Thursday, 25 June 2009

Tehran 'like a war zone' as ayatollah refuses to back down on election

“The measure of a nation is its vote.”

Is Facebook Helping to Squash the Green Revolution?

Neda Soltan's family 'forced out of home' by Iranian authorities

Parents of young woman shot dead near protests are banned from mourning and funeral is cancelled, neighbours say

Full story @ TheGuardian

!!!

they pull away the dead into trucks - like factory - no human can do this - we beg Allah for save us - #Iranelection less than 5 seconds ago from web

"I was going towards Baharestan with my friend. This was everyone, not just supporters of one candidate or another. All of my friends, they were going to Baharestan to express our opposition to these killings and demanding freedom. The black-clad police stopped everyone. They emptied the buses that were taking people there and let the private cars go on. We went on until Ferdowsi then all of a sudden some 500 people with clubs came out of [undecipherable] mosque and they started beating everyone. They tried to beat everyone on [undecipherable] bridge and throwing them off of the bridge. And everyone also on the sidewalks. They beat a woman so savagely that she was drenched in blood and her husband, he fainted. They were beating people like hell. It was a massacre. They were trying to beat people so they would die. they were cursing and saying very bad words to everyone. This was exactly a massacre... I don't know how to describe it."

Son's Death has family asking "why"?

Down/time...

THE HUFFINGTON POST
THE GUARDIAN
DAILY DISH
NIAC
THE LEDE
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
#gr88
#iraninternational
(@ twitter)

ANONYMOUS IRAN

ETC>

Another long day here in the 'Exile' compound down here in downtown 'teh-ran' and about to put away the brain for another night. Please follow what goes on at the links above/
Again thanx for following.

If you follow on all the links that I have posted today again there is some very interesting reading...

Finally a message to all the people following this blog in Iran:
Any pictures or words would be gratefully accepted here at Exile...

Monastreet @ gmail dot com
twitter/exilestreet

Later/

Understanding Iran's Turmoil: An Expert Weighs In

(AUDIO)

+ more...

Newspaper Roozonline has an interview (in Persian) with one of the young plainclothes militiamen who have been beating protesters.

The Guardian's Robert Tait sends this synopsis:

The man, who has come from a small town in the eastern province of Khorasan and has never been in Tehran before, says he is being paid 2m rial (£122) to assault protestors with a heavy wooden stave. He says the money is the main incentive as it will enable him to get married and may even enable him to afford more than one wife. Leadership of the volunteers has been provided by a man known only as "Hajji", who has instructed his men to "beat the counter-revolutionaries so hard that they won't be able to stand up". The volunteers, most of them from far-flung provinces such as Khuzestan, Arak and Mazandaran, are being kept in hostel accommodation, reportedly in east Tehran. Other volunteers, he says, have been brought from Lebanon, where the Iranian regime has strong allies in the Hezbollah movement. They are said to be more highly-paid than their Iranian counterparts and are put up in hotels. The last piece of information seems to confirm the suspicion of many Iranians that foreign security personnel are being used to suppress the demonstrators. For all his talk of the legal process, this interview provides a key insight into where Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, believes the true source of his legitimacy rests. @TheGuardian

Eye witness account

I am an Iranian-American student in Iran. I just got back from Baharestan and here’s what I saw. I got there around 3:45 pm Tehran time and about 500-1000 people were mulling around the subway station and park across the street from the Majles. The police presence was slim so people were just waiting in the shade to see what was coming. Then it police and pasdaran started arriving from all sides and moving people away. First, from the subway stop, then from the sidestreets and sidewalks, and then from the major streets surrounding it. Of course they were polite first (Iranian custom dies hard), but no one really left when asked. I circled around several times to see if people would resist. More people were arriving from all sides. Some whispered that that everyone was going to another place, but that didn’t convince many. The lack of organization was palpable - people were expecting something but they didn’t know what. Mousavi to jump out of a moving car? Khatami to swing in like Toby McGuire?

Finally the more ominous looking black-clad guards showed up and started phalanxes that cleared the sidewalks. I was a block away until about 4:30 and heard no shots, and only heard about some beatings via others in the crowd. One phalanx came my way so I ducked into an alley, and then they turned down the same alley looking very goon squad-like so I just headed away. If there were hardcore protesters that stayed after that then I’m sure they had trouble coming. On my way back from Imam Khomeini metro station (where police were also posted outside in the square) I noticed that Baharestan metro stop had been closed - the train passed it without stopping.

Even so, the police presence was nothing like the massive buildup in Enghelab square from Saturday onwards.
Via TheLede

Eye witness account

I am an Iranian-American student in Iran. I just got back from Baharestan and here’s what I saw. I got there around 3:45 pm Tehran time and about 500-1000 people were mulling around the subway station and park across the street from the Majles. The police presence was slim so people were just waiting in the shade to see what was coming. Then it police and pasdaran started arriving from all sides and moving people away. First, from the subway stop, then from the sidestreets and sidewalks, and then from the major streets surrounding it. Of course they were polite first (Iranian custom dies hard), but no one really left when asked. I circled around several times to see if people would resist. More people were arriving from all sides. Some whispered that that everyone was going to another place, but that didn’t convince many. The lack of organization was palpable - people were expecting something but they didn’t know what. Mousavi to jump out of a moving car? Khatami to swing in like Toby McGuire?

Finally the more ominous looking black-clad guards showed up and started phalanxes that cleared the sidewalks. I was a block away until about 4:30 and heard no shots, and only heard about some beatings via others in the crowd. One phalanx came my way so I ducked into an alley, and then they turned down the same alley looking very goon squad-like so I just headed away. If there were hardcore protesters that stayed after that then I’m sure they had trouble coming. On my way back from Imam Khomeini metro station (where police were also posted outside in the square) I noticed that Baharestan metro stop had been closed - the train passed it without stopping.

Even so, the police presence was nothing like the massive buildup in Enghelab square from Saturday onwards.
Via TheLede

RT hackers please hack www.gerdab.ir this is a website that identifies and hurts innocent ppl participatin in peaceful rallies #iranelection less than 20 seconds ago from web

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

+ more...

From Iran im now in one of the protests:i have see for shure 4 dead ppl URGENT FWD TO TELL THE FREE WORLD #IRANELECTION #tehran #qom less than 10 seconds ago from web

UNCONF report from Tehran: 3 ppl shot in Baharestan, shooting continues, conflicts increasing. #iranelection #gr88 #neda #iran less than 20 seconds ago from web

Iran 'will not yield' over poll@BBC

Where it is happening thanx Nico

Twitter VS CNN

RT IRAN: Plainclothes among the people in Baharestan- if you talk on your mobile there, you will be beaten or arrested. #iranelection less than 10 seconds ago from web

Report: Militia's Ordered To Pick-Up Protesters (List of Names) For Execution In The Streets (Unconfirmed) #IranElection Tehran Iran Neda less than 10 seconds ago from web

saw 7/8 militia beating one woman with baton on ground - she had no defense nothing - #Iranelection sure that she is dead

so many ppl arrested - young & old - they take ppl away - #Iranelection - we lose our groupless than 5 seconds ago from web

There are more disturbing reports on Twitter of injuries in Bahareston Square. One usually reliable source says it is like a war zone with blood everywhere and many nursing broken bones.

The Doctor Is Identified!

Another cleric takes part in the protest!

reports police attacked ppl holding #Neda's pix. Clashes, tear gas in Baharestan Sq. #iranelection #iran #gr88 #mousavi less than 20 seconds ago from web

RT (3pm): Baharestan situation is too bad , police shoot ,people sent to the south of Sq #iranelection less than 20 seconds ago from Tweetie
RT a girl was shooted in Baharestan Sq #iranelection #gr88 #neda they dont allow people to help shooted girl less than 20 seconds ago from web

>More than 10.000 Bassij Milittias get position in Central Tehran, including Baharestan Sq.

>25 journalist were arrested last night.

>Arrested journalists have been threatend to write in support of Ahmadinejad and his government and not to support popular gatherings anymore.

> Mohsen Rezae popular communications office, in an open letter criticized him for getting back his complaint from the Guardian Council inregards 2009 Iran election

>Army Helycopters flying over Baharestan and Vali Asr Sq.

>'Larijani pressing for Mousavi to be given airtime on IRIB to discuss elections'

>Thousands of detainees family members have gathered in front of Tehran's revolution(Enghelaab)court. The force police has surrounded them.Fervent atmosphere in place and conflict is possible at any moment.

> Emad-e-din Baaghi was served by Enghelab court & warned for interview with Persian media outside Iran.

>Conflict at Baharestan Sq.Even police attack pedestrian by tear gas.

> The Islamic Republic of Iran does not allow under any circustances any form of mourning ceremony for NEDA AGHA SOLTAN

>The streets, squares and around BAHARESTAN (Approx. South-eastern of Tehran) is swarming with military forces, civilian forces, the security motorists@RevolutionaryRoad

1.40pm:
Hundreds of people, many from the families of those arrested have gathered outside Revolution Court, according to usually reliable Twitter user.

A reader emails with the correct spellings of the locations for today's demonstrations: Baharestan Square, Enghelab Square, Vanak Square, Vali-asr Square, Tajrish Square and Sadeghieh Square.

1.31pm:
Anne Applebaum focuses on the important role of women in Iran's upheaval.

But regimes that repress the civil and human rights of half their population are inherently unstable. Sooner or later, there has to be a backlash. In Iran, we're watching one unfold.@TheGuardian

The Islamic Republic of Iran does not allow under any circustances any form of mourning ceremony for NEDA AGHA SOLTAN

RT Basij are Iranains, not Lebanese or Palestinian. Don't be like Khamenei and blame foreigners. RT Rt #IranElection less than 10 seconds ago from web

Update | 8:27 a.m. Outside Tehran it has been hard to get accurate information about protests but Lara Setrakian of ABC reports from Dubai that she “just heard disturbing news of 22-yr-old in Mashad shot dead while chanting Allahu Akbar on roof.” She adds that the report is unconfirmed but from a trusted source. @TheLede

WHY IS THIS BEING KEPT UNDER WRAPS?
If anyone can translate from Farsi and send to:

monastreet @ gmail dot com

I would be very grateful

Iranian updates (keep refreshing page#45)

He went to a polling station on the day of the election not having shaved for a couple of days - which gave him the appearance of a Basij or a plain-clothed pro-regime type. When he handed his ID notebook in order to cast his vote, the authorities didn't bother to stamp it to confirm that he had already done so and was ineligible to cast any further ballots - they assumed from his appearance he was pro-Ahmadinejad and so wanted to give him the chance to vote again.. He voted for Mousavi - and taking advantage of the official hospitality - he went straight to another polling station and cast another vote for Mousavi. It was to no avail and that's not what the tacit nod towards casting a second vote was designed to achieve. But it's a fascinating insight into the jiggery-pokery that went on in election day.Robert Tait @TheGuardian

An Iranian protester holding an anti-British placard kicks burning flags during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Javad Moghimi/AP

Jeremy Bowen BBC reports less militia on streets when he toured 1 hour ago #iranelection #gr88 less than 20 seconds ago from TweetDeck

Despite fantasies of insurrection in some of the more fevered Western media assessments of the confrontation, the balance of forces appears to militate against a knockout blow by either side. U.S.-based Iran scholar Farideh Farhi, speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations, stressed that Ahmadinejad and the Supreme leader may not have the majority of the people behind them, "but they do have support. They also have the resources of the state - both financial and military. So that makes them quite robust."
At the same time, Farhi notes, the opposition coalition includes some very powerful figures from within the regime, who together command the support of a large section of the population. Thus, she warns, "To assume that this will lead ultimately to a victory of one over the other is unrealistic as well as dangerous because it may come at the cost of tremendous violence." More likely, she argues, is the pursuit of some sort of compromise that allows the regime to back down to some extent, without necessarily surrendering.@Time via HuffPo

There are numerous Twitter reports of demonstrations taking place in Tehran. One says the protests are at six locations: Bahareset, Valiasr, Enghelab, Vanak, Tajrish, Sadehgieh.

VIDEO

Army Helycopters flying over Baharestan and Vali Asr Sq. #iranelection less than 20 seconds ago from web

7:13 AM ET -- Demonstrations going local. An editor for the Kahylan newspaper notes to Al Jazeera that university students are now returning to their home towns, and bringing demonstrations with them. "In provinces, where people were before gathering in universities, in recent days were are seeing people gathering in main squares."@HuffPo

VIDEO

The Iranian authorities and their lackeys in the state-controlled media are trying to launch a counter-offensive on the Neda phenomenon, writes Robert Tait.

Jomhouri Islami newspaper is blaming her shooting on snipers from the MKO (a militant group calling for the overthrow of the republic). It said the group exploited the lack of security created by the demonstrations.
Javan, another pro-regime paper, blamed an even more unlikely source - my friend and recently expelled BBC correspondent Jon Leyne. It claims that Leyne hired "thugs" to shoot her so he could then make a documentary film.
Meanwhile, the government has forbidden hospitals from releasing deaths certificates that give shooting as the cause of death.
@TheGuardian

Shrin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel peace prize winner, has offered to represent the family of Neda Agha Soltan, the woman whose death was captured on that horrific video.

"I am personally prepared to legally represent her family against the people who ordered the shooting and those who fired at her. This act was against the law," she told al-Jazeera.

If you are in Iran & want your story to be heard...contact
monastreet @ gmail dot com

Iran's Supreme Revolutionary

Interior Minister says some 'foreign nationals' have been arrested in Tehran during protets. Some with British passports, #iranelection half a minute ago from web

The supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says he won't yield to pressure on the election, according to a Twitter flash from Reuters.

"I had insisted and will insist on implementing the law on the election issue ... Neither the establishment nor the nation will yield to pressure at any cost," Khamenei said in his first remarks since Obama's press conference.