1910 GMT: Reuters has picked up Zahra Rahnavard’s latest interview, highlighting the line, “I have said many times that this government is illegitimate…but because the government claims to be legitimate, it has to carry out its duties.”
1900 GMT: From Washington With… ? We’ve posted the video of yesterday’s “Iran at A Crossroads” conference.
1855 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Readers have rightly noted an apparent lapse in our coverage of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. The reformist daily Bahar claimed on Wednesday that, in a clear sign of reconciliation with the regime, Rafsanjani would soon lead Friday Prayers in Tehran. (He has not done so since his 17 July address, which was a catalysts for demonstrations against the Government.)
Gareth Porter has an excellent piece up on Inter Press Service, “Fiction of Marja as City Was U.S. Information War,” in which he breaks down the media disinformation campaign on the size of Marja:
Marja is not a city or even a real town, but either a few clusters of farmers’ homes or a large agricultural area covering much of the southern Helmand River Valley.
“It’s not urban at all,” an official of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), who asked not to be identified, admitted to IPS Sunday. He called Marja a “rural community”.
“It’s a collection of village farms, with typical family compounds,” said the official, adding that the homes are reasonably prosperous by Afghan standards.
Porter is right on, and you should read the whole thing for an idea on exactly how these disinformation campaigns are spread, but I’m afraid in the case of Marja, we might be missing the point. We’re complaining that Marja is only an excuse for a propaganda victory while at the same time complaining that the victory won’t be worth anything because it’s not a city.
As Woody Allen said on a much different topic, “This food is terrible, and such small portions!”
2000 GMT: More on Women’s Day. An interesting interview with Parvin Ardalan, winner of the Olof Palme Prize in 2005 it was “for making the equal rights of men and women central to the struggle for democracy in Iran”:
Many of the women’s groups decided after the election not to communicate with the government because it has lost its legitimacy. For example, they collected all these signatures for the One Million Signatures campaign to give to the parliament, but now people no longer want to sign anything because they believe that no demands should be sent to a government that has no legitimacy. The situation has changed – people want gender equality but they don’t think the approach is to go to this government to get it. So currently even the groups that did have contact with the government, no longer do
1900 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has met with reformist students of Tehran University for the second time in recent months.
1850 GMT: We’ve posted the video message of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Iranian women on International Women’s Day.
1845 GMT: Political Prisoner News. An Iranian activist reports that Committee of Human Rights Reporters member Mehrad Rahimi was released on bail this evening. Five other CHRR members are still imprisoned.
1800 GMT: How Does Iran Celebrate International Women’s Day? Building on the news that poet Simin Behbahani was barred from leaving Iran for ceremonies in Paris (see 0835 GMT), Golnaz Esfandiari notes other cases of restrictions of women’s rights in the country.
USWarning to the Palestinian Authority: According to a document sent by Washington to the Palestinian Authority and obtained by Haaretz on Friday, the Obama Administration will assign blame and take action if indirect talks fail due to one side’s fault. After clearly stating Washington’s position for “a viable, independent and sovereign Palestinian State with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967″, the report continues:
We expect both parties to act seriously and in good faith. If one side, in our judgment, is not living up to our expectations, we will make our concerns clear and we will act accordingly to overcome that obstacle.
“Old Taliban” Number Two Captured? The Afghanistan Taliban’s top military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been captured in Pakistan in a joint raid by Pakistani and U.S. spy agencies, a U.S. official said. Another U.S. official said: “I would call it significant. But even when you get their leaders, they’ve shown an amazing resilience to bounce back. It’s an adaptive organization.” However, the Taliban denied the capture of Baradar and said he was still at work.
Saudi Line on Iran Nukes: Following a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said that they needed an “immediate resolution.” He said:
Our talks also considered the Iranian nuclear issue. The Kingdom reiterates its support of the P-1+5 or the 1+5 group to solve the crisis peacefully through dialogue, and we call for a continuation of those efforts. We also call upon Iran to respond to these efforts to remove regional and international suspicions towards its nuclear program.
Sanctions are a long-term solution. But we see the issue in the shorter term because we are closer to the threat. We need immediate resolution rather than gradual resolution.
Iran: So what happens on the day after 22 Bahman? And what does it all mean?
We have three special reports and analyses this morning. Mr Verde sees the Regime’s win yesterday as pyrrhic: “For any regime, especially one that claims to be a popular republic based on Islam, pointing TV cameras at the right-looking crowd while beating the “wrong crowd” with all its might, especially on the anniversary of its formation, is not a victory.”
EA’s Scott Lucas considers the political significance of yesterday’s events, and concludes that, if President Ahmadinejad could be said to have won, then he “won ugly”. EA correspondent Mr Azadi, who was in close contact with sources in Tehran throughout Thursday, gives a detailed summary from eyewitness accounts. We have also highlighted Pedestrian’s snapshot and compelling interpretation that any “defeat” for the opposition yesterday was a tactical miscalculation rather than the end of the challenge to the Government.
We have posted an ABC TV interview with internet activist Mehdi Saharkhiz(of “Only Mehdi” fame) and will continue to add to yesterday’s video posts from Iran (set four can be viewed here), together with other TV coverage that has and will become available.
The regime’s propaganda machine drones on about nukes, nukes and more nukes, trying to divert attention away from internal squabbles and human rights issues. We’ll keep you updated on all the news our live weblog throughout the day.
Iran:We wonder whether Iran is entering a tunnel in the run-up to 22 Bahman (11 February, the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution) with an escalation of arrests and reports of detentions of family members of activists. Persian2English has posted a list of 56 political prisoners at risk of execution. At Friday prayers Ayatollah Kashani repeated his “unveiled threat” to protesters not to ruin 22 Bahman “for the rest of us”.
Persian2English reported that more than a thousand relatives of detainees gathered outside Evin Prison to commemorate Arbaeen, the 40th day of mourning after the religious occasion of Ashura. Demonstrators offered prayers and chanted “Allahu Akhbar (God is great)”.
The grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, has written to the head of Iran Broadcasting to complain about the “censoring” of his grandfather’s speech. Ayatollah Khomeini’s words have allegedly been adjusted to present a more favourable view of the Government in the run-up to the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution.
Two high profile detainees (Hassan Rassouli and Abolfazl Ghadiani) were released on Thursday night on bail.
Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has issued a statement demanding the freeing of all political prisoners before 22 Bahman.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has issued a forceful statement on his blog on the post-election crisis, supporting protesters’ calls for human rights, democracy and the fundamental freedoms which “are not western prerogatives, but universal rights to which we are all entitled”.
We have new claimed video of protests in the southern city of Lars from Monday to Thursday.
Although one website (the students at Amir Kabir University) remains down, a new Green website Mizan Khabar, has been launched.
An Italian company has announced it will cease trading with Iran. We note with derision one American commentator’s agitated video “rant” about Iran’s rocket launch. Another video post shows the damage and injuries caused during the siege at Qoba Mosque in Shiraz yesterday.
All the latest news, with links to our stories and other news media sites, can be found in our live weblog.
Afghanistan: We’ve posted Anand Gopal’s moving article for TomDispatch, which tells the story of a young government employee to open eyes to America’s secret prisons in Afghanistan.
Israel and Syria: Israeli and Syrian officials have issued conflicting statements on the chances of an immediate peace between the two countries.
1910 GMT: Reuters has picked up Zahra Rahnavard’s latest interview, highlighting the line, “I have said many times that this government is illegitimate…but because the government claims to be legitimate, it has to carry out its duties.”
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