Saturday
Dec262009
The Latest from Iran (26 December): The Eve of Ashura Demonstrations
Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 22:24 
2245 GMT: It's Going On Outside Tehran. Norooz reports that 20 people were arrested in demonstrations in Isfahan. Video is also out of tonight's protests in that city.2220 GMT: Night Update. Not much new to report in last few hours. After the crowd for the Jamaran ceremony was prevented from attending the memorial and/or forcibly dispersed, there were further clashes with reported arrests and injuries in Niavaran.
Reports also came through of Ayatollah Dastgheib's speech in the Qoba Mosque in Shiraz, scheduled for 11 a.m. local time tomorrow.
1825 GMT: Tonight's Memorial. BBC Persian reports that the Jamaran ceremony and former President Khatami's speech was indeed interrupted by "government supporters" and turned violent before it was abandoned.
1725 GMT: We are checking out the latest stories around the disruption and cancellation of the Jamaran service, including the claim that plainclothes "thugs" invaded the gathering and halted the Khatami speech.
1705 GMT: Latest Rumours. Claims circulating that the memorial service, with former President Khatami's address, in Jamaran has now been cancelled.
1645 GMT: Peyke Iran is now carrying a report of the harassment and beating of the Mothers of Martyrs in Laleh Park this evening.
1630 GMT: Tonight's Events. Conflicting rumours are flying about the gathering for the memorial at Hosseinieh Jamaran. One report is that the Hosseinieh (religious institute) is packed, another is that the crowd (and former President Khatami) have been prevented from attending and are moving toward Qods Square.
There are also reports that the Mothers of Martyrs, whose children have been killed and detained, and supporters have been surrounded by security forces during their weekly protest in Laleh Park.
1620 GMT: Today's Protests. It has been a day of frustration for us, as a major failure from our host service kept us off-line until now.
Since our 1200 GMT update, the streets have been quieter with the notable except of this evening's events at Jamaran in north Tehran (see 1630 GMT), where former President Mohammad Khatami was to speak at a memorial for Grand Ayatollah Montazeri. Security is still tight, with agents reportedly searching personal items at some metro stations, checking cell phones and confiscating some of them. It is also reported that plainclothes security and Ansar Hezbollah wearing black clothing were present around Tehran University although no clashes were reported. We are checking out other stories of attacks on women and children and the arrest of passengers on a bus for shouting anti-Government slogans.
1200 GMT: Here is what we have been following:
The pattern this morning was of running clashes between demonstrators (how many? thousands? tens of thousands? Activists went as high as 50,000 in estimates) and security forces who tried to keep them from congregating. The most serious confrontation was at Imam Hossein Square, with reports of tear gas being used.
There were also reports of clashes near the Mosque of Shahmirzadiha, at Pol-e Choubi, in and around Ferdowsi Square, Enghelab Square and at Val-e Asr near Daneshjoo Park. Security forces tried to contain and divert protesters, who were moving in loudly-honking cars as well as on foot, by setting up one-way systems and closing bridges. A later report claimed that security forces had stormed the Iranian Students News Agency building in pursuit of protesters sheltering there.
Reported chants included, "This is the month of blood - Khamenei will be toppled", and "Tehran is Karbala Today!" (a reference to Imam Hossein's death at Karbala, which is commemorated by Ashura tomorrow). It has also been reported that Mohseni Square was renamed Rahnavard Square by protesters.
There are reports, mostly unconfirmed, of protests in Mashhad, Isfahan, Qom, Shiraz, and Najafabad
0645 GMT (1015 local time): Today is Tasua, the fast day before Ashura, when the death of Imam Hossein is commemorated by Shi'a Muslims. So far it is also a day of quiet and uncertainty: despite talk of the opposition turning out in advance of the mass demonstrations and memorials planned for tomorrow, little has come through on any gathering.
The rumblings continue, however. It is now reported that Hosseinieh Ershad will not hold any Ashura ceremonies. The religious institute is noted for its opposition to the Shah in the years before the 1979 Revolution, including the passionate speeches of Dr Ali Shariati, a hero of the movement. On Friday it was announced that the Khomeini mausoleum would also refrain from any commemoration of Ashura.
An EA reader notes an article by Navid Minayi on the “men in hejab” movement that is protesting the arrest and attempted humiliation of student activist Majid Tavakoli. Minayi compares the hejab to apartheid and criticises Nobel Prize laureate and women's rights activist Shirin Ebadi, who defended the veil in her open letter to students. Significantly Minayi's opinion appears in Rouydad News, an indication that the refomist movement is slowly opening up to social debates such as the wearing of the hejab. Mowj-e-Sabz, the prominent Green movement website which has relaunched with the vow to publish “different ideas”, is also considering the issue.
Reader Comments (37)
12/26/2009
Iranian Regime Critic Kadivar
'I Am Convinced that the Regime Will Collapse'
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,669044,00.html
Is Iran on the verge of a popular explosion?
This week saw a widening of the scope of protests across the country.
By Iason Athanasiadis — Special to GlobalPost
Published: December 26, 2009 09:33 ET
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/middle-east/091224/scope-protests-widens-iran?page=0,0
I've seen that events today have been on several medias BBC world, Al jazeera, France euronews..
and on our main state channels, just seen on our evening news
The conflicting information on the Khatami speech was frustrating. Had to speak individually to several people to get clarification. I believe the truth seems to be that Khatami did get started, but was prevented from getting too far into his speech. Here are a couple of key links that may explain details:
http://bit.ly/6qoYdp http://bit.ly/6CfGpq
This is a video allegedly showing a group of people rescuing people scheduled to be executed in the city of Sirjian several days ago.
oops, sorry here is the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEZtzLQcecE
Scott, take a look at this. It is in Persian and needs translation. Not sure if it is real but definitely written by a military officer
http://dadiirandoust.mihanblog.com/post/14
Here is the English Translation
http://mikverbrugge.tumblr.com/post/301929653/coordination-center-for-national-iranian-armed
Anonymous,
Wow great post. I heard this happened in one of the regimes supposed strongholds in one of the small cities. Do you know the story and what the men were charged with/
Thx
Bill
Mark
THAT is a bit mind boggling!!!
MikVerbrugge has been pushing this kind of thing for a little while - could it happen???
Publishing pieces of paper is one thing - but is there ANY sign (even ever so small) of something like this building up on the ground inside Iran??
Barry
what a relief ! Those guys just need to get it together just a bit more, and it's all over or either civil war
Barry,
Hard to day. It is a bit far fetched but I just came across another place where there was some reference to something being planned by war veterans tomorrow. There has been a few of these letters in the last month or so. I had also heard rumors that rear admiral Shamkhani ( retired military chief) has been talking to Rafsanjani and is disgusted by what is going on. So again these are all rumors. I did not believe people had rescued two people in Sirjan from being hanged till I saw the videos. The letter is definitely written by a military officer, it clearly has a very well defined rules of engagement and military objectives. Fake or not it was written by an officer
Hassan Khomeini was with the Supreme Leader tonight at the Ashura ceremony. I guess no one told him about the coup about to take place.
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1006669
@Samuel,
Mehr news ? Please. Anyhow, why should anyone say anything to Hassan Khomeini ? Samuel, the problem with all the despots is that they never see if coming till it is too late. Always try to ignore a trend. Shah did the same thing.
Mark,
The Shah was a leader who had sold out his country to the Americans and the Israelis both of which had helped set up the Savak. That is the reason the Shah fell, he was viewed as a foreign puppet. Same thing happened with the Eastern European Satellite states. You don't see the Castro brothers running scared by comparison.
The Iranian Govt. has so far taken a soft stand with the demonstrators (tear gas and wooden clubs, motorcycles!!! what horrors). I think the Greek government was tougher on those Anarchists a few weeks ago than the Basij have been with the Greenies. If the Revolution really felt threatened the Kalashnikovs would come out. There is nothing in the streets that a few rounds of 7.62x39 would not resolve. Of course being a civilized individual I desire a more peaceful outcome but there is always that option.
Mark,
I think you missed the point of Hassan Khomeini, someone associated with the reformist wing, joining the SL for the ceremony.
Sirjan prisoner rescue and security forces shooting unarmed citizens.
WARNING: graphic and disturbing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygi3p4WQpkw
Anonymous,
Is this the Sirjan incident? If it is, I think PeYke Iran reported that regime thugs clashed with people, killed 5 and injured 27 of those who were trying to rescue these two guys, captured the two to be executed and hanged them that evening. Can you please let us know, if you know, if this was in Sirjan. Here is Peyke Iran video showing one of the five who was killed in the rescue attempt; http://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=11225
Events in Iran are beyond hearbreak.
Mark,
I wish this to be true but deep down I feel it is not. If they want to take any action, why advertise it, why not just do it. In combat you do not divulge your battle plan and send memos to your enemy. I see this as creating fear in the regime and making them watch its backs But I feel holding an empty gun and threatening to shoot can work only once.
I badly want to be wrong and hanging on to a slim hope that the regular army will get off it’s A** and do something.
Realistically the stand-off between regime and people will not be resolved by protest and chant or by divine intervention. These thugs are not going to go away on their own, they have to be forced, and they have to be forced with the same fire power. And if people do not want foreign intervention and do not want to pick up arms themselves then the Iran regular army is the only remaining option. I just hope they do it and stop telegraphing.
Samuel,
Khamenei and Co. have sold out the country to Russia and China. The Caspian has been gift-wrapped for Putin and Co. and the natural resources of the nation, which belong to its people, have been whored out to China. The public purse is drained to bankroll Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists. And whatever is left over is used to line the pockets of regime leaders.
The treasonous behavior of this Satan worshiping regime has made the Shah's vices appear relatively tame.
You don't know anything about Iran. You don't care an iota for its people. You're some North American Shia convert that thinks Iran is some sort of mighty bulwark against Western and Zionist imperialism. You've instrumentalized Iran your own political fetishes.
And thanks for openly expressing your fondness for violence. You're now on the record.
While the wording of the alleged military communique seems quite professional, I'm deeply skeptical about its authenticity. It just doesn't feel right. And while I regard MikVerbrugge has a quasi-reliable source of information, I think it's quite irresponsible of him to highlight this without any confirmation.
But who knows. I may have to eat my words tomorrow at 12:01 pm.
Bozorg
I can only read this in English - and I am wondering about the translation of it. In English, there is something about it that sounds strange/inauthentic to me - but it may just be the translation. I would not think that it has been written by a civilian however.
PS I am ex-military and used to the way in which western Military Officers write (there is quite a bit of cross-training done between different western countries Staff Colleges). Don't have any idea how Iranian military Officers (the real ones, not IRGC) write.
Barry
Merci, Bozorg, for your adjustment. Peyke Iran reports on 17 billion dollar missing from Iran's budget (oil and other revenues) in 2008: http://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=11279
Whether national resources or international intellectual property, shameless theft has become normal in this Islamic Rapepublic: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v462/n7275/full/462847a.html