For the past few years, I’ve been receiving emails and attachments from a woman with close ties to Iran. Along with this Youtube she wrote the following:
Here is a song gifted to the new Iran emerging from the 2009 election by the one of the greatest musicians of present day Iran, Mohamad Reza Shajarian. And he rightly calls it “Iran, the land of hope.
She indicates that letters are circulating in Iran to weaken the grip of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s government by doing the following:
o Refusing to give ads to the state run TV, and newspapers
serving as the voice of the government.
o Pulling out money invested in banks and financial
institutions run by the government or by the revolutionary
guards.
o Refraining from contributing to the charity boxes scattered
throughout towns all across the country.
Protesting has become incredibly dangerous.
More than 2,000 people are still in detention and hundreds more are missing in Iran since a government crackdown on protests over a disputed presidential election, the FIDH human rights group said on Sunday.
Consider also this video of a truck driving into a crowd. Much more detailed information can be found at IranDokht:
IranDokht is an online media platform that connects the global community to Iranian women. It serves as a kaleidoscope of lifestyles, identities, art, and culture, reflecting the tensions between modernity and tradition.
My correspondent also wrote that:
Mr. Mousavi’s Facebook account, which is now his only conduit to the outside world, has posted a message addressed to Iranians living abroad. The message consists of five paragraphs and is calm and confident in its tone. Below, I provide a rough translation of the main points in the letter:
I appreciate your widespread participation in the election. Iran belongs to you as much as those living on its soil.
I am grateful for your vote of confidence and I assure you that, as I promised earlier, I will pursue the issue of cheating in this election to safeguard your legal rights as reflected in your votes.
Unfortunately, as you see in the international media, the Islamic Republic, in clear violation of the Iranian constitution, has blocked my normal channels of communication with you, and the people’s right to peacefully protest.
I thank you for your strong objection to the widespread rigging of the election and ask you – using peaceful legal channels – to make your voices heard by the Iranian officials. I know your legitimate concern is different from the goals of those hostile to the Iranian political system as a whole and ask you to not allow them to take advantage of your protest to advance their goals (my clarification: Mr. Mousavi is here referring to royalists, and other opposition groups who fundamentally oppose the Islamic Republic and would not participate in the Iranian elections but in the past week have participated in demonstrations related to this election.)
From Truthoutorg:
"There used to be more slogans like 'Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein'," Aamina said, in support of presidential challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi. But the slogans have evolved as the crisis has. Now they shout "Alaho Akbar [God is the greatest], down with the dictator and down with the liar." Aamina said that in the distance she even hears people shouting "down with [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei," the Supreme Leader of Iran.
This shift from protesting the official results of the June 12 election to protesting the restrictive system of governance in Iran is striking and significant.
"Some of my neighbors use some radical slogans and last night they said that they do not care about the election anymore. They want this regime to change.
http://www.truthout.org/062809A?n
Erich, what do those in Iran ask of others outside of Iran that would support the Iranians' desires for freedom?
Tim: We are far away and quite limited in what we can do as individuals and as a nation (given the blowback if the U.S. was perceived to be intervening). What we can do is to make sure that our Media keeps publishing the story. Not only when people are throwing rocks, but when the thugs are breaking into dissidents' houses in the middle of the night and when thousands of people are being thrown into education camp. And when hundreds of teachers are losing their jobs. We need to remind the ruling party that we are watching and that we are fully aware of the kind of government that is in power. It is my belief that to the extent that we allow Michael Jackson to entirely blow the Iran story off the front page, the despots will act all the more harshly. Sunshine is the best disinfectant. The rulers of Iran have clearly shown (through their constant bristling) that they do care what we think of them.
Erich, I had several ideas about how we could support the Iranians:
Tie a green ribbon 'round the old oak tree.
Co-ordinate an effort worldwide to have Iranian freedom supporters take to the roofs or just go outside and shout or say "God is Great!" at sundown Tehran time. Just let's all of us do it, at the least for solidarity's sake!
I will never forget the image of Pope John Paul II walking down the steps from his plane, kneeling, and kissing the ground of his native Poland. I believe that was the beginning of the fall of the old Soviet Union.
It is clear that such actions and images can give aid and support to the legitimate desires of freedom loving peoples. Perhaps history may repeat itself, in a positive way. The Iron Curtain came down; it was shouted down by cries for freedom.
I say this now in solidarity with those standing for freedom in the Islamic Republic of Iran:
"GOD IS GREAT!"