Some interesting-and extremely disheartening news out of Iran today. Iran may be about to experience a crackdown, but nevertheless a protest is scheduled for tomorrow. More below the fold.
While there was no protest, Supreme Leader Khamenei made a speech at Friday Prayer at Tehran University (reported on in this dairy), in which he stated that Ahmadinejad had won the election and that Iranians should stop protesting, then proceeded to make veiled threats of a crackdown if protests didn't.
On the reformist side, Mousavi has planned another protest for tomorrow. His office released a statement to the UK Guardian today, confirming the protest and saying that his side is prepared to face whatever the regime throws at them
I have been given the responsibility of telling the world what is happening in Iran. The office of Mir Hossein Mousavi, who the Iranian people truly want as their leader, has asked me to do so. They have asked me to tell how Mousavi's headquarters was wrecked by plainclothes police officers. To tell how the commanders of the revolutionary guard ordered him to stay silent. To urge people to take to the streets because Mousavi could not do so directly.
The people in the streets don't want a recount of last week's vote. They want it annulled. This is a crucial moment in our history. Since the 1979 revolution Iran has had 80% dictatorship and 20% democracy. We have dictatorship because one person is in charge, the supreme leader – first Khomeini, now Khamenei. He controls the army and the clergy, the justice system and the media, as well as our oil money. (snip) So why do the Iranian people not want Ahmadinejad as their leader? Because he is nothing but a loudspeaker for Khamenei. Under Ahmadinejad, economic problems have grown worse, despite $280bn of oil revenue. Social and literary freedom is much more restricted than under his predecessor, Mohammad Khatami. The world views us as a terrorist nation on the lookout for war. When Khatami was president of Iran, Bush was president of the US. Now the Americans have Obama and we have our version of Bush. We need an Obama who can find solutions for Iran's problems. Although power would remain in the hands of Khamenei, a president like Mousavi could weaken the supreme leader.
Some suggest the protests will fade because nobody is leading them. All those close to Mousavi have been arrested, and his contact with the outside world has been restricted. People rely on word of mouth, because their mobile phones and the internet have been closed down. That they continue to gather shows they want something more than an election. They want freedom, and if they are not granted it we will be faced with another revolution.
Thirty years ago we supported each other. When police used tear gas, fires would be lit to neutralise its effects. People would set their own cars on fire to save others. Since then, the government has tried to separate people from one other. What we lost was our togetherness, and in the past month we have found that again. All the armed forces in Iran are only enough to repress one city, not the whole country. The people are like drops of water coming together in a sea.
Mousavi's supporters have expressed the same determination. This post by an Iran blogger explaining why she has made the decision to go to the protest tomorrow was translated from Farsi and posted on the NIAC website today. Both inspiring and deeply saddening, its worth quoting in full.
"I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed. I’m listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I’m two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that. My mind is very chaotic. I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to tomorrow’s children..."
This is just one more demonstration of the extreme courage, bravery, and determination the Iranian people have shown this week. I for one have been deeply moved by the way the Iranian nation has taken to the streets, defying arrest orders, nightstick-wielding goon squads, and guns all in the name of democracy, of ensuring that their true voice is heard and they have what should be the basic right of humans everywhere: in the words of Abraham Lincoln, "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people." No matter what happens tomorrow, I-and I am sure everyone on here-is with the them.
May God be with the people of Iran.