One brave man finally had enough of the regime's broken promises and threw shoes at Ahmadinejad. Hopefully the regime will begin to listen to the grievances of the people, but I doubt it. Also I hope for the best for this poor man who will surely be treated poorly by the regime for showing his open defiance:
A jobless man has thrown his shoes at Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to protest at not having received his unemployment benefits.
A report of the incident on a conservative Iranian website Shafaf.ir is a rare example of the Iranian media reporting a humiliation reportedly suffered by the president. The website is close to Ahmadinejad's opponents.
The website identifies the man as a laid-off worker in a textile factory in the northern city of Sari, which the president was visiting.
It says that the shoes missed Ahmadinejad, and the man began to attack the government for his failure to receive his benefits.
Iran officially reports its unemployment rate at about 11%, but some experts say it is much higher.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Injured
Great piece about those injured in the aftermath of the fradulent election and an interview with one of the regime's victims:
There are no official statistics on those killed, injured, and imprisoned after Iran's Presidential election in June 2009.
Last month Alireza Saboori, shot in the head during the mass protest of 15 June 2009, died in the US. This prompted Mohammad (Farhad) Yeganeh Tabrizi, injured during the Ashura demonstrations of December 2009 to break his anonymity: "I have already come to terms with the fact that sooner or later, I might have to face the same fate, but what tortures me is how the thousands of injured, whose pain is many times greater than the death of those who died during the protests following the election, are being forgotten."
Yeganeh Tabrizi has had several surgeries and still suffers from a bullet that is lodged in his body. Lamenting the lack of attention of the media, families, and even some Iranians living abroad to the plight of injured protesters, he says: "I always ask myself, what if Neda Agha Soltan had also been injured and not killed? What percentage of Iranians would go looking for her and her family? How many foreign reporters would interview her? How many people would go to visit her? How many journalists would write reports about her ? Would her family get information out to help to save her life? Or would she, too, die in obscurity and utter anonymity for the sake of some rational excuse by her family and the media?"
Yeganeh Tabrizi adds: "The silence of families, the media's failure to follow up, and the fact that most of these injured Iranians are forgotten and haven't received any kind of assistance basically means they have 'been buried alive'. They went out for the freedom of their country and in the process have lost their lives or are losing them. I only found out what happened to people like Alireza after I left Iran." He explains, "While in Turkey, I met with injured Iranians who lives in poverty and misfortune, without access to basic health care, waiting for an answer from UNHCR [the United Nations High Commission for Refugees] to get resettled. I still don't know what happened to many of them."
In a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Yeganeh Tabrizi wrote:
I request that you investigate why I --- an Iranian citizen - who had spent 15 years of his life ensuring I had a way to support himself, lost all of it in a single night just because I protested against an election that was rigged by the Iranian regime. I request that you investigate why such a person has to be forced to spend everything he has on injuries he has suffered on a way to smuggle himself out of the country and still spend the rest of his life slowly getting more and more paralyzed mentally and physically.
I gave a vote and it was not counted. Why should I have to give up my life and well-being for it? Through this letter, I declare that I have complaints against the Islamic Republic and want compensation in return for my physical paralysis, mental deterioration and loss of work, business and the physical torture and humiliation that I have faced.
If I could find a just source in this life, I will demand justice. Otherwise I'll take my complaint to the God who kept me alive long enough to complain about this to you.
The Complete Interview
Here's the complete text of the interview conducted by a Kaleme report with Mohammad Yeganeh Tabrizi, a protester who was injured during the Ashura protests in 2009.
Mr.Yeganeh, I asked you for an interview about your physical state once before and you told me you were being treated and remembering what happened during Ashura is too much to bear for you. Is it possible for you to tell us what happened that day during Ashura in 2009?
I was shot with a shot gun on that day, which was December 25, 2009.
Where exactly were you during that protest and how did this happen to you?
We were moving form Imam Hossain Square towards Enghelab Square while we were being continuously attacked by security forces and Basij over and over. But we kept changing our direction to avoid confrontation with them and kept changing course to finally get back to Enghelab Square until we got to College Bridge (Pole-Kalej). It was very crowded and from there on to Valiasr Square, people were beating their chests and mourning while also being there to support the Green Movement and Mir Hossein Mousavi. I was also moving from under the bridge towards Valiasr because the bridge itself was completely occupied by men in plainclothes who wouldn't allow people to use it.
As we got near the end of the bridge, suddenly riot police showed up from the direction of Valiasr with riot police vans and attacked people. There was so much tear gas that you couldn't see or breathe. We were forced to retreat when the men on the bridge started throwing stones upon us. Several people were injured on the spot. We were forced to enter Alborz Street and get to Hafez Street from there, but our path had been sealed off there. People were surrounded by the plainclothesmen and riot police. There were clashes everywhere, bullets were being shot, stones were being thrown, and tear gas was being fired.
Do you remember who exactly shot you? I mean, could you see the shooters?
Three of us got shot in the head with shotguns by security forces. One man in plainclothes was also shooting at us with a Colt. We didn't expect the police to shoot at us. Just as I saw them shooting at us, the man sitting next to me got shot in the face. I turned to help him and my back was towards the shooters when I was hit on the back of my head and the rest of my body. In totally, 150 shotgun pellets struck me.
What did you do when you got injured? Did they take you to a hospital? What hospital did they take you to and what were the circumstances like that day?
That day, people had surrounded the riot police. They were disarming them and taking off their uniforms and later letting them go one by one. Suddenly, I saw a body falling from atop the bridge. That body was a young protester that the plainclothesmen had pushed over the bridge. He fell next to us on the road and his body was mangled up. At the moment, I thought I was hit by a stone so I ran to get under the bridge. That's when I realized that I was bleeding horrifically from all over my body and head. After seeing the bodies of the other protesters who got shot like me, I realized that my own body had been filled with holes. After I got under the bridge, I lost consciousness and couldn't see or hear anything. I thought I was unconscious and dying. Then, I heard the sound of youngsters who'd gathered around me and were guessing that I was dead due to blood loss. I wanted to move a hand or foot so they'd know that I'm alive. I was only able to open my eyes and one of the youngsters that I didn't recognize along with his friends picked me up and took me out from the scene of the clashes.
I had little hope of getting out of that dead zone, but those youngsters who I only found a picture of later, took me to their car, laying me down on the backseat. The car was filling up with blood and my body had no movement. They delivered me to an ambulance in Hafez Street which quickly took me to Sina Hospital. At the gate, a security agent in plainclothes entered the ambulance and searched my pockets, then confiscated my cell phone and other belongings.
After that did you have surgery and treatment in Iran? I mean, did you have face any security issues after getting injured? Were you afraid of going to the hospital?
After assurances from one of my acquaintances, who was on the staff of the Army Hospital, I was taken to that hospital and was under the watch of intelligence. I was unconscious for 20 days and in CCU. When I regained consciousness, I realized that two of the pellets had been lodged inside my brain and had severely injured it. The doctors there did everything they could, but did not disturb my brain itself because of past experiences with wounded soldiers. They knew that if they did, it would probably cause more brain damage. Instead, they gave me very expensive and rare medications, which we procured with a great deal of difficulty to stop me from becoming brain dead. After regaining consciousness, I was questioned twice by the intelligence police and I have written about it to Ahmad Shaheed [the United Nations Special Rapporter for Human Rights in Iran.
When I was in Iran, the people who had taken over my responsibility handed my half-paralyzed body over to the intelligence police on a wheelchair on Moalem Street. After questioning, they sent me to the Enghelab Court with a guard and was handed over to an investigator of the 10th Branch of the Enghelab Court. There, before the intelligence police could question me, I said that I wanted to complain about the security forces for shooting me. The representative of the intelligence police started beating me in front of the investigator and the court clerk. I fell off the wheelchair. He told me I was a criminal because you were on Enghelab Street during Ashura and that your crime has been proven. He told me they were looking for pictures and videos of me there and once found, they would prosecute and hang me. Then, just to make things worse, they took me to the basement for taking my fingerprints, but in reality, they just wanted me to witness the brutal torture of other detainees. Hundreds of people had been enchained and were being beaten every now and then. He told me that they were all protesters from Ashura and had clashed with the police like me. He told me they would take us all to Evin Prison and kill us all.
What happened after you decided to leave Iran?
Even though my life had been miraculously saved, I had still lost my well-being. My work was being hindered with a variety of tactics. I had to let my company go insolvent. My case was continuing in the Enghelab Court. My case had been delayed because the left side of my body had been paralyzed. I was neither physically okay nor able to work or had a life left. I got in touch with different parties and groups and even contacted the leaders of the movement. After I ascertained that I couldn't find any support inside Iran, I decided to leave.
Did you get surgery and treatment outside Iran?
I'm currently in treatment in a hospital. However, even here, they've decided not to disturb the pellets that are already inside my brain. They're using physiotherapy and other limited methods to help me. In the coming weeks, though, there's going to be a new procedure to expel them through my ear. After two years, my left hand is totally paralysed and I can walk with a great deal of effort. But I have accepted these losses and must come to terms with them. I'm tired of treatment and hospitals and they of me. Maybe the pellets would move and save us all from further trouble [he means to say he wishes he'd just die]. After witnessing those scenes and days, life and death have lost their importance to me. Maybe death is more peaceful and enjoyable than this life. After all, I have witnessed it before, it was very sweet. I don't know why God sent me back to this world full of oppression and tyranny. Maybe fate wanted me to see the victimization of the people of Iran and keep my views to bear witness.
Did you expect to be shot at just because you were partaking in a protest?
Not at all. I did not expect partaking in an election to bring such a price and loss. But I had witnessed for eight months several times how people were bleeding on the streets. I was a witness to the silent march for freedom, the death of Neda; I saw them all with my own eyes. The news from Kahrizak and other such incidents at prisons I heard of. But on Ashura, we came to be like Imam Hussein and destroy the palaces of wealth and power that belong to the Yazeed of our time with our blood. Yes, I came to the streets on Ashura knowing the brutality of the government and how they confronted people like savages because I preferred death with dignity on Ashura over life in humiliation.
What was the most important thing that has pained you during this time?
What really tortures me is that during every incident of attacks on protesters, there were many more injured than killed. We don't know where they are and what's happening to them. Many of their families are forced to lie to their neighbors about the brutalities that the government has committed against them so that they can protect themselves and their loved ones from any further harm, but they don't know that they're burying the injured alive with this. Why didn't anyone know anything about Alireza Saboori and what happened to him in these past two years?
Well, as for Alireza, he was injured in June of 2009, but his family was not ready to inform anyone about his condition. After he died a refugee in Boston, only recently one of his family member outside Iran gave an interview about him.
You mean Iranians in Boston were unaware that he was in a hospital? You mean this is because of America? No, this was caused first by the families, and then you reporters outside the country didn't follow it up. You can censor what I just said because it relates to you. But this is the bitter truth that I must tell. In many cases, several people contribute to the burying alive of such victims. After Alireza Saboori, who shared my pain and died a refugee, several questions are gnawing at me. Why didn't you personally not follow up on the injured protesters whose numbers exceed that of those who were killed? I was personally in touch with some people just like Alireza Saboori in Turkey who who live in poverty and misfortune, without access to basic health care, waiting for an answer from UNHCR to get resettled. I do not have the slightest idea where they are now and what other problems befell them.
All of you who have pens and have an audience are responsible especially Kaleme and Jaras and even BBC and VOA. Were you worried that your conscience and that of others would be discomforted by the misfortunes of someone with shotgun pellets in his brain? Maybe the martyrs were better because they were buried and had no complaints, requests or needs and couldn't speak anymore. I truly ask you: if Neda Agha-Soltan were alive today, how many of these Iranians who keep saying her name would be going to visit her? How many would go to help her if she was in trouble? How many reporters and photographers would publish reports about her? It's better that you ask I and Alireza to die as quickly as possible so you could have story idea for your newspapers without much headache.
You are right. Your circumstances are understandable and without a doubt, our mistakes and the silence of families, the fear, the security situation and several other issues existed and still do. Is it possible to say what was the biggest problem you faced during these circumstances?
When I was in Tehran and was forced to go between the Enghelab Court, intelligence police and forensic doctors every day, I desperately needed a doctor and a lawyer. Every door I knocked did not respond to my calls. Was it that hard for them to introduce a doctor and a lawyer to me? Even websites like Jaras and Kaleme, who knew that I had been politically active for eight months and are supporters of the Green Movement, did not pay attention to me. Why? What's more sad is that even those who oppose the Islamic Republic outside the country told that you belong to the same regime and belong to Mousavi's group and did not pay any attention to me. My family and acquaintances too joined hands to hide the issue. Maybe now I understand what poor Alireza Saboori had to endure thanks to these reservations, inattention and forgetfulness. Maybe before the death of others like me, everyone knows how to join hands and compromise on how to bury them alive.
With all these bitter tragedies that you faced, do you have regrets? I mean, if we were back in the past, would you still take part in protests?
Look. Most of us I mean the protesters of the Green Movement had reached the conclusion that the only way to save Iran and Iranians from war, oppression and misfortune in the future is to vote in the elections and change the system by voting for the candidates that stood against the leadership so we could return towards democracy. We were convinced that we had made up our minds about saving Iran otherwise, I would be busy working at my business and [2009 Presidential candidate Mir Hossein] Mousavi would be painting and busy with his art. Students were busy studying, reporters and writers were busy in their offices and politicians kept bickering with each other. But when we saw that Iran was moving towards absolute dictatorship, war and militarism and became convinced that they wanted to destroy the economy and agriculture and replace it with the IRGC mafia, there was no time wait. We left our lives and work and entered the scene to save Iran. Now that we've failed, at least I'm sure I've fulfilled my responsibility towards my country so I'm not personally regretful. Regretful should be those who had a role in suppressing people who wanted freedom; who dragged Iran towards destruction with their apathy and silence. God is my witness; if history turns back a hundred times, I will be standing in the front lines of the Green Movement of Iran's people, more determined and strong than ever and this time, I will either save Iran or choose death so I don't have to bear witness to the destruction of Iran and Iranians.
Were you politically active before the elections?
When I was a student at the university, I clashed then too and was beaten. Therefore, I decided not to get involved in politics and stay busy with my work and business. But when I saw that this time, politics is about to destroy my country and Mousavi had come to fight with empty hands, I couldn't help but enter the scene and break my silence. However, the leaders of the regime had promise a free and healthy election. Love is easy at first [a Persian saying which implies that difficulties were not initially apparent].
If there is a question I haven't asked or something you want to say, if you could mention it.
I just want to say a few things about the people's Green Movement of Iran. This movement is the crystallization of the Iranian people's one hundred year-long struggle for a free society that stands on democratic principles. It was a peaceful and against violence which in the beginning did not want to overthrow the system and take the reins of power. However, the lack foresight by Khamenei destroyed this historical opportunity and instead, power fell into the hands of Ahmadinejad's corrupt band who only value their own personal profit over the national interests of Iran. However, this leaderless and defenseless movement had no backers within or abroad except the people who stood firm and sacrificed both their lives and livelihoods.
As someone who was injured in these events, I received virtually no help or backing from any group or party. Where are the billions that these lying leaders say the United States gave the Green Movement? Mousavi and [Mehdi] Karroubi are imprisoned. We, the activists behind the Green Movement, spent our livelihoods and belongings to save our lives like the other martyrs and detainees. Then where are the billions that the head of the supreme court and Mr. [Ahmad] Jannati swear was given to us? Even America had extended a hand towards the Iranian government and Obama and Khamenei were exchanging letters when the bodies of Iranian youth littered the streets of Tehran. Now that these men have sunk in lies and the blood of the innocent people of Iran, they must hear the voice of the shattering of the pillars of their power. This movement had a lot of activists, but few backers. The opposition abroad was angry at the movement from the beginning, Foreign powers who were under pressure by their people decided to use this as an opportunity to extend the hand of friendship towards the regime, to the point where the regime gave itself the permission to massacre to suppress the movement. Now that we, the people who have no one to support us, are on our knees, Mrs. Clinton [the US Secretary of State] is releasing statements of support and the opposition is also voicing their support. This is all a bit too little too late.
There are no official statistics on those killed, injured, and imprisoned after Iran's Presidential election in June 2009.
Last month Alireza Saboori, shot in the head during the mass protest of 15 June 2009, died in the US. This prompted Mohammad (Farhad) Yeganeh Tabrizi, injured during the Ashura demonstrations of December 2009 to break his anonymity: "I have already come to terms with the fact that sooner or later, I might have to face the same fate, but what tortures me is how the thousands of injured, whose pain is many times greater than the death of those who died during the protests following the election, are being forgotten."
Yeganeh Tabrizi has had several surgeries and still suffers from a bullet that is lodged in his body. Lamenting the lack of attention of the media, families, and even some Iranians living abroad to the plight of injured protesters, he says: "I always ask myself, what if Neda Agha Soltan had also been injured and not killed? What percentage of Iranians would go looking for her and her family? How many foreign reporters would interview her? How many people would go to visit her? How many journalists would write reports about her ? Would her family get information out to help to save her life? Or would she, too, die in obscurity and utter anonymity for the sake of some rational excuse by her family and the media?"
Yeganeh Tabrizi adds: "The silence of families, the media's failure to follow up, and the fact that most of these injured Iranians are forgotten and haven't received any kind of assistance basically means they have 'been buried alive'. They went out for the freedom of their country and in the process have lost their lives or are losing them. I only found out what happened to people like Alireza after I left Iran." He explains, "While in Turkey, I met with injured Iranians who lives in poverty and misfortune, without access to basic health care, waiting for an answer from UNHCR [the United Nations High Commission for Refugees] to get resettled. I still don't know what happened to many of them."
In a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Yeganeh Tabrizi wrote:
I request that you investigate why I --- an Iranian citizen - who had spent 15 years of his life ensuring I had a way to support himself, lost all of it in a single night just because I protested against an election that was rigged by the Iranian regime. I request that you investigate why such a person has to be forced to spend everything he has on injuries he has suffered on a way to smuggle himself out of the country and still spend the rest of his life slowly getting more and more paralyzed mentally and physically.
I gave a vote and it was not counted. Why should I have to give up my life and well-being for it? Through this letter, I declare that I have complaints against the Islamic Republic and want compensation in return for my physical paralysis, mental deterioration and loss of work, business and the physical torture and humiliation that I have faced.
If I could find a just source in this life, I will demand justice. Otherwise I'll take my complaint to the God who kept me alive long enough to complain about this to you.
The Complete Interview
Here's the complete text of the interview conducted by a Kaleme report with Mohammad Yeganeh Tabrizi, a protester who was injured during the Ashura protests in 2009.
Mr.Yeganeh, I asked you for an interview about your physical state once before and you told me you were being treated and remembering what happened during Ashura is too much to bear for you. Is it possible for you to tell us what happened that day during Ashura in 2009?
I was shot with a shot gun on that day, which was December 25, 2009.
Where exactly were you during that protest and how did this happen to you?
We were moving form Imam Hossain Square towards Enghelab Square while we were being continuously attacked by security forces and Basij over and over. But we kept changing our direction to avoid confrontation with them and kept changing course to finally get back to Enghelab Square until we got to College Bridge (Pole-Kalej). It was very crowded and from there on to Valiasr Square, people were beating their chests and mourning while also being there to support the Green Movement and Mir Hossein Mousavi. I was also moving from under the bridge towards Valiasr because the bridge itself was completely occupied by men in plainclothes who wouldn't allow people to use it.
As we got near the end of the bridge, suddenly riot police showed up from the direction of Valiasr with riot police vans and attacked people. There was so much tear gas that you couldn't see or breathe. We were forced to retreat when the men on the bridge started throwing stones upon us. Several people were injured on the spot. We were forced to enter Alborz Street and get to Hafez Street from there, but our path had been sealed off there. People were surrounded by the plainclothesmen and riot police. There were clashes everywhere, bullets were being shot, stones were being thrown, and tear gas was being fired.
Do you remember who exactly shot you? I mean, could you see the shooters?
Three of us got shot in the head with shotguns by security forces. One man in plainclothes was also shooting at us with a Colt. We didn't expect the police to shoot at us. Just as I saw them shooting at us, the man sitting next to me got shot in the face. I turned to help him and my back was towards the shooters when I was hit on the back of my head and the rest of my body. In totally, 150 shotgun pellets struck me.
What did you do when you got injured? Did they take you to a hospital? What hospital did they take you to and what were the circumstances like that day?
That day, people had surrounded the riot police. They were disarming them and taking off their uniforms and later letting them go one by one. Suddenly, I saw a body falling from atop the bridge. That body was a young protester that the plainclothesmen had pushed over the bridge. He fell next to us on the road and his body was mangled up. At the moment, I thought I was hit by a stone so I ran to get under the bridge. That's when I realized that I was bleeding horrifically from all over my body and head. After seeing the bodies of the other protesters who got shot like me, I realized that my own body had been filled with holes. After I got under the bridge, I lost consciousness and couldn't see or hear anything. I thought I was unconscious and dying. Then, I heard the sound of youngsters who'd gathered around me and were guessing that I was dead due to blood loss. I wanted to move a hand or foot so they'd know that I'm alive. I was only able to open my eyes and one of the youngsters that I didn't recognize along with his friends picked me up and took me out from the scene of the clashes.
I had little hope of getting out of that dead zone, but those youngsters who I only found a picture of later, took me to their car, laying me down on the backseat. The car was filling up with blood and my body had no movement. They delivered me to an ambulance in Hafez Street which quickly took me to Sina Hospital. At the gate, a security agent in plainclothes entered the ambulance and searched my pockets, then confiscated my cell phone and other belongings.
After that did you have surgery and treatment in Iran? I mean, did you have face any security issues after getting injured? Were you afraid of going to the hospital?
After assurances from one of my acquaintances, who was on the staff of the Army Hospital, I was taken to that hospital and was under the watch of intelligence. I was unconscious for 20 days and in CCU. When I regained consciousness, I realized that two of the pellets had been lodged inside my brain and had severely injured it. The doctors there did everything they could, but did not disturb my brain itself because of past experiences with wounded soldiers. They knew that if they did, it would probably cause more brain damage. Instead, they gave me very expensive and rare medications, which we procured with a great deal of difficulty to stop me from becoming brain dead. After regaining consciousness, I was questioned twice by the intelligence police and I have written about it to Ahmad Shaheed [the United Nations Special Rapporter for Human Rights in Iran.
When I was in Iran, the people who had taken over my responsibility handed my half-paralyzed body over to the intelligence police on a wheelchair on Moalem Street. After questioning, they sent me to the Enghelab Court with a guard and was handed over to an investigator of the 10th Branch of the Enghelab Court. There, before the intelligence police could question me, I said that I wanted to complain about the security forces for shooting me. The representative of the intelligence police started beating me in front of the investigator and the court clerk. I fell off the wheelchair. He told me I was a criminal because you were on Enghelab Street during Ashura and that your crime has been proven. He told me they were looking for pictures and videos of me there and once found, they would prosecute and hang me. Then, just to make things worse, they took me to the basement for taking my fingerprints, but in reality, they just wanted me to witness the brutal torture of other detainees. Hundreds of people had been enchained and were being beaten every now and then. He told me that they were all protesters from Ashura and had clashed with the police like me. He told me they would take us all to Evin Prison and kill us all.
What happened after you decided to leave Iran?
Even though my life had been miraculously saved, I had still lost my well-being. My work was being hindered with a variety of tactics. I had to let my company go insolvent. My case was continuing in the Enghelab Court. My case had been delayed because the left side of my body had been paralyzed. I was neither physically okay nor able to work or had a life left. I got in touch with different parties and groups and even contacted the leaders of the movement. After I ascertained that I couldn't find any support inside Iran, I decided to leave.
Did you get surgery and treatment outside Iran?
I'm currently in treatment in a hospital. However, even here, they've decided not to disturb the pellets that are already inside my brain. They're using physiotherapy and other limited methods to help me. In the coming weeks, though, there's going to be a new procedure to expel them through my ear. After two years, my left hand is totally paralysed and I can walk with a great deal of effort. But I have accepted these losses and must come to terms with them. I'm tired of treatment and hospitals and they of me. Maybe the pellets would move and save us all from further trouble [he means to say he wishes he'd just die]. After witnessing those scenes and days, life and death have lost their importance to me. Maybe death is more peaceful and enjoyable than this life. After all, I have witnessed it before, it was very sweet. I don't know why God sent me back to this world full of oppression and tyranny. Maybe fate wanted me to see the victimization of the people of Iran and keep my views to bear witness.
Did you expect to be shot at just because you were partaking in a protest?
Not at all. I did not expect partaking in an election to bring such a price and loss. But I had witnessed for eight months several times how people were bleeding on the streets. I was a witness to the silent march for freedom, the death of Neda; I saw them all with my own eyes. The news from Kahrizak and other such incidents at prisons I heard of. But on Ashura, we came to be like Imam Hussein and destroy the palaces of wealth and power that belong to the Yazeed of our time with our blood. Yes, I came to the streets on Ashura knowing the brutality of the government and how they confronted people like savages because I preferred death with dignity on Ashura over life in humiliation.
What was the most important thing that has pained you during this time?
What really tortures me is that during every incident of attacks on protesters, there were many more injured than killed. We don't know where they are and what's happening to them. Many of their families are forced to lie to their neighbors about the brutalities that the government has committed against them so that they can protect themselves and their loved ones from any further harm, but they don't know that they're burying the injured alive with this. Why didn't anyone know anything about Alireza Saboori and what happened to him in these past two years?
Well, as for Alireza, he was injured in June of 2009, but his family was not ready to inform anyone about his condition. After he died a refugee in Boston, only recently one of his family member outside Iran gave an interview about him.
You mean Iranians in Boston were unaware that he was in a hospital? You mean this is because of America? No, this was caused first by the families, and then you reporters outside the country didn't follow it up. You can censor what I just said because it relates to you. But this is the bitter truth that I must tell. In many cases, several people contribute to the burying alive of such victims. After Alireza Saboori, who shared my pain and died a refugee, several questions are gnawing at me. Why didn't you personally not follow up on the injured protesters whose numbers exceed that of those who were killed? I was personally in touch with some people just like Alireza Saboori in Turkey who who live in poverty and misfortune, without access to basic health care, waiting for an answer from UNHCR to get resettled. I do not have the slightest idea where they are now and what other problems befell them.
All of you who have pens and have an audience are responsible especially Kaleme and Jaras and even BBC and VOA. Were you worried that your conscience and that of others would be discomforted by the misfortunes of someone with shotgun pellets in his brain? Maybe the martyrs were better because they were buried and had no complaints, requests or needs and couldn't speak anymore. I truly ask you: if Neda Agha-Soltan were alive today, how many of these Iranians who keep saying her name would be going to visit her? How many would go to help her if she was in trouble? How many reporters and photographers would publish reports about her? It's better that you ask I and Alireza to die as quickly as possible so you could have story idea for your newspapers without much headache.
You are right. Your circumstances are understandable and without a doubt, our mistakes and the silence of families, the fear, the security situation and several other issues existed and still do. Is it possible to say what was the biggest problem you faced during these circumstances?
When I was in Tehran and was forced to go between the Enghelab Court, intelligence police and forensic doctors every day, I desperately needed a doctor and a lawyer. Every door I knocked did not respond to my calls. Was it that hard for them to introduce a doctor and a lawyer to me? Even websites like Jaras and Kaleme, who knew that I had been politically active for eight months and are supporters of the Green Movement, did not pay attention to me. Why? What's more sad is that even those who oppose the Islamic Republic outside the country told that you belong to the same regime and belong to Mousavi's group and did not pay any attention to me. My family and acquaintances too joined hands to hide the issue. Maybe now I understand what poor Alireza Saboori had to endure thanks to these reservations, inattention and forgetfulness. Maybe before the death of others like me, everyone knows how to join hands and compromise on how to bury them alive.
With all these bitter tragedies that you faced, do you have regrets? I mean, if we were back in the past, would you still take part in protests?
Look. Most of us I mean the protesters of the Green Movement had reached the conclusion that the only way to save Iran and Iranians from war, oppression and misfortune in the future is to vote in the elections and change the system by voting for the candidates that stood against the leadership so we could return towards democracy. We were convinced that we had made up our minds about saving Iran otherwise, I would be busy working at my business and [2009 Presidential candidate Mir Hossein] Mousavi would be painting and busy with his art. Students were busy studying, reporters and writers were busy in their offices and politicians kept bickering with each other. But when we saw that Iran was moving towards absolute dictatorship, war and militarism and became convinced that they wanted to destroy the economy and agriculture and replace it with the IRGC mafia, there was no time wait. We left our lives and work and entered the scene to save Iran. Now that we've failed, at least I'm sure I've fulfilled my responsibility towards my country so I'm not personally regretful. Regretful should be those who had a role in suppressing people who wanted freedom; who dragged Iran towards destruction with their apathy and silence. God is my witness; if history turns back a hundred times, I will be standing in the front lines of the Green Movement of Iran's people, more determined and strong than ever and this time, I will either save Iran or choose death so I don't have to bear witness to the destruction of Iran and Iranians.
Were you politically active before the elections?
When I was a student at the university, I clashed then too and was beaten. Therefore, I decided not to get involved in politics and stay busy with my work and business. But when I saw that this time, politics is about to destroy my country and Mousavi had come to fight with empty hands, I couldn't help but enter the scene and break my silence. However, the leaders of the regime had promise a free and healthy election. Love is easy at first [a Persian saying which implies that difficulties were not initially apparent].
If there is a question I haven't asked or something you want to say, if you could mention it.
I just want to say a few things about the people's Green Movement of Iran. This movement is the crystallization of the Iranian people's one hundred year-long struggle for a free society that stands on democratic principles. It was a peaceful and against violence which in the beginning did not want to overthrow the system and take the reins of power. However, the lack foresight by Khamenei destroyed this historical opportunity and instead, power fell into the hands of Ahmadinejad's corrupt band who only value their own personal profit over the national interests of Iran. However, this leaderless and defenseless movement had no backers within or abroad except the people who stood firm and sacrificed both their lives and livelihoods.
As someone who was injured in these events, I received virtually no help or backing from any group or party. Where are the billions that these lying leaders say the United States gave the Green Movement? Mousavi and [Mehdi] Karroubi are imprisoned. We, the activists behind the Green Movement, spent our livelihoods and belongings to save our lives like the other martyrs and detainees. Then where are the billions that the head of the supreme court and Mr. [Ahmad] Jannati swear was given to us? Even America had extended a hand towards the Iranian government and Obama and Khamenei were exchanging letters when the bodies of Iranian youth littered the streets of Tehran. Now that these men have sunk in lies and the blood of the innocent people of Iran, they must hear the voice of the shattering of the pillars of their power. This movement had a lot of activists, but few backers. The opposition abroad was angry at the movement from the beginning, Foreign powers who were under pressure by their people decided to use this as an opportunity to extend the hand of friendship towards the regime, to the point where the regime gave itself the permission to massacre to suppress the movement. Now that we, the people who have no one to support us, are on our knees, Mrs. Clinton [the US Secretary of State] is releasing statements of support and the opposition is also voicing their support. This is all a bit too little too late.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
US Virtural Embassay Blocked
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Regime Pretends it is 1979
Instead of dealing with real problems, the regime unleashes Basij elements to storm the British embassy in a sad attempt to pretend like we are living in 1979. Instead of presenting a positive image of Iran around the world and attempting to improve relations with other countries, the regime resorts to acts of desperation to distract from their own crimes and failures.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Regime Turns on Itself
Not content about suppressing the Iranian people, the regime continues to turn on itself as the conflict between the Ahmadineajd and Khamenei blocs continue. Ahmadinejad advisor Ali Akbar Javanfekr humiliated at his own press conference. Here is the full story:
Judicial authorities in Iran have attempted to arrest a close ally of the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in what is widely being viewed as the latest twist in the struggle for power at the top of the Iranian regime.
A group of officials raided the offices of the daily government newspaper Iran on Monday in order to arrest Ali Akbar Javanfekr, the president's media adviser. Javanfekr is also the head of the state news agency, Irna.
At the weekend, a court in Tehran had sentenced him to one year in jail and a three-year ban on working for the press after "publishing materials contrary to Islamic norms".
According to the semi-official Mehr news agency, Javanfekr was handcuffed but his arrest was "temporarily halted" after government officials intervened. Mehr did not specify who had stepped into the dispute, but some accounts attributed the intervention to Ahmadinejad.
Javanfekr was reportedly conducting a press conference when the judiciary officials tried to detain him. The conservative website Tabnak said the newspaper's staff gathered in his office and tried to prevent the president's top media aide being led away in handcuffs. The officials used teargas to disperse the staff and arrested about 30 of them.
"The judicial authorities threw teargas and tried to force their way into the [newspaper's] building," Javanfekr told Isna news agency following the incident. "They arrested some of our reporters and took them away and hit one of my colleagues with an electric baton.
"My colleagues were traumatised, some of them were hurt … I'm a representative of the government and the president's adviser … If they had summoned me, I would have gone to them. They did not need to do these kind of actions."
Ahmadinejad fell foul of conservatives with Iran after a series of public confrontations with the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the ultimate power in Iran.
Since then, the president has lost a degree of influence in Iranian politics, particularly in the parliament and the judiciary which are both under influence of Khamenei.
In the wake of the power struggle, many of Ahmadinejad's supporters have distanced themselves from him, but a handful, including Javanfekr, have stood firm.
Javanfekr was put on trial after the publication of a series of articles about the chador, a garment that Iranian women wear to cover them from head to toe.
In one article, Ahmadinejad's former media adviser, Mehdi Kalhor, criticised the black colour of Iranian chadors, saying they did not originate from the Persian culture but were rather imported from the west.
Javanfekr also gave an interview to an Iranian reformist newspaper, Etemaad, on Saturday which led to its temporary closure for two months.
In the interview, he criticised opponents of the president and supported Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, whom the conservatives have accused of revolutionary deviancy and corruption.
In response to one of Etemaad's questions about the recent power struggle, Javanfekr said the president has come "to serve the people" and "will stay till the end, till martyrdom".
He also criticised the judiciary for arresting Ahmadinejad's allies in recent months and shed light on some of the unseen dimensions of Iran's internal power struggle.
The parliamentary elections in March 2012 and presidential vote in 2013 have escalated the rift between Ahmadinejad and his supporters on one side and the conservatives close to Khamenei on the other side, fighting with each other for more influence over Iranian politics.
Judicial authorities in Iran have attempted to arrest a close ally of the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in what is widely being viewed as the latest twist in the struggle for power at the top of the Iranian regime.
A group of officials raided the offices of the daily government newspaper Iran on Monday in order to arrest Ali Akbar Javanfekr, the president's media adviser. Javanfekr is also the head of the state news agency, Irna.
At the weekend, a court in Tehran had sentenced him to one year in jail and a three-year ban on working for the press after "publishing materials contrary to Islamic norms".
According to the semi-official Mehr news agency, Javanfekr was handcuffed but his arrest was "temporarily halted" after government officials intervened. Mehr did not specify who had stepped into the dispute, but some accounts attributed the intervention to Ahmadinejad.
Javanfekr was reportedly conducting a press conference when the judiciary officials tried to detain him. The conservative website Tabnak said the newspaper's staff gathered in his office and tried to prevent the president's top media aide being led away in handcuffs. The officials used teargas to disperse the staff and arrested about 30 of them.
"The judicial authorities threw teargas and tried to force their way into the [newspaper's] building," Javanfekr told Isna news agency following the incident. "They arrested some of our reporters and took them away and hit one of my colleagues with an electric baton.
"My colleagues were traumatised, some of them were hurt … I'm a representative of the government and the president's adviser … If they had summoned me, I would have gone to them. They did not need to do these kind of actions."
Ahmadinejad fell foul of conservatives with Iran after a series of public confrontations with the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the ultimate power in Iran.
Since then, the president has lost a degree of influence in Iranian politics, particularly in the parliament and the judiciary which are both under influence of Khamenei.
In the wake of the power struggle, many of Ahmadinejad's supporters have distanced themselves from him, but a handful, including Javanfekr, have stood firm.
Javanfekr was put on trial after the publication of a series of articles about the chador, a garment that Iranian women wear to cover them from head to toe.
In one article, Ahmadinejad's former media adviser, Mehdi Kalhor, criticised the black colour of Iranian chadors, saying they did not originate from the Persian culture but were rather imported from the west.
Javanfekr also gave an interview to an Iranian reformist newspaper, Etemaad, on Saturday which led to its temporary closure for two months.
In the interview, he criticised opponents of the president and supported Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, whom the conservatives have accused of revolutionary deviancy and corruption.
In response to one of Etemaad's questions about the recent power struggle, Javanfekr said the president has come "to serve the people" and "will stay till the end, till martyrdom".
He also criticised the judiciary for arresting Ahmadinejad's allies in recent months and shed light on some of the unseen dimensions of Iran's internal power struggle.
The parliamentary elections in March 2012 and presidential vote in 2013 have escalated the rift between Ahmadinejad and his supporters on one side and the conservatives close to Khamenei on the other side, fighting with each other for more influence over Iranian politics.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Mohammad Javad Larijani Goes on Lying Tour
Mohammad Javad Larijani, part of the crazy Larijani brothers, is on a lying tour at the UN making himself look like a fool. At a press conference, Larijani denied Mousavi and Karroubi are under house arrest:
“Well, nobody is in house arrest without trial and without court order. Incitement to violence is a major cause against them, and this is quite apparent for everybody.” Larijani added that the details of Mousavi’s and Karroubi’s charges will come out once court proceedings begin and noted that they were also charged with other “illegal activities,” which he did not name.
Numerous human rights groups and family members say that Mousavi and Karroubi are under house arrest. The saddest part of this whole thing is that Larijani is head of the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His allegience should be to the Iranian people and defending their human rights as opposed to his brothers the head of the judiciary and head of the parliament.
Under Article 33 of the Iranian constitution, "No one can be banished from his place of residence, prevented from residing in the place of his choice, or compelled to reside in a given locality, except in cases provided by law." Also under Article 37, "Innocence is to be presumed, and no one is to be held guilty of a charge unless his or her guilt has been established by a competent court."
Mousavi and Karroubi have never been charged with a crime and have not been in a court room to even here charges against them. According to the constitution Larijani is supposed to uphold, they are to be treated as innocent until proven guilty and not treated as criminals.
“Well, nobody is in house arrest without trial and without court order. Incitement to violence is a major cause against them, and this is quite apparent for everybody.” Larijani added that the details of Mousavi’s and Karroubi’s charges will come out once court proceedings begin and noted that they were also charged with other “illegal activities,” which he did not name.
Numerous human rights groups and family members say that Mousavi and Karroubi are under house arrest. The saddest part of this whole thing is that Larijani is head of the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His allegience should be to the Iranian people and defending their human rights as opposed to his brothers the head of the judiciary and head of the parliament.
Under Article 33 of the Iranian constitution, "No one can be banished from his place of residence, prevented from residing in the place of his choice, or compelled to reside in a given locality, except in cases provided by law." Also under Article 37, "Innocence is to be presumed, and no one is to be held guilty of a charge unless his or her guilt has been established by a competent court."
Mousavi and Karroubi have never been charged with a crime and have not been in a court room to even here charges against them. According to the constitution Larijani is supposed to uphold, they are to be treated as innocent until proven guilty and not treated as criminals.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Can Syria Bring Down the Iranian Regime
Everyday Syria is moving closer and closer to Civil War. As the Iranian regime backs Assad in his brutal suppression of his people, more and more members of his security state are defecting to the Free Syrian Army. The Arab League has suspended Syria and will put in place sanctions in coming days if the situation does not improve. All this indicates that the regime change train has left the station and there is no turning back for Assad and his thugs.
The Iranian regime seems to be realizing this and seems to be trying to hedge its bet for a Syria after Assad. The question turns to how does the current uprising in Syria effect the Iranian regime and can it help bring it down. The regime has already been greatly strategically hurt as its closet ally in the Middle East is in total chaos and there is nothing anyone can do to change that.
Those in power in Tehran are watching carefully to see what will happen and must wonder if they are next. If the Iranian people take inspiration from those in Syria and the rest of the Arab world, I think significant change is on the horizon in Iran. With things simmering underneath the surface in Iran, a major event such as the down fall of the Assad regime could be enough to also bring down its main supporter.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Karroubi Suffering Health Problems
After months of illegal detention, Mehdi Karroubi is suffering respiratory problems. This is how the regime treats an elederly cleric so let's hope for his speedy recovery. More here:
As previously communicated to our dear compatriots, security forces rejected the idea of our father being transferred to our house in Jamaran and instead detained him in a small business apartment for a period of 100 days, in the company of a number of security agents, without access to fresh air. Upon numerous requests by the family and in particular by our honorable mother, on Tuesday of last week, an agreement was finally reached to transfer my father to a house in one of the neighborhoods in Shemiran. According to the contract signed, one of the three units was made available to our father. Our family has agreed to pay a portion of the rent and the other portion will be paid by the Ministry of Intelligence given that their security agents will be deployed at the premises. Following the preparatory work, our father was transferred to this new location and the security officials also stated that our mother would be allowed to return to house arrest to be near our father. However, after our mother left today, we were informed that the security officials had not allowed her to stay with our father and they now insist that he remains in house arrest alone for an indefinite period of time.
Our mother confirmed today that Mr. Karroubi is suffering from respiratory problems as a result of lack of access to fresh air in the past 100 days. He is currently on medication prescribed by the physician of the Ministry of Intelligence. My mother reiterated that despite his ailing physical condition, our father remains in excellent spirits and he firmly stands behind the promise he made to the Iranian nation.
Mehdi Karroubi continues to be denied the basic rights afforded all prisoners in Iran, including access to newspapers, regular visitation with family members, the right to make phone calls, etc... Any access to fresh air, even after this recent transfer to a new location is only limited to inside the apartment in which he is being held. The truth is the manner in which our father has been treated in the past 9 months has been extremely contradictory and unconventionally strict. The fact that he has been deprived from being detained in his own house, has been forced to move to a new location without access to his family, coupled with the extreme efforts taken to ensure that he is isolated have greatly increased the family's concern regarding his well being. We expect the ruling government to clarify as soon as possible the scope and duration of this innovative form of arrest , the various aspects of which will surely be recorded in history.
همانطور که پیشتر به اطلاع هموطنان عزیز و علاقمندان رساندیم نیروهای امنیتی با انتقال پدر به منزل مسکونی شان در جماران موافقت نکردند و به اعمال حبس ۱۰۰ روزه در آپارتمانی اداری و کوچک بدون دسترسی به هوای آزاد و در کنار تعدادی از ماموران امنیتی مبادرت ورزیدند. بدنبال پیگیری های مکرر خانواده بویژه مادر بزرگوارم سه شنبه هفته گذشته قرارداد اجاره منزل مسکونی در یکی از محله های شمیران جهت گذراندن دوران حبس منعقد شد. بر اساس این قرارداد یک واحد از سه واحد استیجاری در اختیار پدر قرار گرفت. خانواده متعهد به پرداخت بخشی از مال الاجاره شد و بخش دیگر را وزارت اطلاعات بابت حضور نیروهایش بر عهده گرفت. بعد از فراهم شدن مقدمات، پدر به مکان جدید منتقل شد و مقامات امنیتی اجازه بازگشت مادر را به حبس دادند. بدنبال خروج امروز مادر مطلع شدیم که مقامات امنیتی اجازه ماندن وی در کنار پدر را نمی دهند و اصرار دارند آقای کروبی الباقی زمان نامعلوم حبس را به تنهایی بگذراند.ا
مادرم تاکید کردند وضعیت تنفسی آقای کروبی بدلیل شرائط نامساعد و عدم دسترسی به هوای آزاد در ۱۰۰ روز گذشته دچار مشکلاتی شده است که در حال حاضر ایشان از داروهای تجویز شده پزشک وزارت اطلاعات استفاده می کنند. ایشان همچنین اضافه کردند که بر خلاف ورود آسیب های جسمی، روحیه آقای کروبی نسبت به مسیر انتخاب شده و عهد خود با مردم بسیار عالی و کم نظیر است.ا
کروبی کما فی السابق از حقوق اولیه یک زندانی مانند حق دسترسی به روزنامه، ملاقات منظم با نزدیکان، تلفن و … برخوردار نمی باشد. هوا خوری ایشان بعد از انتقال تنها در محدوده آپارتمان مجاز شمرده شده است. حقیقت این است که در ۹ ماه گذشته شاهد رفتار متناقض و سختگیری های غیر متعارف نسبت به پدر بوده ایم. محرومیت از حبس در منزل خود و تحمیل مکان دیگر به خانواده و تلاش در جهت تنها نگاه داشتن کروبی نگرانی خانواده را دوچندان کرده است. از حاکمیت انتظار داریم دایره و قلمرو این حصر ابداعی که ابعاد مختلف آن در تاریخ این کشور ماندگار خواهد شد را هر چه سریعتر مشخص کند.ا
As previously communicated to our dear compatriots, security forces rejected the idea of our father being transferred to our house in Jamaran and instead detained him in a small business apartment for a period of 100 days, in the company of a number of security agents, without access to fresh air. Upon numerous requests by the family and in particular by our honorable mother, on Tuesday of last week, an agreement was finally reached to transfer my father to a house in one of the neighborhoods in Shemiran. According to the contract signed, one of the three units was made available to our father. Our family has agreed to pay a portion of the rent and the other portion will be paid by the Ministry of Intelligence given that their security agents will be deployed at the premises. Following the preparatory work, our father was transferred to this new location and the security officials also stated that our mother would be allowed to return to house arrest to be near our father. However, after our mother left today, we were informed that the security officials had not allowed her to stay with our father and they now insist that he remains in house arrest alone for an indefinite period of time.
Our mother confirmed today that Mr. Karroubi is suffering from respiratory problems as a result of lack of access to fresh air in the past 100 days. He is currently on medication prescribed by the physician of the Ministry of Intelligence. My mother reiterated that despite his ailing physical condition, our father remains in excellent spirits and he firmly stands behind the promise he made to the Iranian nation.
Mehdi Karroubi continues to be denied the basic rights afforded all prisoners in Iran, including access to newspapers, regular visitation with family members, the right to make phone calls, etc... Any access to fresh air, even after this recent transfer to a new location is only limited to inside the apartment in which he is being held. The truth is the manner in which our father has been treated in the past 9 months has been extremely contradictory and unconventionally strict. The fact that he has been deprived from being detained in his own house, has been forced to move to a new location without access to his family, coupled with the extreme efforts taken to ensure that he is isolated have greatly increased the family's concern regarding his well being. We expect the ruling government to clarify as soon as possible the scope and duration of this innovative form of arrest , the various aspects of which will surely be recorded in history.
همانطور که پیشتر به اطلاع هموطنان عزیز و علاقمندان رساندیم نیروهای امنیتی با انتقال پدر به منزل مسکونی شان در جماران موافقت نکردند و به اعمال حبس ۱۰۰ روزه در آپارتمانی اداری و کوچک بدون دسترسی به هوای آزاد و در کنار تعدادی از ماموران امنیتی مبادرت ورزیدند. بدنبال پیگیری های مکرر خانواده بویژه مادر بزرگوارم سه شنبه هفته گذشته قرارداد اجاره منزل مسکونی در یکی از محله های شمیران جهت گذراندن دوران حبس منعقد شد. بر اساس این قرارداد یک واحد از سه واحد استیجاری در اختیار پدر قرار گرفت. خانواده متعهد به پرداخت بخشی از مال الاجاره شد و بخش دیگر را وزارت اطلاعات بابت حضور نیروهایش بر عهده گرفت. بعد از فراهم شدن مقدمات، پدر به مکان جدید منتقل شد و مقامات امنیتی اجازه بازگشت مادر را به حبس دادند. بدنبال خروج امروز مادر مطلع شدیم که مقامات امنیتی اجازه ماندن وی در کنار پدر را نمی دهند و اصرار دارند آقای کروبی الباقی زمان نامعلوم حبس را به تنهایی بگذراند.ا
مادرم تاکید کردند وضعیت تنفسی آقای کروبی بدلیل شرائط نامساعد و عدم دسترسی به هوای آزاد در ۱۰۰ روز گذشته دچار مشکلاتی شده است که در حال حاضر ایشان از داروهای تجویز شده پزشک وزارت اطلاعات استفاده می کنند. ایشان همچنین اضافه کردند که بر خلاف ورود آسیب های جسمی، روحیه آقای کروبی نسبت به مسیر انتخاب شده و عهد خود با مردم بسیار عالی و کم نظیر است.ا
کروبی کما فی السابق از حقوق اولیه یک زندانی مانند حق دسترسی به روزنامه، ملاقات منظم با نزدیکان، تلفن و … برخوردار نمی باشد. هوا خوری ایشان بعد از انتقال تنها در محدوده آپارتمان مجاز شمرده شده است. حقیقت این است که در ۹ ماه گذشته شاهد رفتار متناقض و سختگیری های غیر متعارف نسبت به پدر بوده ایم. محرومیت از حبس در منزل خود و تحمیل مکان دیگر به خانواده و تلاش در جهت تنها نگاه داشتن کروبی نگرانی خانواده را دوچندان کرده است. از حاکمیت انتظار داریم دایره و قلمرو این حصر ابداعی که ابعاد مختلف آن در تاریخ این کشور ماندگار خواهد شد را هر چه سریعتر مشخص کند.ا
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Does the Regime Want War?
The publication of findings by the IAEA in the coming days which mostly like point to progress towards weponization of Iran's nuclear program as well as recent statements by Israeli officials have made the prospect of war dangerously real. This comes after heightened tension between Iran and the United States over an alleged assassination plot of the Saudi Ambassador. It seems that the regime in Iran is spiraling towards war with Israel that could drag the United States and other countries in.
In the first instance, those in power in Iran have to be criticized for taking the country to the brink of war and making enemies for the nation. It is clear that the regime actually would welcome a war since it will cause people to rally around the flag and create a distraction to the crimes they are committing inside the country. So we have to keep in mind that the regime actively wants a war to come and we have to be weary not to fall in their trap.
The regime's closest ally in the region, Syria, is on the brink of full scale civil war as the criminal Assad regime has lost more and more legitimacy with its people. The sanctions put in place by the international community have hurt the Iranian economy and have made life even more difficult for those in power. Domestic opposition is as pervasive and wide spread as ever, but is only kept from spilling in the streets at the point of a gun. Within the regime, those in power are fighting among themselves with strong divisions between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei. These factors make it clear that the regime's days are numbered and it will collapse sooner or later outside any major developments.
That is why the specter of war is so dangerous and throws a dangerous dynamic into the situation. We must recognize that those in power are doing all in their power to welcome war so that they can shore up their position. They know that Israel cannot and the United States will not commit to ground operations in Iran, but instead any war will be limited to air strikes. The regime is gambling that it can endure these strikes and come out stronger on the other end because it has shored up its domestic situation.
The protests of 2009 scared the regime because it saw how much support it has lost among the Iranian people. We should not ignore the prospect that the regime is on the path to cause other countries attack Iran so that its own domestic situation will become stronger. So before a military strike is take on Iran, we must remember that it may strengthen the very regime that it is targeting.
In the first instance, those in power in Iran have to be criticized for taking the country to the brink of war and making enemies for the nation. It is clear that the regime actually would welcome a war since it will cause people to rally around the flag and create a distraction to the crimes they are committing inside the country. So we have to keep in mind that the regime actively wants a war to come and we have to be weary not to fall in their trap.
The regime's closest ally in the region, Syria, is on the brink of full scale civil war as the criminal Assad regime has lost more and more legitimacy with its people. The sanctions put in place by the international community have hurt the Iranian economy and have made life even more difficult for those in power. Domestic opposition is as pervasive and wide spread as ever, but is only kept from spilling in the streets at the point of a gun. Within the regime, those in power are fighting among themselves with strong divisions between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei. These factors make it clear that the regime's days are numbered and it will collapse sooner or later outside any major developments.
That is why the specter of war is so dangerous and throws a dangerous dynamic into the situation. We must recognize that those in power are doing all in their power to welcome war so that they can shore up their position. They know that Israel cannot and the United States will not commit to ground operations in Iran, but instead any war will be limited to air strikes. The regime is gambling that it can endure these strikes and come out stronger on the other end because it has shored up its domestic situation.
The protests of 2009 scared the regime because it saw how much support it has lost among the Iranian people. We should not ignore the prospect that the regime is on the path to cause other countries attack Iran so that its own domestic situation will become stronger. So before a military strike is take on Iran, we must remember that it may strengthen the very regime that it is targeting.
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