Q: It’s a good idea to start this interview with a question about women and the Green Movement. A while ago women’s rights activists released a statement writing that there has been no attention to their demands in any of the statements and discussions released after the day of the election. These activists wrote that they believe the issue of women is a big part of the current crisis, and without attempting to solve these issues, no solutions would be sustainable. That is why a group of these activists wrote a critical letter to Messrs [Mehdi] Karroubi and [Mir Hossein] mMousavi. What do you think about this? Do you believe that from the day after the election, the candidates were oblivious to women and their issues?
RAHNAVARD: Truly, why do we women have to sit around and wait for someone to tend to us? We have to be the ones who step forward. We can learn much from the story of great women in history. We have thousands of years of history to draw on from the time, which, according to the Quran, humanity was one unified nation, or the time when, according to some theorists, women were the prime decision makers, when, according to archeological findings, the gods were female and ruled the world.
2145 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. An activist reports that Layla Tavasoli and Mohamad Naeimpour of the Freedom Movement of Iran have been released from Evin Prison.
2130 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Another sign of the “conservative” push for changes within the system. The brother of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani, has told Khabar Online that the Expediency Council will seek to remove “ambiguities” in Iran’s election law. At the same time, Mohammad Rafsanjani denied that the Expediency Council will seek to remove the Guardian Council’s monitoring of elections.
1840 GMT: WaPo’ed (definition: “declaring an opposition movement dead without evidence and with dubious motives). Just a quick note to folks at The Washington Post: in the past 72 hours, you have distorted a piece by your own Iran correspondent to portray the demise of the Green movement on 22 Bahman and you have run an Associated Press report which declares from thin air:
I deeply appreciate the huge turnout on the rally for the 22nd of Bahman [11 February, the 1979 anniversary of the Islamic Revolution] despite all the security pressure and the restrained political atmosphere. The ceremonies this year were held at a time when all political factions, prominent figures, and Grand Ayatollahs had invited people to participate in the hopes of moving toward a resolution to the current crisis. Nevertheless, the brutal totalitarian forces are using state-run television, as well as official and unofficial media outlets to hijack the rallies, to present them as a show of their own supporters while unethically ignoring the brutalities and violence that occurred on the sidelines as well as the extreme security measures that were in place that day, thus offering an impression completely opposite to what had actually happened.
2120 GMT: Author, translator and journalist Omid Mehregan has been released from detention.
2100 GMT: So all our watching on many fronts is overtaken by the “Iran Might Be Getting A Bomb” story. Little coming out of Iran tonight; in contrast, every “Western” news outlet is screaming about the draft International Atomic Energy report on Iran’s nuclear programme. (Funny how each, like CNN, is implying that it “obtained” an exclusive copy.)
1830 GMT: Political Prisoner News. “Green media” pull together reports that we carried last night: 50 detainees were released, including Shahabeddin Tabatabei, member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front and head of youth in support of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mohammad Khatami, Parisa Kakaei of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, student activist Maziar Samiee, and Khosrow Ghashghai of the Freedom Movement of Iran.
Last night Mehdi Karroubi met with Mir Hossein Mousavi for two hours. They appreciated people’s peaceful demonstration on 11 February (22 Bahman) and criticized those who wanted to use the presence of different sections of the society for their political agenda.
In this meeting, they also criticized the violent extremists in Tehran and other major cities of the country who denied the peaceful demonstration of people by violent means. They made it clear that, for the first time in the last 30 years on the day of the victory of the Revolution, which belongs to every Iranian, the country witnessed a complete militarized situation and an atmosphere of fear. They criticized the attack on the symbols that are a part of the country’s flag and emphasized that this is a sign of weakness in the violent extremists in the Green presence of people.
Q: We are approaching the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. How can the recollection and commemoration of those days benefit us today?
MOUSAVI: First and foremost, I want to congratulate all of our people on the 31st anniversary of our [victory in the] Revolution, particularly the families of our martyrs, our [war] veterans and prisoners of war [with Iraq].
Analyzing the Islamic revolution has not come to an end yet. There have been thousands of books and articles written about it and many still to come. It is interesting that the recent elections and the events following it have brought forth new critiques of the Revolution.
2140 GMT: Sharing a Laugh. At the end of an emotional day, it’s good to relax with a bit of a laugh. So, over to you, pro-regime Kayhan newspaper: there were “a maximum of about 5000” in the crowd at the Montazeri ceremonies, as reformists “completely failed to create “a popular gathering”.
Oh, you pranksters….
1925 GMT: Arrest of the Activists. Shiva Nazar Ahari and Kouhyar Goodarzi, arrested yesterday as they travelled to Qom, are still detained. Mahboubeh Abbas Gholizadeh was released earlier today.
A video of Gholizadeh’s interview of Nazar Ahari, carried out just before her arrest, has been posted in two parts.
1910 GMT: We continue to add the best of today’s videos as we come across them (Set 1 and Set 2). The latest discovery? A lengthy clip of Mehdi Karroubi at the ceremonies.
1850 GMT: Clashes and Occupation (2). Rah-e-Sabz publishes the story we have been hearing for a few hours: The car of Mir Hossein Mousavi was attacked, allegedly by plainclothes forces, as it returned to Tehran from Qom, breaking the rear windscreen. A passenger was injured; Mousavi was unhurt. One of the attackers also suffered minor injuries.
1830 GMT: Clashes and Occupation (1). Back from a short break to find that Ahmad Montazeri, the son of the late Grand Ayatollah, has said “several people” were injured in clashes with security forces. Some of those forces are still “occupying” the Imam Hassan Mosque where services took place this morning. Read the rest of this entry »
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
5th of Azar (26 November) is the anniversary of creation of “Basij of the Poor” by Imam Khomeini. This anniversary is an opportunity to have a second look at this influential institution in the history of the Islamic revolution: What was the Basij? What is it now? and what should it be? What force created the Basij, and gave it a name and recognition? What made it a hero of all the different tastes and inclinations [of different classes] in a period of the modern history of this land?
That glorious history and great success known as Basij was not achieved through extensive budgets, and expensive weapons. It was not excellent institutionalized organization techniques that made the Basij as glorious as a tale of magnificent proportions. It was not military power that formed Basij. Instead, it was deep and pure intentions that created this high tower and nurtured role models whose names are remembered as if they were loyal friends of the prophet. Read the rest of this entry »
Zahra Rahnavard in an interview with Kalemeh, translated by Khordaad 88:
From Khordaad 88: 
2140 GMT: Sharing a Laugh. At the end of an emotional day, it’s good to relax with a bit of a laugh. So, over to you, pro-regime Kayhan newspaper: there were “
Entries (RSS)