Friday
Oct092009
The Latest from Iran (9 October): Almost Four Months
Friday, October 9, 2009 at 20:57
NEW Iran: Karroubi Reply to Ahmadinejad on US TV (9 October)
Now, for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize: Mehdi Karroubi
NEW Iran: Did Yahoo Give Names of 200,000 Users to Authorities?
Green Tweets: Mapping Iran’s Movement via Twitter
Iran: A Telephone Poll on Politics You Can Absolutely Trust (Trust Us)
The Latest from Iran (8 October): Will There Be a Fight?
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1955 GMT: More on The Friday Prayer. State media's rather sanitised version of Ahmad Khatami's remarks is now being supplemented by other accounts summarising his attack on post-election protesters. He claimed that, on Qods Day, the foreign media focused on a "few thousand Republicans", who were enemies of Islam, rather than the millions of supporters of the Government and regime.
1655 GMT: A Friday Prayer Diversion. Ahmad Khatami's turn to give the address, and he (or at least the state media summarising him) continued the Ahmadinejad approach of looking overseas to avoid looking at home. He declared, "The meeting [at Geneva on Iran's nuclear programme] was a great victory for the Islamic Republic of Iran to such an extent that even the Western and Zionist media had to admit defeat."
1445 GMT: Flashback: The "Confession" That Means Death. We're posting the Press TV report from mid-August on Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, the post-election protester sentenced to death earlier this week.
1230 GMT: Karroubi's Back. The reformist leader has written a sharp letter to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, refuting claims made by President Ahmadinejad on US television and asking for time to present the evidence of detainee abuses. We've posted the English text.
And, on the day that the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded, we've revived our entry on the drive to name Karroubi as the 2010 recipient.
0915 GMT: Urgent Correction. Readers have let us know (and thanks to all of you!) that the date for the major protest is 4 November, not 3 November as we originally reported, and that the occasion is Iran's Heritage Day as well as the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy.
0825 GMT: A Quick Reply on 4 November Demonstrations. It took only a few minutes for readers to confirm the information on Iran's streets about the forthcoming protest (see 0745 GMT). The poster (on left) has the following caption:
0745 GMT: 25 Days and Counting? A reader notes our statement "no major gatherings scheduled" (0630 GMT) and replies, "Do you know about the demonstrations being planned by the Sea of Green for 13 Aban (November 3), anniversary of the taking of US hostages in 1979?" [N.B.: Other readers later corrected this --- the date is 4 November, Iran's Heritage day.]
I have noticed references to this but have been awaiting further information on whether intentions have turned into plans. Any assistance from readers most welcome.
0730 GMT: A University Correction? We linked yesterday (1845 GMT) to a Government document which ordered the closure of a University newspaper after it implied that the Holocaust had been a historical event. A sharp-eyed reader has noted that the date on the document is Iranian Year 1387 --- last year --- rather than 1388.
0645 GMT: Credit to Michael Slackman of The New York Times. Yesterday he published a full review not only of the Revolutionary Guard's involvement in a coalition bid for 51% of Iran's state telecommunications company but also background cases such as the Guard's takeover of the management of Imam Khomeini Airport, the current Parliamentary investigation of the telecom deal, and "concerns in Iran over what some call the rise of a pseudogovernment".
Although the story is weeks old, it hasn't been noticed much in the Western media, and the Revolutionary Guard's role in the Iranian economy is one of the most important long-term aspects of this political crisis. The only clanger in Slackman's piece is his necessity to put in an irrelevant comment from Flynt Leverett, a former US National Security Council official: “In a strategic sense, I don’t think Iran is in a fundamentally different place than it was before elections, not in the way it approaches negotiations or the way it looks at its foreign policy."
If Slackman really wanted to establish significant in that quote from Leverett, which belongs in a piece on US-Iranian relations, he would link it to the former NSC official's continuing attempt to establish the legitimacy of the Ahmadinejad Government. For it is that legitimacy that it is at the political heart of possibly illegitimate moves by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps.
0630 GMT: On Monday it will be four months since votes for President were counted/misaltered/manipulated in Iran, and the anniversary is being welcomed with one of the quietest phases in the post-election conflict. With no major gatherings scheduled, and with politicans and some clerics focused more on private talks than public statements, this is wait-and-see.
The anticipated Parliamentary fireworks have not materialised, and President Ahmadinejad is trying to stay out of trouble by not mentioning alleged abuses, his Ministers' records, or the Iranian economy. One interesting on the last of these: Iran state TV reported yesterday that the quota of subsidised gasoline/petrol for each person will be cut by 45%. Some US-based specialists interpreted this as a reaction to anticipated tighter sanctions from Washington; the simpler explanation is that the Iranian Government needs to cut costs.
Now into the Iranian weekend. No chatter yet about Friday Prayers --- we'll have a look now to see who's leading them. Expect instead more murmurs about detentions and punishment; slowly the death penalty passed on protester Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, and some activists are also raising cases such as the trial, with possible death sentences, of seven member of the Baha'i faith.
Now, for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize: Mehdi Karroubi
NEW Iran: Did Yahoo Give Names of 200,000 Users to Authorities?
Green Tweets: Mapping Iran’s Movement via Twitter
Iran: A Telephone Poll on Politics You Can Absolutely Trust (Trust Us)
The Latest from Iran (8 October): Will There Be a Fight?
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
1955 GMT: More on The Friday Prayer. State media's rather sanitised version of Ahmad Khatami's remarks is now being supplemented by other accounts summarising his attack on post-election protesters. He claimed that, on Qods Day, the foreign media focused on a "few thousand Republicans", who were enemies of Islam, rather than the millions of supporters of the Government and regime.1655 GMT: A Friday Prayer Diversion. Ahmad Khatami's turn to give the address, and he (or at least the state media summarising him) continued the Ahmadinejad approach of looking overseas to avoid looking at home. He declared, "The meeting [at Geneva on Iran's nuclear programme] was a great victory for the Islamic Republic of Iran to such an extent that even the Western and Zionist media had to admit defeat."
1445 GMT: Flashback: The "Confession" That Means Death. We're posting the Press TV report from mid-August on Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, the post-election protester sentenced to death earlier this week.
1230 GMT: Karroubi's Back. The reformist leader has written a sharp letter to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, refuting claims made by President Ahmadinejad on US television and asking for time to present the evidence of detainee abuses. We've posted the English text.
And, on the day that the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded, we've revived our entry on the drive to name Karroubi as the 2010 recipient.
0915 GMT: Urgent Correction. Readers have let us know (and thanks to all of you!) that the date for the major protest is 4 November, not 3 November as we originally reported, and that the occasion is Iran's Heritage Day as well as the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy.
0825 GMT: A Quick Reply on 4 November Demonstrations. It took only a few minutes for readers to confirm the information on Iran's streets about the forthcoming protest (see 0745 GMT). The poster (on left) has the following caption:
Join, my dear. On 13 Aban [4 November] we will greet the anti-riot police and security forces with flowers. And sitting down on the streets in silence, we will turn night into day and day into night with our unity
Invitation by the Student Society, Office of Strengthening Unity (Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat), University of Tehran, the People & Students’ Green Movement
0745 GMT: 25 Days and Counting? A reader notes our statement "no major gatherings scheduled" (0630 GMT) and replies, "Do you know about the demonstrations being planned by the Sea of Green for 13 Aban (November 3), anniversary of the taking of US hostages in 1979?" [N.B.: Other readers later corrected this --- the date is 4 November, Iran's Heritage day.]
I have noticed references to this but have been awaiting further information on whether intentions have turned into plans. Any assistance from readers most welcome.
0730 GMT: A University Correction? We linked yesterday (1845 GMT) to a Government document which ordered the closure of a University newspaper after it implied that the Holocaust had been a historical event. A sharp-eyed reader has noted that the date on the document is Iranian Year 1387 --- last year --- rather than 1388.
0645 GMT: Credit to Michael Slackman of The New York Times. Yesterday he published a full review not only of the Revolutionary Guard's involvement in a coalition bid for 51% of Iran's state telecommunications company but also background cases such as the Guard's takeover of the management of Imam Khomeini Airport, the current Parliamentary investigation of the telecom deal, and "concerns in Iran over what some call the rise of a pseudogovernment".
Although the story is weeks old, it hasn't been noticed much in the Western media, and the Revolutionary Guard's role in the Iranian economy is one of the most important long-term aspects of this political crisis. The only clanger in Slackman's piece is his necessity to put in an irrelevant comment from Flynt Leverett, a former US National Security Council official: “In a strategic sense, I don’t think Iran is in a fundamentally different place than it was before elections, not in the way it approaches negotiations or the way it looks at its foreign policy."
If Slackman really wanted to establish significant in that quote from Leverett, which belongs in a piece on US-Iranian relations, he would link it to the former NSC official's continuing attempt to establish the legitimacy of the Ahmadinejad Government. For it is that legitimacy that it is at the political heart of possibly illegitimate moves by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps.
0630 GMT: On Monday it will be four months since votes for President were counted/misaltered/manipulated in Iran, and the anniversary is being welcomed with one of the quietest phases in the post-election conflict. With no major gatherings scheduled, and with politicans and some clerics focused more on private talks than public statements, this is wait-and-see.
The anticipated Parliamentary fireworks have not materialised, and President Ahmadinejad is trying to stay out of trouble by not mentioning alleged abuses, his Ministers' records, or the Iranian economy. One interesting on the last of these: Iran state TV reported yesterday that the quota of subsidised gasoline/petrol for each person will be cut by 45%. Some US-based specialists interpreted this as a reaction to anticipated tighter sanctions from Washington; the simpler explanation is that the Iranian Government needs to cut costs.
Now into the Iranian weekend. No chatter yet about Friday Prayers --- we'll have a look now to see who's leading them. Expect instead more murmurs about detentions and punishment; slowly the death penalty passed on protester Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, and some activists are also raising cases such as the trial, with possible death sentences, of seven member of the Baha'i faith.
Reader Comments (13)
Graffiti around Tehran for 13 Aban at http://iranisabzpics.blogspot.com/2009/10/blog-post_9991.html
Two days ago, WIMV, answering my question, had spoken about the 13th of Aban's demonstration and as I didn't know the sens of this day, I saw in the calendar , it's Us ambassy's attack day. I was unconfortable asking to myself : if iranian opposition wants to "change" why does still it need to celebrate this day ???!! the target is not to open to others countries in peaceful and democratic way ?? As if Germany celebrated every year their animosity towards the other countries during WW1 and WW2 !
Today I saw two articles on the Web :
1-http://www.iran-resist.org/article5629.html
2-http://www.jomhourie2iran.com/
The first one hint that the green mouvement is a false opposition created by the islamic republic itself to avoid an other revolution coming from outside ; according to it, the one who was condamned to death is a "monarchiste" and it's only a warning sign to iranian people !!
The second one is "l'appel du 2 octobre de Mr Amir Jahanshahi" like l'appel du "18 juin de Général De Gaulle".
Actually I am so perplexe, I am wondering, if everybody knows (at the head of the country )the fraudulent elections, why Rafsanjani with all his power dose'nt remove Khamnei and Majlis with all its power is so motionless and paralysed !! ( as we were witnessd 2 days ago) and they don't react against those unfair deeds to relieve iranian people .
All that means that people dead during the unrests have died for nothing ?! only to satisfy the whims of the regime !!?
I hate politic and politicians !!
What is Iran Heritage day? :-/
13th of Aban is "laneyeh jasoosi" (the takeover of the U.S. embassy in 1979) and in 1978, a day when students were fired at by the shah's police. 16th of azar (I've already seen ads for that too) is student day. I have some short notes on both events here:
http://www.sidewalklyrics.com/?p=1818
and I'll have more in the upcoming days.
p.s. Karoubi's letter was released last night. I have a translation of that on my blog.
Pedestrian,
Thanks so much. When did the day become Iran's Heritage Day?
And, on lines of great minds, I was posting up the Karroubi letter (with many thanks to you) when your comment came in.
S.
Mohsen Sazegara today condemned death penalty for Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, emphasizing that the movement embraces people of all religious or political beliefs, even atheists. He also issued a warning that it might be a starting signal for further death penalties for protesters. I found no explicit condemnation on oppositional sites inside and outside Iran, which means that even leftist political factions lack democratic principles. Obviously they are part of the problem.
Meanwhile the movement is slowly adopting new subjects. On Tuesday a young Tehrani women threw her scarf on the street as a protest to the coup:
http://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=7668
If this movement wants freedom, it has to start with equal rights for women.
An encouraging news from the reformist camp: for the first time in 30 years someone regrets the mass executions of 1988 (koshtare 67).
Ataollah Mohajerani, former minister of education under Khatami, openly regrets his silence towards mass killings of the People's Mujahedin and other oppositionals in 1988, citing Ayatollah Montazeri, who condemned these terrible acts:
http://www.rouydadnews.info/pages/455.php
Any kind of national reconciliation, which leads to democracy in Iran, has to start with accepting the violation of human rights during the past 30 years.
I am glad that at least one reformist mastermind admits his cruel negligence of Iranian dissidents. Some kind of bad conscience is raising amidst former political figures.
@ Ange Paris
Do not believe everything you read. No politician, no regime, no elaborate planning could bring 2 to 3 million people to the streets the day after election. And no one ever will. That astonishing mass of people we saw was spontaneous shout against government of fraud. Anybody who tries to portray it otherwise is intellectually dishonest.
@ Arshama,
I thank you for the link. She is the Iranian Rosa Park. Iran needs millions like her.
During those mass demonstrations last June, I often asked myself why in the world women did not collectively rip their hjaab. They were protesting against the regime and yet they kept themselves dressed in the so-called hjaab, the regime signature of discrimination against women. I fantasized seeing all women together taking the black scarf and overcoat, put them in a pile in the middle of street, and burn them. Of-course being so far away, it is easy for me to say. But I guess there is no harm in dreaming.
"Ataollah Mohajerani, former minister of education under Khatami, openly regrets his silence towards mass killings of the People’s Mujahedin and other oppositionals in 1988, citing Ayatollah Montazeri, who condemned these terrible acts:"
Oh you mean Montazeri the traitor to Khomeini and the Revolution who was labeled as such by the Imam in his famous letter dismissing this criminal.
Key quote from the Imam:
"Three: Do not write to me ever again, and do not allow the hypocrites to pass state secrets to foreign radio stations.
Four: Since you became a mouthpice of the hypocrites and your speeches have conveyed their wishes and letters to the people via the mass media, you have inflicted heavy blows on Islam and the revolution. This is a great act of treason against the unknown soldiers of the Lord of the Age, may our souls be sacrificed for him, and against the sacrifices made by the illustrious martyrs of Islam and the revolution. If you wish to save yourself from hell fire, you had better confess to all your sins and mistakes and maybe then God will help you.
I swear to God that from the start I was against choosing you as my successor, but at the time I did not realize you were so gullible. To me you were not a resourceful manager but an educated person who could benefit the religious seminaries. If you continue your deeds I will definitely be obliged to do something about you. And you know me, I never neglect my obligation."
http://www.baabeilm.org/khomeini/montezari.pdf
It is too bad that the Imam did not "do something" about this traitor cleric.
@ Samuel
Imam? He was the butcher, Jack the Ripper of Iran. Those who canonized Khomeini and called him Imam were charlatans like him who soon will join him in hell. Canonizing Khomeini, the vengeful FRAUD, as an Imam, is a major blow to the entire Shia Muslims by putting to question the sacredness of the other 12 who came before him.
Khomeini would have been executed in 1964 if it was not for Ayatollah Shariatmadari. I understand Ayatollah Shariatmadari cleverly used a loophole in Iran constitution that did not allow for execution of Marja. Shariatmadri then cheated by declaring the nobody Mullah Khomeini as Marja and persuaded two other Ayatollahs to sign that declaration. With that he asked Shah to reduce Mullah Khomeini sentence from death to exile. Little Shariatmadari knew that convict Khomeini will return one day to return the favor by ending his life and the life of thousands of Iranians. Khomeini's shameful legacy of murder, execution, torture, rape, discrimination of women and religious minorities, robbery and theft of nation’s wealth still goes on.
People who were fooled by Khomeini, the charlatan, never imagined he would be the most dangerous enemy of their country, an enemy that would bring destruction far worse than those by Chingiz Khan or Alexander the Great. I hope one day Khomeini, the creepy looking mullah, and his horrors become a footnote in Iran history, a lesson how not to be fooled again by a creepy looking charlatan.
@ Megan
I of course disagree 100% with your view of Khomeini but there is a more important issue at hand here.
Given your view of Khomeini you would have to agree that the Reformists and the Green activists are two-faced hypocrites since they incessantly cite the Ayatollah Khomeini to bolster their case for reform. Khomeini was far more of a hardliner than the Supreme Leader today. If the Imam was alive today the anti government activists would have met the same fate of the MOK members in 1988.
@ Samuel
I respect your position but I wish you did not disagree with me on Khomeini. You know history will agree with me.
With regard to green movement, I see the green movement as people revolt and do not associate it with those who claim ownership for it. I see the so-called reformists as the other side of the same worthless coin. They have no credibility and no worth. So I do agree with you that they are hypocrites. I, however, do not see hypocrisy as their only guilt. They all have blood on their hands. They are robbers and thieves. If I had it my way I would cleanse the Iranian landscape from every single person who has been a part of Khomeini Evil Empire and that will include Mousavi, Karroubi , Rafsanjani, Khatami, all Khomeinis, Khamenie, Ahmadi Najad government, the entire IRGC, and all other hairy, ugly losers who have been preying on innocent people whether they wear turban or not. I find a distant uninhabited island and send them all there and let them kill each other for food.
I see Green Movement as an underground gun-powder storage that was ready to ignite and all it needed was a spark. I see the last election and Mousavi and Karroubi as that spark. Once it exploded it no longer needed the spark. Mousavi and Karrabul may believe they are still relevant but they are not. What is amusing is the degree of stupidity and arrogance of this ruthless mafia regime that not only it did not see the explosion coming it kept adding fuel to it by outrageous rhetoric and savagery.
This regime has it coming sooner or later. It’s stupid mullahs and its baton wielding thugs may, through terror, slow this movement down but they will not be able to kill it. Pages of history books are full of similar stories where oppressive governments eventually succumb to freedom loving people. This movement too cannot be stopped.
The case of these death penalties is being ignored by all Human Rights White Knights though Amnesty International made a discreet statement on the 9th.
Knowing that this sentence was announced 2 days only before the International Day against death penalty (10/10)... I really wonder why no participating organizations cared about Zamani ???
The International Monarchist Conference seems to be the only active supporter of these iranian monarchiste with a petition at http://www.freezamani.org .