Sunday
May022010
Iran Analysis: The Scattering of Protest is Still Protest
Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 8:00 
0630 GMT: It was difficult at first to get a reading of Iran's May Day, given the regime's comprehensive effort to block any dissent or evidence of opposition. Even that blanket attempt offered an important lesson, however: in the most incisive comment of the day, an observer noted, “For a Government so sure that Green Movement is over and done with, they have a lot of security out on the streets.”Eventually, as some video --- shot in secret, with the cameraperson at risk of detention --- made its way through and reports could be cross-checked and verified: the pattern emerged.
Iran Eyewitness: “The Movement Is Still Strong and Vibrant”
The protests are scattered, but they persist.
Perhaps the most striking incident of the day was at Tehran University. the President wished to give a speech on the campus. Yet, 10 1/2 months after the election and despite his supposed legitimacy and assured rule, Ahmadinejad was trying to reach the University unannounced.
The effort failed. Someone got word, spread it, and hundreds of students gathered to give Ahmadinejad a special greeting. The chants and songs, be they of affirmation for the opposition, denuncation of the Government, or a willingness to sacrifice, cannot be mistaken: this was a persistent, demonstration that the demands for justice and accountability may be suppressed but they are not vanquished.
And on May Day, despite the Government's restrictions on unions, despite the threats of retribution, despite memories of last year's violent response by the regime, the workers also gathered. They often did so in clusters, often in muted presence rather than vocal demonstration, but they still came out.
At the end of the day, this was still a messy story. It offers no clarity on the political and economic situation in Iran. There was no resolution, despite the attempt of Iran's state media to ignore everything and of the editors of America's top newspaper to declare a victory for the regime.
Yet, in one more step along this post-election path, the significance is simply that these scattered events occurred. Turmoil continues but so does hope, repression is redoubled but so is defiance.
There will come a day of reckoning --- symbolically, the stakes are being raised for 12 June, the anniversary of the Revolution --- but this May Day was primarily to offer some sign of resistance.
Scattering of protest is far, far different from no protest at all.
Reader Comments (12)
[...] Iran Analysis: The Scattering of Protest is Still Protest The Latest from Iran (2 May): Persistence [...]
You are really stretching. As I posted in the previous thread, protests happened in many countries around the world. Its the nature of May Day...
M. Ali,
I really love to see you getting mad at any news, which does not fit your Islamistic black box. I also like your superb logic à la Press TV or False News. Probably someone who has been taught to emulate (taghlid) his whole life, will never start to think by himself.
But you should not give up. Try it today -- it's never too late...
Yes they did but why in the world did Iran not cover it's own protests? Instead they only focus on events outside its borders. Why is that? It would seem to the casual bystander that Iran is to afraid to even discuss anything back home that could damage the regime. So please answer us why Iran is unable to even effectively cover its own stories?
I'll answer like I have answered before. Iran's internal media coverage is biased towards itself, and has been since the introduction of a press in Iran, in IRA, during the Pahlavi, and during the Qajar period.
But Iran's biased is faced against a mount of anti-Iranian bias that is much more far-reaching and dangerous.
Unfortunately, my dear Ashama, I consider myself more of a free thinker than you, and not somehow who just sits in a comfortable circle and digests whatever meets with your own viewpoint, not read to challenge yourself, and are only willing to look in black and white.
This is the exact sort of thinking that has resulted in hundreds of disastors throughout history, easy prey for brainwashing agents and fantastic targets for an effective PR campaign.
M. Ali,
Thank you for the response. I agree. The only thing I would contend is that the world media does not myopically focus on Iran. On any given day the best Iran can hope for is maybe one or sometimes two articles foucsing on it. In most cases these stories are not even top story lines. On the other hand if you look to PressTV such as today the 7 leading stories are about events outside Iran, 5 are direct attacks, and only one is about Iran directly. Most Western news outlets focus on domestic issues not Iran. PressTV for all intesive purposes is a propaganda arm in comparision to Western media. If they were not you would find the top stories being the unrest, economy, and most likely the subsidy debate. Yet none of these stories never seem to make it to the news especially so if they are grim such as the economy. Why? Do you not think the Iranian people are more concerned about the economy they whether or not Iran treated it's Jews better than Europe as reported on today.
Thx
Bill
Hossein Aryan, deputy director of RFE/RL’s Persian-language Radio Farda, concludes in a recent op-ed:
It is always difficult to predict the future in Iranian politics, but I'd argue the most likely scenario for the next few years could be a continuation of the current war of attrition between the regime and the Green Movement or its successors. The regime will continue to deny the opposition the ability to challenge it effectively, while being unable to eliminate the sources of the discontent fuelling the Green protests. At the same time, it would be unrealistic to expect the demise of the regime any time soon, unless the Green Movement develops new methods of organizing itself, capitalizing on its gains, and broadening its appeal.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Irans_Green_Movement_In_The_Doldrums/2024935.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.rferl.org/content/Irans_Green_Moveme...
PressTV is geared mainly towards non-Iranian audience and a sort of alternative to news outlets such as BBC and CNN. Local Iranians news, targeted towards Iranians, will have more news about Iran.
So, PressTV's target audience is not Iranians.
Iranian students not the only ones out protesting
Afghanis protest execution of compatriots in Iran
A group of Afghanis protested in Kabul against the “mistreatment” of Afghan nationals living in Iran, by the Islamic Republic.
Following reports that a group of Afghanis charged with drug smuggling were executed in Iran, today, a group of some two hundred protesters gathered in front of the Iranian embassy in Kabul.
http://www.zamaaneh.com/enzam/2010/05/afghanis-protest-executio.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.zamaaneh.com/enzam/2010/05/afghanis-...
Afghans hold portraits of Iranian President Mehmood Ahmedinejad, as they shout slogans during a protest outside the Iranian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the embassy to protest against the executions of Afghans accused of drug smuggling in Iran.
Photo of the Afghans protesting: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=358944&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23" rel="nofollow">http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.a...
M. Ali,
Very true about PressTV. However as many have noted we see that even "Iranian" directed news is all but devoid of such subjects as the unrest, economy, and other issues pertinent to Iran. My friend is from Tehran and about once a week she shows me a lot of the news in Iran. Her common statement is "My gosh why don't they ever talk about the issues in Iran--its all about the US, Israel, or the Nukes. People are losing their jobs and having trouble paying the bills yet the leaders paint a picture that it is all perfect." As you can note from Western sources the topics that take the headlines are not Iran but things like elections, health care, or the economy and they are very consistent with this. Yes Iran comes up but its maybe one headline a week and a story or two a day mixed in with many others. Why does Iran so chose to focus on external matters when one would think issues like the economy should be front and center istead of say Palestine?
Thx
Bill