Iran: An Electoral Crisis! #iranelection – ARCHIVE 4

Main Post: Here Earlier posts Archive #1 and Archive#2, Archive #3, Archive 4, Archive 5

Interesting events unfolding – Follow here

Rafsanjani doubts Iranians ‘satisfied’ with election aftermath

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — A former Iranian president who backed the top opposition leader in last month’s disputed elections has delivered strong and carefully worded support of the grass-roots protest movement, saying he doubts “any wakened consciousness would be satisfied with the resulting situation.”

Source: CNN

Riot Police destroying private property in alleys

Leading Clerics Defy Ayatollah on Disputed Iran Election

CAIRO — The most important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final.

Source: New York Times

Grand Ayatollah Saanei releases another statement supporting demonstrators.

HIS EXCELLENCY GRAND AYATOLLAH SAANEI’S SYMPATHY WITH THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS OF THE RECENT DISASTERS
While extending my sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the recent tragedies, and wishing a speedy recovery for the injured, particularly for our precious and devoted student body in Esfahan, Shiraz, Tehran, and other cities, who have stood up for their rights and have of late protested against the ambiguities surrounding the election results, seeking clarification which is indeed their right, I hereby express my grave sorrow and grief at the detestable incidents as have taken place and also express my aversion to those who had a hand in those disasters and tragedies. I hope that the wishes of the people will be fulfilled and their demands will be met by those responsible in the system, whose foremost duty should be the protection of people’s life and property.

Source: His Website

Ex-Iranian president seeks to free detainees

Former reformist President Mohammad Khatami met with families of some of the people detained and said that if the courts uphold the civil rights of the detainees, the court would order them freed, reported presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi’s party newspaper.

Spouses of detainees told Khatami they wanted their spouses released and that they worried about their physical and mental health, the paper reported.

Source: CNN

“My fellow schoolmate.” – From Huffington Post

The Revolutionary Road blog has posted a really wonderful video of a student demonstration that reportedly took place in the last few days at Kashan University. The students “form chains and sing ‘Yare dabestani’ — ‘My Fellow Schoolmate’ — a classic revolutionary song that every Iranian around knows by heart.”

Watch it all (and read the song lyrics) here.

Tehran Night Chants

BONO and U2 Join the Green Movement

Its always good seeing famous people using their positions for more then just selling records/movies.

British Embassy Staff to Stand Trial

In London, the Foreign Office said it was urgently checking reports that the Iranian authorities planned to put two of its local employees on trial. Nine staff members wereseized after the unrest sparked by Iran’s disputed presidential elections on June 12, and as many as eight of them were subsequently reported to have been released. But the precise number still detained was not clear.

Source: New York Times

Jordan shuts down PRESSTV

“According to BBC Persian, Al-Alam has written to the network news offices in Amman ordering the state offices of the English-language Iranian television network of Press TV to be shut down.”

Source: Here

Opposition movement in Iran not over, experts say

“This movement isn’t going away anytime soon, but it may not manifest itself as we’ve seen as of late,” said Trita Parsi, president of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council.

But how it will play out is up for debate, with some experts recalling the Islamic revolution that overtook Iran 30 years ago, while others liken the opposition players to the civil rights champions who rocked the United States.

“This is a movement that has swept across all dividing lines in Iranian society — both rich and poor, the merchants and the intellectuals, the young and old,” said Reza Aslan, author of the book “No God But God,” an analysis of Islam in politics and culture.

Source: CNN

More on the SMS Service in Iran

The conservative Hamshahri newspaper recently supported the cutting off of SMS across Iran, saying the measure had created tranquility.

However, parliamentary deputy Mostafa Kavakabian told the Farda News website that the blocking of SMS services had caused great damage to Iran’s economy. He asked the Iranian parliament to investigate.

On Wednesday, Mr Mousavi published a statement on the internet in which he demanded an end to what he called the government’s illegal interference in phone and SMS networks and the world wide web.

Source: BBC

Newsweek Reporter being held

Iran police fabricated Interpol probe into Neda’s death

The International Police force, or Interpol, has denied a claim by Iran’s police chief that it is seeking a doctor who witnessed the shooting death of 26-year-old “Neda.”
Head of police Brig. Gen. Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam said, “Arash Hejazi is wanted by Interpol and Iran’s Intelligence Ministry” in the murder of Neda, who’s shooting fueled what were daily opposition rallies in the capital city of Tehran, according to a Wednesday report by Iran’s Press TV, a state-run, English language network.

Speaking by phone to CBSNews.com Thursday morning from her office in Lyon, France, a spokesperson for Interpol flatly denied any involvement whatsoever in an investigation into Sultan’s death.

Merkel likens Iran to repressive East Germany.

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday likened events in Iran to the oppression at the hands of the Stasi secret police in communist East Germany, where she grew up. ‘I know from the time of the GDR (East Germany) how important it was that people around the world made sure that the people stuck in (Stasi prisons) Bautzen and Hohenschoenhausen … were not forgotten,’ Merkel told parliament. ‘Iran must know, particularly in the age of modern communications, that we will do everything in our power to ensure that these people (arrested in Iran during the recent turmoil) are not forgotten about,’ she said.”

Source: Huffington Post

State TV: Mousavi to disclose tell-all documents

Mousavi, who has rejected the result of Iran’s presidential election as fraudulent, said on Wednesday that a number of Iranian scholars are set to form a committee to preserve the vote of the people.

The committee aims to “make public documents proving fraud and irregularities in the election,” Mousavi said in his latest statement issued on Wednesday.

Source: PressTV

EU considers withdrawing envoys from Tehran.

The official, Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, the armed forces chief of staff, was quoted by the semiofficial Fars news agency as saying that because of the European Union’s “interference” in the postelection unrest, the bloc had “totally lost the competence and qualifications needed for holding any kind of talks with Iran.”

He added, “We believe that they don’t have the right to speak of negotiations before apologizing for their obvious mistakes and showing their regret in practice,” Fars said.

Source: New York Times

Khatami calls election outcome a “coup” against democracy.

Former Iranian president and leading reformist Mohammad Khatami says the outcome of Iran’s disputed presidential election is a “coup” against democracy.

Khatami also accused Iran’s government of suppressing the rights of people to protest the election results…

…Defeated presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi also criticized the election outcome Wednesday, calling the government led by Mr. Ahmadinejad “illegitimate.”

Source: VOA

Revolutionary Guard commander attacked by public in Karaj

NCRI – A Revolutionary Guard commander who had played an active role in killing people and arresting protesters in recent days in Karaj, west of Tehran, was attacked and beaten by local people on Tuesday.

Mahmoud Dadgou who also heads Karaj City Council was directly involved in the suppression of the popular uprising in Karaj. According to reports from Karaj, he is in critical condition.

Source: Here

Report: Iran’s Ahmadinejad cancels Libya visit

Iran’s Fars news agency says that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not attend the African Union summit in Libya as was expected.

In a brief statement, the semiofficial news agency reported that the president’s visit to Libya — which was supposed to start Wednesday — has been canceled. No reason was given.

Source: Boston.com

Mousavi Calls for General Strike

Mir Hossein Mousavi میر حسین موسوی Islamic Strike, help to spread the Voice out to fight the Bullets.اعتکاف سراسری، در این فضای آلوده

رسانه شمائید .. ایمیل و موبایل و مموری کارد و کپی و هر کمک دیگری هم حق شماست

From Facebook

U.S. Imposes new Sanctions on North Korea and Iran.

The United States announced a flurry of new sanctions Tuesday on North Korean and Iranian entities said to be aiding Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

“We have, I think, been fairly explicit with the North Koreans about what — the responsibilities that they entered into that we expect them to live up to. And I think today’s action demonstrates the seriousness of what we intend to do to address it,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

“They’ve stated a lot of bellicose things. They’ve threatened to do certain things. A lot of times what they’ve threatened to do they follow up on doing. But this administration, whether it is, through sanctions and our monitoring of North Korea … cutting off any potentially harmful financing,” Gibbs added.

Source: ABC

Senior cleric releases statement defending Mousavi.

Sara at the ‘Where Is My Vote?’ blog reports:

Tehran Iranian Labor News Agency in Persian on June 30, 2009 carried a report quoting a statement issued the same day by Esfahan’s former Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Jalaleddin Taheri-Esfahani, in support of the defeated presidential candidate, Mirhoseyn Mousavi.
The agency said the senior cleric had condemned “making instrumental use” of the Islamic founder’s remarks. In his statement, he asks: “Is it a case of justice to see that an honorable and modest Seyyed [one who is a descendant of the household of the prophet, Muhammad] who until the last moments of Khomeini’s life, had been a dear and close companion of that grand leader, is now considered to be a rioter and an agent of arrogance who must be punished?”

Found on Huffington Post

Faces of the Dead and Detained – Your help Needed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2009/jun/29/iran-election-dead-detained

Military officials push Khatami to intervene.

From Nico over at Huffinton Post

An interesting report in state media, sent by a reader, about how the government is trying to get reformist former president Khatami to help alleviate tensions.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Head of Iran’s Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission told ISNA that the committee’s governing board held a meeting with former president Mohammad Khatami on Sunday and discussed the latest situation in the country.

According to Boroujerdi, officials attending the meeting expressed grave concern about the political damages brought about on a domestic and international scale in the course of recent protests in Iran.

“The lawmakers asked Mr. Khatami to help resolve the current issues and he vowed support,” the Majlis official said.

More about the Republican Guard

From Huffington Post:

8:39 AM ET — More focus on the Revolutionary Guard. We noted some analysis yesterday pointing to the key role of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in the post-election unrest. Crooks & Liars has video of Fareed Zakaria speaking on the topic (posted below). And Bloomberg News looks at the Guard’s consolidation of power under Ahmadinejad:

Eight of the 21 posts in the president’s cabinet are held by former members, according to Ali Alfoneh, an analyst at Washington’s American Enterprise Institute. Among them are Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, whose agency ran the election, and Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar.

Another five places are occupied by past Basij commanders. The state broadcasting arm is headed by Ezzatollah Zarghami, a former guard. At least one-third of Iran’s parliament members are former guards, according to Nader.

Under Ahmadinejad’s predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, 65, only three ministers had belonged to the guards or Basij.

A smart Iranian expat I speak to repeatedly presses the important role that the Guard now plays in the economy, a point that Bloomberg’s piece makes as well: “Under Ahmadinejad, the government has favored the guards by offering its companies no-bid contracts, especially in oil and natural-gas extraction, pipeline construction and large-scale infrastructure development.”

Iran vows ‘crushing’ response to US critiques

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed yesterday to make the United States regret its criticism of Iran’s postelection crackdown and said the “mask has been removed’’ from the Obama administration’s efforts to improve relations.

Ahmadinejad all but dared Obama to keep calling for an end to repression of demonstrators who claim the hard-line leader stole reelection through massive fraud.

“You should know that if you continue the response of the Iranian nation will be strong,’’ Ahmadinejad said in a speech to members of Iran’s judiciary, which is directly controlled by the ruling clerics. “The response of the Iranian nation will be crushing. The response will cause remorse.’’Source: Here

More chants from the rooftops – Taken Saturday apparently

No matter how many times I hear this, its something amazingly inspiring. Its the unhindered voice of the people.

Crimes against humanity charges being sought against Iran

Dr Payam Akhavan’s Statement

6/28/9 8:33 PM Iran arrrests 2000 in violent crackdown on dissent — Times Online

6/28/9 8:31 PM Ahmadinijad’s Role Downplayed — The Straights Times

Ariel View of Tehran Chaos – June 20 2009

Basij Shooting down from rooftops

Senior cleric calls for separation of powers.

Ayatollah Javadi Amoli is calling for separation of powers in Iran.

“When one person alone enacts, executes and judges the law, there will be problems.” … Amoli, who led the Friday prayers sermon in Qom, believes that the best way to resolve the current situation is a separation between the executive branch, the judicial branch and the Islamic jurist. Amoli said separation of powers is not a recent phenomenon and it existed before Islam. “Separation of powers does not belong to a particular century. Islamic and non-Islamic governments have it now, too,” he said.

Source: NIAC

Is the Revolutionary Guard really in control?

Found this very intersting artice over at Huffington Post

Two U.S. analysts — former National Security Council staffer Gary Sick and former CIA operative Robert Baer — argued today that the events in Iran over the last two weeks amount to a military coup by the Revolutionary Guard. Here’s Sick writing for the Daily Beast:

Over the 20 years that Ayatollah Khamenei has been the rahbar, or leader, he has allied himself ever more closely with the Revolutionary Guards–to such an extent that it is no longer apparent to me who is leading and who is following. The Revolutionary Guards have been granted extraordinary influence over all functions of the Islamic republic–military, political, economic, and even Islamic. Technically, they take their orders from the leader, but has he ever dared to contradict them? On the contrary, he seems always to court them by granting them ever-greater influence and responsibilities. [...]
Unlike the professional military, which had always abjured a political role in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards were recognized from the start as the protectors of the Islamic republic. They have gone on to acquire an active and pervasive presence at all levels of the political structure, particularly under President Ahmadinejad, who has appointed his fellow guardsmen to positions throughout the bureaucracy.

And here’s Baer on CNN’s “GPS with Fareed Zakaria”: “Fareed, I’m quite sure there’s been a military coup d’etat by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran. They’ve taken over. And the fact that the Basij came out so quickly, they could have only done that on orders from the IRGC. The fact that Ahmadinejad is a former IRGC officer, he has the backing of senior officers, I think what we’ve seen is a military coup against the old clerical establishment. What do you do about a military takeover in a country like Iran? You just simply wait it out.” A transcript of the full discussion is here.

Rafsanjani: Iran election fallout ‘a tangled mess’

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — After more than two weeks of silence amid Iran’s violent election fallout, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani — a key Iranian cleric — emerged Sunday to call out “suspicious sources” who are creating a rift between the public and the Islamic government.

He called the aftermath of the June 12 presidential election “a tangled mess, perpetrated by suspicious sources whose objectives are to create differences and separations between the people and the system and eroding the trust of the people in the Islamic system,” the Iranian Labor News Agency reported Sunday.

Source: CNN

Are Senior Clerics As Divided As Iran?

June 28, 2009 · Qom is Iran’s holiest city and a central point of the electoral crisis in the country. Islamic scholar Reza Aslan, author of How To Win A Cosmic War, discusses what’s happening in Qom and with the Ayatollahs, and how the country might move forward.

Listen to th Full Interview: NPR

Iranian Standoff with the West Worsens: AP I dont know about the rest of you, but I am starting to feel like we are watching V:  The Real Life Version.  Remember that movie from the 80′s with all those lizards running around arresting scientists (in this case journalists), and “converting” anyone that stood against the regime of Aliens?   Things to ponder, might have to bust out my DVD.  BTW, V:  The 2nd Generation is currently out and for sale by Kenneth Johnson.

Latest Video From Iran:

8:14 PM Little US Intelligence on Iran — NPR

8:10 PM EDT — Mousavi Rejects Partial Iranian Recount — Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi on Saturday rejected authorities’ proposals for a partial recount of votes from this month’s election and repeated his demand the entire ballot be annulled.

EDITORS’ NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Latest From Nico @ Huffington Post:

7:37 PM ET — “PersianKiwi” reportedly arrested. An Iranian reporter tweeted these two messages in the past hour regarding “PersianKiwi,” one of the most reliable and prolific Iranians on Twitter: “persiankiwi is arrested. … I’m so sorry. I recive [sic] the persiankiwi arrest news from a honest source but I hope it’s been incorrect.”

Nothing has been verified yet, I’ll update as soon as I learn more.

Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardebili Condemns Violence

Member of Iran’s Guardian Council had a meeting with senior theologist Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili. The meeting focused on control of the Guardian Council over presidential elections in Iran that took place on June 12, candidates’ protests against election results and latest developments, ILNA reported.
“Those responsible for organizing the elections have obligations to the people. Unfortunately, events that taken place after the election has caused turmoil in the Islamic Republic. We do not have to pacify the protest by force. The issue must be solved in a different way,” Ardebili said.

He said the demonstrators must be entitled to speak before trying to pacify them. “We need to give protesters the right to speak on television. Answers of the opposite side should also be communicated to people through television. Let the people decide who is right and who is not. The people will not accept the senseless talk,” Ardebili said.

CNN: Inside the Revolutionary Guard

Excelent Compilation of Pictures: Iran Protest Pictures

Some Pictures:

Alikhani’s Speech in Majlis in Support of Mousavi (English Subs)

Former Revolutionary Guard Member: ‘Military Coup’ Underway In Iran

Right after the election, 11 o’clock at night, was a military coup because they went to (presidential candidate Mir Hossein) Mousavi’s headquarters — five persons from the Revolutionary Guard — and told him that, ‘Yes, the leader says that this is true, you have won the election, you are the elected president, but you can’t be the president. (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad should remain in the position.’

“And then they started to invent those fake numbers in Ministry of Interior. And right after that they started to arrest the people, to disconnect the country, to dismiss the reporters, and that is the reason that we call it a military coup.”

Source and interview: NPR

Some video’s from the Presidential address

Former UK Ambassador to Iran Richard Dalton

Former UK Ambassador to Iran Richard Dalton… is speaking for an hour today at the New America Foundation beginning at 12:30 PM ET. You can watch streaming video live at Steve Clemons’ blog, The Washington Note.

Green Balloons released in protest

Iranian Embassy Attacked just outside of Stockholm

STOCKHOLM — Swedish broadcaster SVT says the Iranian Embassy outside Stockholm is being attacked by demonstrators.

The report says about 150 people are trying to storm the embassy building. It was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt.

Source: Boston Herald

A Twitter Timeline

“iran govt slaughters its own”

Found this interesting post from an anonymous source cannot verify it at all but thought it worth posting here. Warning is pretty disturbing and graphic.

I only want to speak about what I have witnessed. I am a medical student. There was chaos at the trauma section in one of our main
hospitals. Although by decree, all riot-related injuries were supposed to be sent to military hospitals, all other hospitals were filled to the rim. Last night, nine people died at our hospital and another 28 had gunshot wounds. All hospital employees were crying till dawn. They (government) removed the dead bodies on back of trucks, before we were even able to get their names or other information. What can you even say to the people who don’t even respect the dead. No one was allowed to speak to the wounded or get any information from them. This morning the faculty and the students protested by gathering at the lobby of the hospital where they were confronted by plain cloths anti-riot militia, who in turn closed off the hospital and imprisoned the staff.

The extent of injuries are so grave, that despite being one of the most staffed emergency rooms, they’ve asked everyone to stay and help–I’m sure it will even be worst tonight. What can anyone say in face of all these atrocities? What can you say to the family of the 13 year-old boy who died from gunshots and whose dead body then disappeared?

This issue is not about cheating (election) anymore. This is not about stealing votes anymore. The issue is about a vast injustice inflected on the people. They’ve put a baton in the hand of every 13-14 year old to smash the faces of “the bunches who are less than dirt” (government is calling the people who are uprising dried-up torn and weeds). This is what sickens me from dealing with these issues. And from those who shut their eyes and close their ears and claim the riots are in opposition of the government and presidency!! No! The people’s complaint is against the egregious injustices committed against the people.

Source: Why we Protest

BEAT IT YOU FANATICS!!! GET OUT OF MY LAND!

From an Iranian Twitterer

In mourning those killed, thousands gathered Zahra cemetery garden

From the gist of the google translator it appears that thousands of people have gathered at the Zahra cemetery to mourn the death of the people killed over the last few weeks. If anyone can translate better please contat me.

Translated Source

Original Source

G8 to Iran: end violence, reflect will of people

TRIESTE, Italy (AP) — Foreign ministers from Group of Eight countries on Friday said they deplored postelection violence in Iran and urged Tehran authorities to ensure that the outcome of Iran’s disputed election reflects the will of the Iranian people.

A statement by the ministers meeting in the northeastern Italian city of Trieste said the door must remain open to dialogue on Iran’s nuclear program but expressed “deep concern” over the proliferation risk.

The statement was the result of negotiations between countries such as Italy and France that wanted to send a tough message to Iran to halt the crackdown and demand a recount, and Russia, which has said it backs the results that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

The statement, issued on the second day of the three-day meeting, said G-8 ministers deplored the postelection violence.

“We express our solidarity with those who have suffered repression while peacefully demonstrating and urge Iran to respect human rights, including freedom of expression,” it said.

It called on Iran “to guarantee that the will of the Iranian people is reflected in the electoral process.”

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of human lives,” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said at a news conference, other G-8 officials by his side. “We have stressed the need that violence cease immediately.”

Italy originally invited Iran to attend the three-day gathering as a special guest, arguing that it could play an important role in talks on Afghan stabilization. But Rome retracted the invitation after Iran failed to respond, and amid concerns over the violence in the streets of Tehran.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow wanted to express its “most serious concern” over the use of force by Iran and the death of peaceful protesters.

“At the same time, we will not interfere in Iran’s internal affairs. Our position is that all issues that have emerged in the context of the elections will be sorted out in line with democratic procedures,” he said.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, whose government expelled two Iranian diplomats earlier this week after Iran did the same to two British envoys, said that the violence was “deplorable” and that Iran’s accusations that the protests were mobilized by Western powers were “without foundation.”

“We deplore violence but we remain committed to engagement as a means to an end,” said Miliband.

Source: Associated Press

Friday Prayers: Iranian cleric says “rioters” should be executed

TEHRAN (Reuters) – A hardline Iranian cleric on Friday called for the execution of “rioters” in the latest sign of the authorities’ determination to stamp out opposition to the June 12 presidential election.

Source: Reuters

US Senators Push Bill to Help Iranians Avoid Government Online

Is it just me or should McCain and Liieberman but out and leave this to the President and his team? History has shown how interfearing like this can cause more harm then good.

U.S. lawmakers say they plan legislation that would fund efforts to help Iranians receive and send information despite government restrictions.

Independent Senator Joe Lieberman said Thursday that the bill intends to help the Iranian people stay “one step ahead of the Iranian regime.”

Lieberman introduced the bill with Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham.

McCain said the proposed legislation would authorize funds to ensure Iranians have the software and other tools to evade government censorship and surveillance online.

The legislation would also authorize VOA’s Persian service to make permanent an additional hour of programming that was added to cover the post-election violence.

More funding would also be provided to the U.S. government-sponsored Radio Farda to boost the broadcaster’s short-wave radio and satellite capacity.

Source: VOA

Follow the Money

An interesting look at the money trail leading out of Iran.

Many tranches (portions, amounts) of 10 Million USD$ are being sent out of Iran to locations [in Europe].  These funds are coming out of Islamic Leaders [PERSONAL ACCOUNTS] and not from accounts controlled by the official Government of Iran.

Read the full article here by Ariel Silverstone

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO – Iranian being shot by government forces

What seems to be the first video actually depicting an Iranian being shot on camera by government officials has hit the internet. The shooting occurs while the person filming is quite far away, but the video then shows closer images of his body. The video is dated June 20. One can only imagine what an accurate count of the injured and dead demonstrators would look like at this point.

Source: Huffington Post

10 Minute footage from the events of the 24th – Caution may be distressing

Source: Huffington Post

Fractures in the Revolutionary Guard “Remember me,” he pleaded. “Remember that I helped the BBC.”

He’s done some pretty dreadful things in his life, from attacking women in the streets for not wearing the full Islamic gear to fighting alongside Islamic revolutionaries in countries abroad.

And yet now, in the tumult that has gripped Iran since its elections last week, he’s had a change of heart.

He’s become a backer of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate who alleges fraud in the elections. He’s saved up the money to send his son to a private school abroad, and he loathes President Ahmadinejad.

He’s not the only one.

Source: BBC

Top dissident cleric warns Iran over crackdown

TEHRAN (AFP) — Top Iranian dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri warned on Thursday that continued suppression of opposition protests could threaten the very basis of the Islamic republic.

“If Iranians cannot talk about their legitimate rights at peaceful gatherings and are instead suppressed, frustrations will build up which could possibly uproot the foundations of the government, no matter how powerful,” the cleric said in a statement faxed to AFP.

Source: Here

Rafsanjani Has Votes To Remove Khamenei?

According to unconfirmed reports Rafsanjani is currently lobbying and meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts to gain support for the removal of Khamenei and for replacing the position of Supreme Leader with a form of collective leadership. According to Al-Arabiya, high-up sources say that Rafsanjani has already gained enough support within the Assembly for the removal of Khamenei, but has found less of a positive response to the proposal to replace the position of Supreme Leader altogether.

Source: Here

Ahmadinejad gets stood up

More than 180 Iranian MPs appear to have snubbed an invitation to celebrate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election win, local press reports say.

All 290 MPs were invited to the victory party on Wednesday night, but only 105 turned up, the reports say.

Source: BBC

Videos of Massacre at Baharestan Square (Warning: Graphic) – Source

People must know about the monsters that are leading Iran. They are arresting people they don’t kill or beat. they must be stopped. Please pass this website onto others. You may also read my story on the massacre at http://trending.zachshouse.org/?p=236

“You should know that if you continue the response of the Iranian nation will be strong,’’ Ahmadinejad said in a speech to members of Iran’s judiciary, which is directly controlled by the ruling clerics. “The response of the Iranian nation will be crushing. The response will cause remorse.’’

Dear friends and colleagues.  I greet you with a heart full of sorrow and rage at the horrors unfolding in the streets of Tehran and other cities in Iran.  Yesterday I saw on YouTube the shocking image of the young woman by the name of Neda who was shot by a Basij sniper in front of her father.  I will never forget the anguish and desperation of the father’s voice as he watched his daughter bleed to death before his eyes.  This is just one snapshot of the savagery that has been unleashed against the millions that have peacefully protested for their democratic rights.  Thousands more have been beaten, stabbed, murdered, tortured, imprisoned, or simply disappeared from the streets, homes, and hospitals.

We can never forget this injustice.  We can never forgive those that treat our brothers and sisters as animals in a slaughter house.  Those who commit these acts are not political leaders.  They are criminals.  They are murderers and torturers.  They have committed crimes both against the Iranian people and against humanity.

In international law, large-scale and systematic murder, torture, imprisonment, disappearances, persecution on political and religious grounds, all the policies being pursued by some of the Iranian leaders today, qualify as crimes against humanity.  Those in the leadership that order or tolerate these acts bear individual criminal responsibility.

I spent ten years of my life prosecuting war criminals for the United Nations, from the former Yugoslavia to Rwanda.  And now I have this message for those leaders that are spilling the blood of our compatriots on our sacred soil: WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE!  YOU WILL NOT BE IN POWER FOREVER.  AND WHEN THE DAY COMES, WE WILL BRING YOU TO JUSTICE!  WE WILL PUT YOU TO SHAME BEFORE THE WHOLE WORLD FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!  YOU WILL HAVE NOWHERE TO HIDE!  WHETHER YOU REMAIN IN IRAN OR ESCAPE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY, WE WILL FIND YOU AND PROSECUTE YOU UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW!

To all of you assembled in cities across Canada and elsewhere in the world, I would like to make the following proposal to seek justice for our brothers and sisters that have been killed and tortured: WE MUST DEMAND THAT THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL REFER THE SITUATION OF IRAN TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT AT THE HAGUE.  We must sign petitions, write our friends and colleagues, our Government and members of Parliament, in Canada and other countries, and demand that this be done.  We must send the message to Iran’s leadership that these crimes will not go unpunished.

I bow in humility to those that have sacrificed their lives for the future of the Iranian people and hope that we in the diaspora will make every effort to ensure that their killers are brought to justice.

Payam Akhavan

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