The Iranian government today warned against any public protests marking the yearlong house arrest of reformist leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karubi. The two leaders were placed under house arrest on 14 Februay last year.
“We will confront such moves with full preparation and all kinds of security apparatus,” said Morteza Tamaddon, the governor of Tehran.
In anticipation of the protests, the government has restricted public access to the Internet, practically cutting off access to popular email and text message services and to a number of websites.
The government denies any fraud in the 2009 presidential elections when Ahmadinejad was elected to a second term, running against Mousavi and Karubi. However, the government has not explained why it needed to put the opposition leaders under house arrest if the vast majority of citizens supported the government as claimed.
Dozens of people were killed and thousands arrested during the post-2009 election demonstrations in major towns and cities in what it became known as the Green Movement, referring to green banners used in the opposition rallies and the head and wristbands worn by the young protesters.
26 comments:
DOZENS WERE KILLED?
I thought it was only one created NEDA!!!
@ B.M.A
This should give you some idea about the amount of Iranians killed over the last two years by the regimes paramilitary thugs:
Tehran Bureau: Martyrs of the Green Movement
@ Paul Iddon
How are you sure that they were killed by the government and how are you sure that all of them were even killed? Did you kill them yourself ? And is a story even believable when its reference is also Zionist. And, didn't people like you were dancing when Iranians were being mass murdered by America and Israeli supplied Chem-bombs? Doesn't your Israeli father dance when Palestinians and Iranians die?Don't you feel yourself complete when you find out you could divide Muslims and killed a lot of them. Don't answer that , we already know the truth.
@ Anon 13:22
What on earth are you blubbering on about?
The Regime has nothing to worry about.
All the leaders of the revolt are either in jail or exile, not to mention those killed.
The remaining so called leadership is either controlled by the government or is inept. The last call for demonstrations included the routes of demonstrations, to make it easy for the security forces to intervene.
If they were serious about starting a revolution they would have called for night time demonstrations and given destination only (without routes).
"The government denies any fraud in the 2009 presidential elections when Ahmadinejad was elected to a second term, running against Mousavi and Karubi. However, the government has not explained why it needed to put the opposition leaders under house arrest if the vast majority of citizens supported the government as claimed."-Nader
This statement is false. Many times the government has explained that a sedition effort was made following the election. Furthermore, It has addressed every one of Mousavi's contentions following the election. See here:
http://brillwebsite.com/writings/iran2009election.html
Why does there need to be security for such occasions? How about the many riots that have taken place, for starters? the worst of which was during a previous Ashura.
Support for the government? Apply that contention to the OWS protests here in the US. There have been thousands of arrests, teargas, flash grenades, baton strikes. You could say the same thing here: if the government of the U.S. is supported, why do they have to resort to this?
It's all about order, Nader, whether you're talking about the Islamic Republic of Iran or the United States of America.
Mark,
Instead of looking for moral equivalence and equating the situation in Iran to that of the OWS movement in the US maybe you could answer the many pointed questions to your previous analysis's and comments rather than accusing Nader of falsehood.
If we were to grant your contention then the extreme and brutal measures exercised against the citizens of Bahrain were solely about maintaining order, right?
No one in the US is getting murdered for exercising their right to protest, be it in print or on the street.
Paul, that's not a "moral equivalence"being put forward. It's a question of law (unlawful assembly), restoration and sustaining of public order and law enforcement technique.
Not to get sidetracked, it is you that is attempting to frame this into a matter of ""moral equivalence"" using terms such as "extreme and brutal measures."
To repeat, the main objections to Nader's inaccurate statement were:
1) The government has made numerous explanations regarding the sedition effort, post-presidential election.
2) The government has addressed every one of Mousavi's election contentions yet the man continues to attempt to foment civil disorder.
3) Declared unlawful assemblies and law enforcement to disperse is a characteristic of all states, whether U.S. or IRI or UK, etc.
Care to address these objections (which present Nader's statement as being false) in objective, dispassionate terms, rather than attempting to steer the discussion toward that of an emotional argument based on an extraneous sense of morality?
@ Anonymous 1:22 PM.
Since you are so supportive of the current Iranian regime, perhaps you should go back to Iran and live your life there?? Why did you leave Iran in the first place?
Z
"It's a question of law (unlawful assembly), restoration and sustaining of public order and law enforcement technique."
Mark any form of opposition can be deemed by the regime as unlawful since it has a supreme and totalitarian hand over the Iranian people. This is exactly the issue I'm complaining about.
These elections are charades to begin with since all candidates are pre-approved and pre-selected by an entity unelected by the Iranian people.
As well as this political participation and civil liberties are very poor. And as for the electoral process and pluralism, there isn't an iota of either.
Nader was simply referring to the fact that the opposition is being purposely suppressed, denied its voice simply because they are an opposition. He is also concerned about the rights of individual Iranian being continually violated and tampered with.
There is nothing "extraneous" about the denial and negation of basic human rights of Iranians at the hands of this regime.
Oh, and care to provide a source for your previous claim that - a Saddam Hussein like - 90% of the Iranian people support this regime?
Annon 3:54 PM
For some of us the killing of demonstrators is not an academic discussion.
I have a close relative, a student, who was shot in the back of the head at close range during the anti-givernement demonstrations in 2009. No amount of BS lawyerly excuses can make his killing OK.
Even if the western countries were to kill thousands of demonstrators in the same fashion, which they don't, the Islamic republic is still responsible for violating the most basic of human rights when they kill the Iranian "illegal" demonstrators.
@ Jabbar Fazeli, MD
I'm very sorry to hear about your relative.
We'll never let him be forgotten.
And major kudos to you for always remaining civil, coherent and polite when confronted by people who defend and make half baked excuses for the very people who murdered him.
It's no coincidence that most of the people that defend the regime do so anonymously and in some cases through second identities.
Thank you Paul!
Anon 3:58 PM
Z my friend that's because Anon 1:22 PM is not Iranian.
Mostly non Iranian Muslims supports the Islamic regime because they naively think it's the best thing to happen since the invention of sliced bread.
Nothing is about to happen or will ever happen. Just more wishful thinking. The so-called opposition can fit into a phone booth and listen to googoosh or soosool.
“Nothing is about to happen”: Please advise Tehran Governor Tamaddon not to issue threats against opposition when nothing is going to happen.
“Opposition can fit into a phone booth”: Please advise Ayatollah Khamenei to release the leaders of an opposition so small.
Anon 2:03, 3:54 PM
Why am I not surprised seeing you revoke the justification for repression, arrests and killings on the need to keep “order.” Throughout ages the rulers and their apologists have used the excuse to commit crimes against their people and against humanity. What would surprise me is if you would use the same rationale to justify the crimes by the Bahraini rulers against their people. Probably by keeping “order” you mean keeping Islamic Republic in power at any cost, no?
@ B.M.A.
You have been an avid reader of this blog, and have frequently let your comments knowing that your sentiments were not necessarily shared by all the authors of the blog. During this time, we responded to your comments as best as we could in the hope of keeping the dialogue alive. After all this time, I am really disappointed to see you accuse this author of not stating the facts. When I stated that dozens Green sympathizers have been killed, the statement was not an opinion, but a fact. I do not shy away from expressing my opinions on any number of subjects, but I will not confuse opinion with facts. You among all readers should know better.
If the killing of dozen protesters is unacceptable to you, as it comes across your comment, then instead of denying facts probably it’s best for you to reconsider your all-out support for the current regime in power. There is a fine line between being a supporter and being an apologist. You want to stay at the correct side.
Also, please do not confuse your positive sentiments toward Iran and the Iranian people with those toward the current rulers. Iran has been standing for nearly 3,000 years, and will be here for thousands of years to come. During this long period, a lot of governments and regimes have come and gone. The latest is the Islamic Republic. One thing can be said for sure and scientifically: this one will also go and a new one will replace it. It is not a matter of if but when. That’s what history proves. So keep your positive sentiments toward Iran, governments come and go.
@ Paul
all but a handful were killed by the MKO (above all the very NEDA was killed by the bloody MKO)
like the scientists.
don't be so Naive.
Mr Jabbar
its not a Regime but a Government or an administration.
Calling it a regime is declaring your standpoint which nobody really cares for.
Anon 4:22 AM
Maybe the the Sabzollahi movement will fit into a phone booth but I can assure you the movement against the theocracy fits into Iran perfectly.
This is rumi, so you decided to censor my comments and not publish it, ok fine, but don't keep crying out about so called censorship of Iranian government. You are Hippocrates.
Annon 6.52
I fail to see your point!
Was there any question on how I feel about the "regime" in Iran?!
Anon 6:52 AM
It is a regime.
What else is it then?
If it makes you happy it's a hypocritical and arrogant theocracy.
B.M.A
"DOZENS WERE KILLED?"
"I thought it was only one created NEDA!!!"
If you are so keen on Iran Mr B.M.A why don't you go to Iran and ask Neda's mother if she was a figment of her imagination?
In fact Mr B.M.A why not ask one of thousands of Iranian families whose loved ones have been murdered by the theocracy to take you to their graves and show to you that more than that stupid question of yours were and are being murdered in Iran.
how can Iran ever be free if people refuse to vote for the candidates that Khamenei tells them to vote for?
anyone who refuses to do that is insulting KKKhamenei and deserves to be imprisoned for at least 6 months.
THAT'S how Iran shows the world what freedom is!!!
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