rooftop chants in the anticipation for the events that will unfold today in Iran. From the Huffington Post:
A Facebook user named Seth Eslami posts a message on Christiane Amanpour's page: "So far I have received several goodbye emails from my friends in Iran. It's is sad...very sad & braking my hard.What is the price tag on freedom? We can't tell people what to do from here.I want to see them free but I hate to see them in blood..."
There are also reports of a buildup of security forces. From the BBC:
It is a very confused and tense situation. The security forces are out on the streets. They have been issuing dire warnings that they will deal with any unauthorised demonstrations with determination.
This is all about the position of the Supreme Leader. Any rally, particularly if it is attended by the opposition leaders, would be the most direct challenge to his authority. If it goes ahead and there is a large crowd, that would be a massive challenge to him. If it goes ahead and it is broken up with violent force, that could also damage his position enormously. It is a very tense situation. These are huge political issues at stake, if not even the future of the Islamic Republic.
Fire trucks took up positions in Revolution Square, the site of the planned gathering, and riot police surrounded Tehran University, the site of recent clashes between protesters and security forces, one witness said.
Vanak Square reportedly full of civilian-dressed forces (lebas shakhsi)
There are current reports of tear gas being deployed in Azadi Square and police blocking protesters from entering. I fear we will be seeing some of the most disturbing images of these events after today is over.
Video of security forces vandalizing an office building:
The BBC's coverage of Khamenei's speech:
Obama's response to this speech:
"And I'm very concerned based on some of the tenor -- and tone of the statements that have been made -- that the government of Iran recognize that the world is watching. And how they approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard will, I think, send a pretty clear signal to the international community about what Iran is and -- and is not."
The whispering is heard in the throng’s silence. It is the word-of-mouth switching mechanism of Iran’s uprising. I’ve never seen such discipline achieved with so little, millions summoned and coordinated with hardly a sound. “Silence will win against the bullets,” says one banner.
The odds must still be against that. But Ahmadinejad, in his customary bipolar (but tending manic) fashion, is making nice. “We like everyone,” he now says. I suppose he must mean those who are not in prison, hospital or a cemetery.
However, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, adopted a harsh tone in a Friday sermon, warning of chaos and bloodshed if protests continue, blaming “evil media” run by “Zionists” for unacceptable disturbances, dismissing rigging as impossible, and charging the United States with meddling. In effect, Khamenei drew a line in the sand.
[...]
Iran has sought independence and some form of democracy for over a century. It now has the former but this election has clarified, for an overwhelmingly young population, the Islamic Republic’s utter denial of the latter.
The feeling in the crowd seems to be: today or never, all together and heave!
A man holds his mobile phone up to me: footage of a man with his head blown off last Monday. A man, 28, whispers: “The government will use more violence, but some of us have to make the sacrifice.”
Tension is indeed mounting prior to tomorrow's first planned rally that the government has not issued a permit for. It is even reflected in the tweets:
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has given a speech defending the results of the election and gave a warning to protesters to cease protests and stay out of the streets. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reportedly in attendance during this speech. From the Guardian:
The speech now creates a clear dilemma for Mousavi and his supporters: do they return to the streets in open defiance of Khamenei or drop their demands? Prior to today's speech, Mousavi had called on the opposition movement to gather in Tehran tomorrow afternoon for a rally, but many may now feel too fearful of a crackdown by the authorities.
"Arm wrestling in the street must stop," Khamenei said. "I want everyone to put an end to this. If they don't stop this … they will be held accountable for all of this."
The ayatollah insisted that it was "natural" for people to support different candidates but that the foreign media was responsible for portraying supporters of Mousavi as opposed to the Islamic revolution.
"Enemies try through various media, and some of these media belong to the Zionists … they try to make believe that there is a fight between supporters of the opposition and the Islamic establishment," said Khamenei. "They have no right to say that, that is not true."
Khamenei's threats, that there will be accountability should the protests continue, certainly puts an added level of tension in air on this issue. It has been striking to watch the peaceful protesters march en masse through the city streets and call for their voice to be heard, but there is certainly a sense that something is going to happen. Andrew Sullivan weighs in:
I think we find one clue to why he rigged the vote count so crudely. His argument that a majority of eleven million was too big to allow for any irregularities suggests he believed that a big lie was the only one that would work. But if you utter a big lie, you had better hope it could persuade some. It appears to have persuaded no one but a few fools at the Washington Post and the executive editor of the New York Times.
And the endless attempt to blame all this on Britain and the US and the "Zionists." This is a regime that is so hermetically sealed, so rigid in its dogma, so brutal in its ideology it probably believes its own lies. It is, as David Brooks notes today, very, very fragile. When every piece of data requires a reassertion of doctrine in order to banish reality from people's minds, government becomes impossible. All that is possible is brute force and terror.
I fear deeply what is about to happen. But I also sense that the Gandhi-strategy of the majority is a winning one. If they can sustain their numbers and withstand the nightly raids, and if they can overwhelm the capital tomorrow in another peaceful show of strength, then they can win. And the world will change. This is their struggle now, requiring the kind of courage that only God can provide. Their God, my God, the God of the Torah and the Koran and the Gospels.
Something is happening in Iran.
and more frightening reports on the Basij in the New York Times:
The vigilantes plan to take their fight into the daylight on Friday, with the public relations department of Ansar Hezbollah, the most public face of the Basij, announcing that they planned a public demonstration to expose the “seditious conspiracy” being carried out by “agitating hooligans.”
“We invite the vigilant people who are always in the arena to make their loud objections heard in response to the babbling of this tribe,” said the announcement, carried on the Web site Parsine.
The announcement could be the first indication that the government was taking its gloves off, Iranian analysts noted, because up to this point the Basijis, usually deployed as the shock troops to end any public protests, have been working in stealth.
Some new videos have also come out from this past week in Iran. Here is video of the attack on Tehran University earlier in the week:
Here is a video from Monday's protests that show a demonstrator being shot:
It is also being reported that the soccar players who wore green writstbands in their World Cup qualifying match have been suspended.
There was some pressure for Google to turn their page "green" to show support for the protests in Iran, but instead of doing this, they added a Persian/Farsi translator to their services so that people can translate articles and tweets to English.
There are some videos and photos that are beginning to come into various sources of today's rally to mourn the election and also the victims who have been killed.
Protesters were encouraged to wear black for the day of mourning:
Mourning the martyr is as central to Iranian Shiite religious culture as it was to strains of medieval Catholicism in Europe, and Mousavi's camp is tapping into a powerful set of images and myths here. The archetypal Shiite martyr is Imam Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who championed oppressed Muslims in Iraq and was cut down by the then Umayyad Muslim Empire. Recognition that a Muslim state might commit the ultimate in sacrilege by beheading a person who had been dangled on the Prophet's knee has imbued modern political Shiism with a distrust of the state. When Husayn's head was brought to the Umayyad caliph Yazid and deposited before his throne, older companions of the Prophet are said to have wept and remarked, "I saw the Prophet's lips on those cheeks." Shiites ritually march, flagellate, and chant in honor of the martyred Imam or divinely-appointed leader.
[...]
But now Mousavi's his supporters are also sporting black ribbons to indicate that they are in mourning for the fallen. Typically, the dead will be commemorated again at one month and at 40 days. In 1978 such demonstrations for those killed in previous demonstrations grew in size all through the year, till they reached an alleged million in the streets of Tehran. Since the reformists are already claiming Monday's rally was a million, you wonder where things will go from here.
Is the tide beginning to turn? Apparently the Basij, who have been open about their identities, are now beginning to hide their faces:
The Basij have now begun to cover their faces, whereas previously they hadn't. This indicates they are becoming more scared of retaliation from the general public. Also, we have heard that cell phone service is cut off at night. There have been efforts to identify members of the Basij who have used violence against demonstrators, through facebook and other social networking websites.
Perhaps this would be a reason why they feel the need to hide their face, they are being exposed:
Members of the Iranian Parliament began asking questions yesterday about these plainclothes officials who had been attacking protesters and here is what happened. (Translated from Farsi by a reader at the Huffington Post):
Yesterday a couple of the members of the Iranian parliament started asking question regarding the plainclothes security forces who have been beating the protesters in Iran.
Apparently, Abutorabi (Parliament secretary) questioned the connections of the plainclothes security forces who had earlier storm Tehran University's dorms and killed and injured students. Abutorabi claims that those individuals have been identified and says: "Why do plainclothes individuals without permission from the government get to storm the dorms?"
Then Ansari, a member of the parliament took the floor and talked about the "fact finding" committee and the fact that everyone in that comity is an Ahmadinejad supporter and therefore questioned the legitimacy of the committee.
After Ansari, Abutorabi took the floor again and continued questioning the plainclothes security forces once again. At this point Hosseinian, Koochakzadeh, and resaee, the three biggest supporters of Ahmadinejad in the parliament, started a verbal argument which ended with a number of physical fights. As a result a number of pro and ant Ahmadinejad members of the parliament join the fight and start slapping and pushing each other.
In the end, the anti Ahmadinejad block claims that they will expose the identities of those behind the plainclothes security forces.
Keep in mind that the pro and anti Ahmadinejad blocks belong to the same political party! I think the government is starting to crack up from the inside.
Digby had a good post about putting this whole situation into some context:
It's also worth understanding how this has completely bypassed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, almost ceasing to be about him at all, and instead has to be viewed through the lens of the desires of the Supreme Leader. The election itself has become almost besides the point, as thirty years of frustration with the shift of the Islamic Revolution, or possibly even just frustration with the personality of Khamenei himself, bubbles to the surface.
However, his support for Ahmadinejad before and after the elections, together with what many believe to be overwhelming election fraud that he has sanctioned, is almost out of character for Khamenei. Such moves are very sudden and extreme, unlike the punctilious way in which he has maneuvered around important issues and decisions in the past. They are also very provocative, not just for supporters of reformists, but because they are clearly efforts to isolate other powerful figures. These leaders include Rafsanjani and Karroubi, both of whom have vast business connections and are politically well-connected.
One possible reason for Khamenei’s recent decision is that he realized that unless he intervened, the reformists would win the elections. What concerned the Supreme Leader even more is the fact that the clergy, both right and left, were turning against the president, and ultimately, against him. Recently, for instance, the Society For Combatant Clergies, a powerful conservative group belonging to the clergy in Qom, decided “not to support any candidate in the presidential elections.” This was a politically correct way of saying that they would not support Ahmadinejad. As someone who has supported Ahmadinejad throughout his career, Khamenei took their decision as a rebuff against his own political ambitions.
A victory by the reformists, in cooperation with the clergy and Rafsanjani, would have created a powerful front against Khamenei. Instead of being loyalist soldiers like Ahmadinejad, they would have challenged his views in important areas, such as dealing with the United States. With Khamenei already viewing Obama’s positive overtures as a threat, any more internal dissent would have boosted Washington’s position against Iran in the negotiations.
and then back to digby:
It's worth noting that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani heads the Assembly of Experts, the religious body which chooses - and can depose - a Supreme Leader. The clerics have said almost nothing throughout this week of protests, but Rafsanjani has been alleged to be masterminding this whole spectacle. The fact that some protestors are targeting Khamenei personally lends credence to that. Rafsanjani and "moderates" like him have backed down before, but the presumed stolen election is a more powerful lever with which to play out the palace intrigue. Viewed this way, we can see these protests as a high-stakes jockeying for power among different sects from the original Islamic revolution, a far cry from some democratic uprising for freedom. I don't think that's the motivation of everyone in the streets, but what they don't know won't hurt them.
Indeed there is much more going on here than the election, but it is through the election that all of these political alliances are being tested and pressured. One can feel the momentum building within Iran and as of now, it is unclear how this situation will play out. Matt Yglesias summed it up nicely earlier today:
But when you have your mass protests, you still have the key question. Do the security services just kill a bunch of people (Tiananmen)? Does the regime blink and surrender (Velvet Revolution)? Does the regime attempt surrender, only to be undercut by a hardline coup (USSR, 1991)? Does the regime attempt to resist, only to be undone by a coup (Romania)? Information technology doesn’t seem to me to have anything to do with this. It all has to do with internal regime politics, and the attitudes of the people leading and serving in the security forces.
Here are some of the latest developments that are coming out of Iran.
It is becoming more apparent that the Iranian government is trying to convince the citizens that the opposition protesters are actually rioting and creating destruction. This strategy is probably being used in order to try and fragment the public opinion of the protesters and get those who are not involved in the protests, to turn on those who are. This strategy also has the goal of deterring those Iranians who are "on the fence" about joining the green revolution from not wanting to be a part of a group who is vandalizing Iran. The kicker in this situation of course, is that it is the government and the security forces who are creating a lot of the destruction.
I posted some video a couple of days ago of the aftermath of an attack on Tehran University and here is some fresh video of the aftermath of an attack on a parking garage. Here is some helpful context from a reader of the Huffington Post:
this is a video that show the aftermath of security forces breaking into a residential parking. the camera man keeps asking the women who did this, and she explains that it was the special security forces. he asks "so it wasn't the protesters?" she explains why would our kids break our cars? she says at least 3 or 4 times that it was the security force that broke in and smashed all the windows.
An image that also speaks to this strategy by the security forces is below. Check out the lower left-hand corner:
The Wall Street Journal also has some reporting on the attack on Tehran University:
At the same time, Iran's Interior Ministry ordered a probe into an attack late Sunday night on Tehran University students in a dormitory reported to have left several students dead and many more injured or arrested. Students say it was carried out by Islamic militia and police. Iran's English-language Press TV said the ministry urged Tehran's governor's office to identify those involved. Iran's influential speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, condemned the attack.
Students' Web sites reported mass resignations by Tehran University professors outraged over the incident. One medical student said he and his roommate blocked their door with furniture and hid in the closet when they heard the militia's motorcycles approaching. He heard the militia breaking down doors, and then screams of anguish as students were dragged from their beds and beaten violently.
When he came out after the militia had left, friends and classmates lay unconscious in dorm rooms and hallways, many with chest wounds from being stabbed or bloody faces from blows to their heads, he said. The staff of the hospital where the wounded students were taken, Hazrat Rasoul Hospital, was so shocked that they went on strike for two hours, standing silently outside the gate in their white medical uniforms.
That same article in the Wall Street Journal also speaks about how prominent leaders who are supportive of Mousavi, have been arrested:
At the same time, security agents rounded up three more prominent figures affiliated with Mr. Mousavi. The country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has told Mr. Mousavi to pursue his demands through the electoral system and urged Iranians to unite behind their Islamic government.
There is another huge rally scheduled for today by supporters of Mousavi in order to mourn the deaths of citizens killed during the protests and also to mourn the election. Demonstrators are encouraged to wear black and I will post some video that manages to trickle out of Iran from these protests. Reza Aslan appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show last night to discuss the significance of this movement:
YouTube also understands the significance of these events and how important it is for images and videos to get out of Iran so that the world can see what is happening. They have relaxed their restrictions on uploading violent content so that these images can reach the rest of the world. From the company:
“In general, we do not allow graphic or gratuitous violence on YouTube,” the company said in a statement. “However, we make exceptions for videos that have educational, documentary, or scientific value. The limitations being placed on mainstream media reporting from within Iran make it even more important that citizens in Iran be able to use YouTube to capture their experiences for the world to see.”
Here is video of a massive silent protest that was staged by the opposition in Iran today. It is striking how silent this scene is despite the enormous amount of people:
The protests even continue into the night with the rooftop chants. Every hour at 10PM, 11PM, and midnight protesters shout "Allaho Akbar" from their rooftops. Video of last night is below. There is also a female voice speaking over the video in what I believe is Farsi. A reader over at the Huffington Post helped to translate what she is saying:
The woman in this video is saying something that really touched me. She is saying that they can take our phones, our internet, all our communication away, but we are showing that by saying "allaho akbar" we can find each other. She ends it my saying that tonight they are crying out to god for help.
The New York Times is reporting that the so-called recount is underway in Iran and has thusfar shown no irregularities:
The Fars news agency also reported that the partial recount of votes ordered Tuesday by the Guardian Council, the 12-member body of jurists which supervises elections and holds veto power over legislation in Iran, had begun. A recount of votes in Kermanshah, a Kurdish province, showed that “there has been no irregularity,” the news agency reported.
The recount, intended as a effort to meet the opposition’s concerns, has failed to halt the unrest. On Tuesday, a large protest by thousands of supporters of Mr. Moussavi stretched for miles along a major thoroughfare in Tehran. The marchers, dressed largely in black and green, marched mostly in silence, some carrying signs in English asking, “Where is my vote?”
Farideh Farhi is from the University of Hawaii and has years of experience studying voting in Iran and in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor, he says that the election results were "pulled out of a hat":
My personal feeling is that Ahmadinejad could not have gotten anything more than 10 million. And I really do have the data from previous elections, each district, how they voted, each province, to make comparisons with these numbers that the Ministry of Interior have come out.
I am convinced that they just pulled it out of their hats. They certainly didn't pull it out of ballot [boxes] or even stuffed ballots, they just made up numbers and are putting it out. It just doesn't make sense.
I do take the numbers of the Interior Ministry very seriously. I pore over them every election. I did it last time in the parliamentary election, to determine the orientations and what they mean. I always do that.
In this election, I am not even going to spend time on this, because of all the [problems].
[...]
They simply are not interested in these people continuing to be interested in politics in Iran. The want them to become demoralized and cynical, because their participation in the Iranian electoral process is extremely destructive for the [Islamic] system ...
What they have not counted on, of course, is a group of people that they essentially think of, for lack of a better word, Westernized wishy-washy liberals, who never stand for anything, would actually be upset that this election was stolen in such a brazen way.
They assumed: 'Ah, you know, we go into the streets, we yell at them, and a couple of shots and they go home and close their doors.'
They knew that they were a minority, and that's why they tried to pull this off. They thought they could bully people, through violence. And they may ultimately be correct. But it seems they have underestimated, not only the crowds, but Mr. Mousavi.
