Thursday
Mar252010
UPDATED Iran: The Controversy over Neda's "Fiance"
Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 18:22 
UPDATE 25 MARCH: Masih Alinejad has posted an update, apologising for mis-representing the relationship between Caspian Makan and Neda Agha Soltan.UPDATE 2115 GMT: Developments tonight. BBC Persian is featuring an interview with Neda Agha Soltan's mother, Hajjar Rostami-Motlagh, who emphasises that Caspian Makan did not represent the Soltan family in his trip to Israel.
Rostami-Motlagh, contradicting stories on websites, said that Makan and Neda were in a relationship at the time of her death and were on their way to marriage. However, saying that her daughter was not political, Rostami-Motlagh asked that her spirit be "left in peace".
The Soltan family rejected the claim that Makan was representing the Iranian people and said that he was "abusing the legacy" of Neda.
Makan contacted Masih Alinejad to discuss the original article about him. Alinejad has updated her editorial to include their conversation.
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Journalist Masih Alinejad, formerly of Etemade Melli daily and now the lead editorial writer for Rah-e-Sabz has published a denunciation of Caspian Makan. Makan is the man who has commonly been identified as the "fiancé" of Neda Agha Soltan, whose death on 20 June by a Basij gunshot has become a symbol of Iran's post-election conflict.
We make no comment on Alinejad's assertions but post them, translated by an EA correpondent, in the knowledge that Makan, who has just met the Israeli President Shimon Peres, is being mis-identified by some observers as "a leader of Iran's opposition":
How many times should Neda Agha Soltan die?
The Latest from Iran (24 March): Regime Confidence, Regime Fear?
In Iran is it only the government that kills the protestors?
Besides those who are sitting on the chair of power, is there any one else who might be able to kill young Iranians? Who else, besides the autocratic rules of Iran is willing or able to break the heart of a mother over and over again? Does death only mean that you should fall over the cobblestones of a street, with blood spilling out of your mouth, and a mother who would never see her beautiful daughter again?
If the answer is yes, how come Neda is being shot at every day?
This time round, Neda Agha Soltan is being killed through an imposter who introduces himself as Neda’s fiancé. Caspian Makan is shooting at Neda’s forehead, just because for a very short time Neda was sentimentally attached to this man. She did, however, separate from him very soon after the beginning of their relationship.
A man named AliReza (Caspian) Makan travels around the world under the name of Neda’s fiancé and defines himself as a representative of the people of Iran. In this capacity, he met with the president of Israel, Shimon Peres. Mr. Makan is free to do whatever he wants but it is a disaster that everyone knows him in conjunction with Neda, a girl whose family has no agenda in Iran. On the other hand, he claims to represent the dead girl and has become her "voice" throughout the world.
I wanted to publish this article a long time ago but I believed that Makan was very well aware that in the last days of Neda’s life he did not maintain a sentimental relationship with her. And I was under the belief that after she was gone, he would respect the privacy of a dead woman who cannot defend herself.
During the days when a British friend of mine was producing a documentary about Neda, I accessed a letter from her sister, but I thought I should not go public with the letter and insult Makan in this way. But today Makan is insulting the entire family of Neda along with an entire nation. I guess it is time for me to pull the curtain and let the world take a look at the reality behind the scenes.
Neda’s sister wrote in an email that “…Makan and Neda were separated, they were together for a very short time…. The picture of Neda with short dress was taken by him… Makan and Neda were not together anymore but after Neda was killed we were forced to witness Makan sending Neda’s pictures to the media…”
Makan is neither Neda’s fiancé nor a representative of people of Iran in Israel.
Throughout our life we meet many people, men and women. Makan was just a by-stander in Neda’s life, and Neda soon broke the relationship up. And now this question has constantly occupied my mind: why should anyone disrespect a person who once laid her head against his shoulder but the day after decided that those shoulders do not constitute solace for her any more? How can he buy himself fame while Neda’s picture was a keepsake when they were together? Is intruding upon her integrity not a good reason behind his real agenda to meet with Israel’s president? He does not even genuinely believe in green movement.
I never wanted to be disrespectful to Makan. But as a woman, if I didn’t stay with a man while I was alive, clearly I would never want him to climb on my corpse once I was dead. It hurts my soul as much as a policeman’s gunshot would hurt my body.
I am not Neda’s family’s spokesperson, but I know that these days Neda’s mother is enveloped in pain while she witnesses other people shooting her daughter in other ways. The mother of Neda is hurt. She is hurt from those who shot her daughter and herself once as well those who presently want to kill her soul.
If Makan had a motivation to meet with Israeli President, he should have done it on his own. Standing on the corpse of a girl who long before her departure has ended her relationship with him is the pinnacle of scorn. The innocent girl who once put her hand on Makan’s shoulder trusted him and never thought that tomorrow their once private pictures will roll around the world from media to media, so that he can accomplish his plans. Neda had never contemplated that this man could take over as the representative of the people of Iran.
Neda Agha Soltan is a clear example of the ailment in Iran, from the days that the political and social leaders decided to ignore honor and moral. Instead they began to raise individuals from all layers of society who have an enormous talent of killing their countrymen despite being unarmed.
Neda was an unassuming girl. She, like many other girls, became the victim of the protests against this regime. But this is not the end. There are still people who are targeting at our long-gone sister. All those boys who derided Neda’s death and those women who made a cloth doll of Neda with the slogan “Satan’s martyr” are still shooting her. They broke her tombstone and….
I write in the hope for a day when morality comes back to the Iranian society and its members correct themselves first instead of using each other’s corpses for reaching fame and fortune. Their bodies stink of blood and betrayal.
Reader Comments (57)
Rezvan,
The only one fanaticizing is you, your loony leader, and your Basiji brothers. I have a song for you in the next post make sure not miss it.
Rezvan,
The only one fanaticizing is you, your loony leader, and your Basiji brothers. I have a song for you in the next post make sure not to miss it.
Here is a song I heard a number of people calling the Persian radio station on Norooz and asking it to play. The radio station finally played it. It made me laugh so hard that I could not resist a Google search. I found several videos. I post two here and I hope it makes you laugh too. The second one seems to be in Camp Ashraf. I had no clue camp Ashraf was that large. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gENx07c-zE and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPZNsc6NsOg&NR=1
To our non-Farsi speaking friends at EA, it is really not as humorous when translated. I can just tell you it is a song in Lor dialect and it is poking fun at Khamenei, his monkey Ahmadinejad and Islamic republic. The repeated verse of "dometo bezar roo koolet "means pack and get lost. You can see, in the second video, how audience reacts and gets into the act. The biggest laugh comes when he calls Khamenei being high on drugs
To Rezvan:
Hey buddy listen to the man and Dometo Bezar Roo Koolet.
I think most people r not interested in this story and don't care whether Makan does drink a beer with Bush or Shimon Peres, as he is not a Foreign Minister or anything. It is not that interesting. Certain faction of green movement is afraid of any framework being broken. For instance they have been asking Shadi Sadr and women rights activists to express their concerns later...they want to limit everything and it is apparent that they are biased and narrow minded. These r not representing the majority of the Greens but they have much more voice than others because at least they r closer to the government officials, that is why I am sure their acts will dissuade more and more people and green will start to be passive for a while until they realize that people want real democracy not "Islamic" rule of any kind!
One more point Scott that is missing. Sister of Neda, told BBC that Makan was Neda's fiance unlike what Masih had earlier said. Masih earlier claimed that she had an email proving that caspian was not fiance of Makan...that's why she had to apologize. Also there is a point in her letter of apology which is not pleasant...she is trying to indicate implicitly but at the same time it is clear that the reason she is apologozing is to do with traditional soceity of Iran and shame of having boy friend. That's why she has to say it was her fiance to save Neda's face. She has mentioned it in her letter...in other words she is apologizing for not considering this sensitivity and that even if he was not his fiance she should not mention it due to cultural concerns. She does it in a way which I do not appreciate as a reader...It appears sneaky and not honest and straight!
At the same time Masih had said that they were breaking up, whereas the sister said that they were going to get married....to me it is more like a gossip story that is not really worth talking and I am not sure why these people who want to preserve Islam because of their relations with Islamic government within green movement, disappoint all of us....we don't want to feel that we are being used for their agenda and what they think is right
Anahita/Negar,
Thank you for your valuable comments. One point I would add is that there appears to have been a lot of pressure on those involved in this --- Makan, Neda's family, Masih Alinejad --- to tell the "right" story. That pressure has come not only from members of the opposition but also from elements of the regime.
S.