Never on Sunday? Things might have been rough in the confrontation between demonstrators and the authorities in Iran Saturday but the dissidents have been warned not to try it again — so will they today (Sunday)?
Read a report on the Time Magazine site that quoted the Tehran police chief, I think it was, who claimed that authorities held back somewhat Saturday, but do not plan to do so Sunday or in the future should dissidents continue to conduct protest demonstrations of any kind.
Seems like the the Iranian religious authorities, who run the government, are not all in agreement with each other. Even the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is on shaky ground, I have read. The totalitarian government knows it has to clamp down hard on the protesters to maintain its authority, but is in jeopardy of losing its support if it creates a major bloodbath.
Some experts seem to think that the dissidents may be emboldened now that they have seen the elephant, so to speak. That is they may have lost some of their initial fear. Get folks mad enough and they lose some of their fear (even if the government has the guns).
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama seems to have been forced by the politics of the whole thing to take a somewhat more agressive tone against the Iranian government’s actions.
I began following the news early this (Saturday) morning. No one seems to know how many people may have been killed or hurt, but certainly there were casualties.
Through the night Saturday after the street protests, I understand, citizens have hollered out through the dark the slogan Allahu Akbar (God is great), ironically as they reportedly did during the revolution of 1979 when the Islamic revolution overthrew the secular (non-religious) government of the U.S.-imposed Shah of Iran. And now the Islamic-run government is threatened from within. These people have no beef with Allah (God), but instead those who claim to be his representative here on earth.
Interestingly they were reportedly also shouting “death to the dictator” and most interestingly. “death to the Ayatolla”.
And let’s don’t lose sight of the fact that not everyone by a longshot in Iran is against the present government. But apparently the current government did not have enough confidence in itself to run a free election. From what I read, they both stuffed ballot boxes and forbade a real count. Seems a strange way to go about things. Their fraud was too transparent. Why didn’t they go through the motions and then declare Ahmadinejad the winner as expected?
Opposition leader Hossein Mousavi as I understand it did not meet with authorities as they had offered today, probably because they had already closed the door on a new election as he has demanded. Who knows? maybe he is under arrest or house arrest anyway (don’t know). The Iranian government is working hard to prevent news from getting out. But modern computer technology and citizen journalists along with professional journalists are fighting back.
My favorite political cartoon is a protester standing up to a baton-wielding policeman and saying: “stop or I’ll tweet”!
What follows is my original post Saturday morning, plus several add ons:
ADD 6 (2:34 p.m. PDT): U.S. President Barack Obama is getting less neutral on Iran. He has now issued a statement in which he said in part: “We call of the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people…”
ADD 5 (12:32 p.m. PDT): If I have my calculations right it is in the middle of the night (already early Sunday) in Iran and I don’t know what is happening at this time. I just know that demonstrators defied the government and there was violence — saw one scene on YouTube (of course, as they say, it was not vetted). I read one blog said to be out of Iran and describing cries in the night of “Allahu akbar” (God is great) and “death to the dictator” and even death to the Ayatollah. Now I don’t know if that blog was describing Saturday night or Friday night or both. Also, I make reference in this blog that the U.S. official position is neutral in all of this. But I should clarify that. President Barack Obama may still be holding to we won’t meddle, but he did make a statement in the last 24 hours that said in part to the Iranian government: “The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching…. the universal rights of assembly and free speech must be respected.” One insider blogger claimed that Joe Biden made him say it (convinced him, okay). Seriously, there is some indication of a slight change of stance on all of this by Obama (he is getting political pressure). But what I don’t get is certainly we don’t make China live up to the standards we are calling for in Iran and last time I checked China has a most favored nation status in trade and is our bank and we owe them one heck of a lot of money (think I just figured it out).
ADD 4 (10:09 a.m.): I’m reading on the web that the main opposition leader Hossein Musavi has vowed that he is ready for “martyrdom”. There are reports that some demonstrators are carrying copies of the Koran, sometimes wearing them on their heads, the idea being that will protect them. I also read one blog that said a policeman was attacking a woman and she said: “Why are you doing this? Are you not an Iranian”? Also heard an Iran expert Iranian professor at an American college describe what is going on as not a revolution or counter revolution or even civil war, but a “civil rights” movement. It is interesting to me — and others have of course observed — that so many of the protesters are women. As we know, women are considered second-class citizens in Iran, as well as in most or all Islamic-controlled nations (and I would say extreme conservative Christians consider women second class as well and I have read where one Islamic woman said she would rather men be in charge so that they can take the blame — I think I have heard Christians or just other women say that or imply that as well). Interestingly, I think, the protesers are not necessarily protesting religious rule or religion — they just want more freedoms. We’re not getting a lot of reliable information, but I have read that there has been much violence and many deaths (and so far, I believe that would be violence primarily from the authorities inflicted upon demonstrators).
I probably won’t blog more on this until much later in the day. Have other things to do — but this is important stuff with implications on the whole world and people who long for or want to preserve freedom everywhere.
One more thing. It is hard to know actually how widespread this discontent is through Iranian society — certainly there are many layers with their own wants and needs and preferances in Iran. And as much as people there want freedom (or not), I doubt that they want meddling from the West. They’ve had plenty of that over the past many decades.
ADD 3 (7:20 a.m. PDT): Several news sources, including the one-sided Iranian state sites, are reporting a blast at the shrine of the late Ayatohllah Rubollah Khomeini, with at least one death. One web site implied that it could have well been a suicide bomber working on behalf of the government to discredit the opposition by making it look like they are committing violence. It said the current Ayatollah made reference yesterday to such violence as a cause for authorities to crack down. Meanwhile, there are reports of police beating demonstrators and firing off tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds.
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It seems that the confrontation in Iran between the dissidents of last week’s presidential election and the authorities has begun, with reports this morning that several thousand demonstrators defied the Ayatollah’s order and marched on the streets in Tehran and have been met by thousands of both uniformed and plain clothes police who are reportedly using tear gas and water cannon to disperse them.
Now I guess few on the outside can really know what is going on because the government there has done its best to shut off all communication. That of course is proof in and of itself that the Iranian government is corrupt and illegitimate. But as I have blogged consistently, I don’t think this affair is officially any of the U.S.’s business, although of course the hearts of the freedom-loving world go out to oppressed peoples everywhere. I think our president, Barack Obama, has struck the right tone so far saying we will not meddle in the affairs of Iran, but at the same time saying that we support the right to free elections. Two resolutions passed late Friday, one each by both houses of congress, in support of the dissidents I think were unecessary and somewhat meaningless, in that what could we or should we do if things go far awry in Iran? As one commentator said: what do we do? Invade Iran and shoot bullets that only kill the oppressors but not the opposition? On the other hand, I suppose the resolutions – which I have not read, only heard reported about – were probably harmless and maybe do give some moral support. I must say if the reports I have seen within the past 15 minutes or so on the web are true, the dissidents have a lot of guts and must truly believe in their cause.
It’s 6:30 a.m. PDT (here on the U.S. west coast) as I write this line and I saw the first reports of demonstrators vs. authorities activity on the web at about 15 minutes ago. I got up about 5:30 a.m., eager to read the news and hopeful that a bloodbath will not occur, and also hopeful that some people power will have some effect on another of so many oppressive governments in the world.
I also think of the major change we made here a few months ago and thankfully without violence.
Going to go back and check the web for more news updates, plus check out my local newspaper for what is happening here in local affairs. Will blog more in a while.
ADD 1: Not the same circumstances, but I can’t help but think about all the uproar back in the mid 1950s when the U.S. failed to support the Hungarian uprising when some thought we should have stood up to communism then and there. That short-lived uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks. Decades later people power fueled and augmented by modern communication won out and with little violence. That is why the tyrannical Iranian government forces are working so hard to keep a lid on communication.
ADD 2: I should have noted that there have been reports of people chanting “Death to the dictator” and “death to the dictatorship”. If that is meant to be literal, and what else could it mean? that sounds ominous (those slogans were reportedly chanted earlier the week too, I recall). Up until now and maybe even now the demonstrators have been for the most part peaceful with the violence done on the part of the govenment and its supporters, as far as I know.