Wednesday
Jul222009
Iran: Playing the "National Security" Card
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 7:47
The Latest from Iran (22 July): “The Pendulum Swings” Towards Opposition
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Maryam at Keeping the Change offers a concise, effective analysis of how the Iranian Government is trying to use threats to "national security" both to hold off and to denigrate the opposition movement:
Two reports from the Government-sponsored Press TV on Tuesday highlighted the Regime's continuing efforts at recasting the current events inside Iran as matters of "national security." Press TV reported that Iranian police have clashed [for 7 hours] with unidentified gunmen in the city of Urumieh in the Province of Western Azerbaijan. No further information, images, or other tangible evidence is provided on this event. Press TV also reported that the Majlis' Foreign Policy and National Security Commission will present a report to Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Parliament, examining the post-June 12th events "in an effort to gain more experience [on such incidents] and prevent similar cases in the future."
These attempts at invoking "national security" as cover and justification for its crackdown on demonstrators and other dissidents may, in part, reflect the Government's awareness of a phenomenon analyzed and written about by several prominent Iran scholars, including Professor Homa Katouzian, for decades. Namely, Iranian history suggests that a reflexive aversion to instability and insecurity exists within Iranian society. According to this theory, Iranians have historically preferred rulership by a strong and autocratic leader to prolonged, nation-wide unrest. Whether or not this theory is in fact relevant to the current climate inside Iran, these Press TV reports are reminiscent of numerous other "incidents" that have occurred over the last weeks and together give the impression that the Government is intentionally manufacturing news to support its claims of a "national security" threat inside the country.
Amongst the most clearly incredible of these reports was the alleged "suicide bombing" at the Ayatollah Khomeini Shrine, on the outskirts of Tehran, on June 20, 2009, one of the bloodiest days of protests since the June 12th elections.
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Maryam at Keeping the Change offers a concise, effective analysis of how the Iranian Government is trying to use threats to "national security" both to hold off and to denigrate the opposition movement:The Issue of "National Security:" Government Spin in Two Press TV Reports
Two reports from the Government-sponsored Press TV on Tuesday highlighted the Regime's continuing efforts at recasting the current events inside Iran as matters of "national security." Press TV reported that Iranian police have clashed [for 7 hours] with unidentified gunmen in the city of Urumieh in the Province of Western Azerbaijan. No further information, images, or other tangible evidence is provided on this event. Press TV also reported that the Majlis' Foreign Policy and National Security Commission will present a report to Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Parliament, examining the post-June 12th events "in an effort to gain more experience [on such incidents] and prevent similar cases in the future."
These attempts at invoking "national security" as cover and justification for its crackdown on demonstrators and other dissidents may, in part, reflect the Government's awareness of a phenomenon analyzed and written about by several prominent Iran scholars, including Professor Homa Katouzian, for decades. Namely, Iranian history suggests that a reflexive aversion to instability and insecurity exists within Iranian society. According to this theory, Iranians have historically preferred rulership by a strong and autocratic leader to prolonged, nation-wide unrest. Whether or not this theory is in fact relevant to the current climate inside Iran, these Press TV reports are reminiscent of numerous other "incidents" that have occurred over the last weeks and together give the impression that the Government is intentionally manufacturing news to support its claims of a "national security" threat inside the country.
Amongst the most clearly incredible of these reports was the alleged "suicide bombing" at the Ayatollah Khomeini Shrine, on the outskirts of Tehran, on June 20, 2009, one of the bloodiest days of protests since the June 12th elections.
Read rest of article....
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