Protests sweep Iran... Day 5 - Democratic Underground

Aloha Spirit

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Wed Jun-17-09 11:01 PM
Original message

Protests sweep Iran... Day 5

Today was day 5 of peaceful protest against the Interior Ministry's fake presidential election in Iran.
Protest events are planned for every day at least through Sunday, from what I've read. Thursday's will be in mourning for those who've been murdered.
Today, more evidence surfaced that the election was stolen.
Real threats to Ayatollah Khamenei's authority have emerged, as well as signs of pressure to get the Basij under control.
Hospital workers joined in the protests today, understandably, as the police and Basij have used hospitals as an easy target for arresting and attacking suspected activists.
I feel for them, being tasked with finding and silencing whoever is in charge of the protests.
The government having cut off most communication in Tehran and elsewhere, it's hard to imagine that any one ringleader could accomplish much.
The demonstrations are probably largely spontaneous.
The protests still happen because too many people are too angry and fearless to be intimidated or silenced by a relatively few number of thugs.

If you want to follow along, here are two good blogs
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/updates-on-irans-disputed-election/

Some photos from Wednesday can be found at daylife... (there are more comprehensive sites, but they include photos too graphic to list in an original post.)
http://www.daylife.com/search?q=iran

Karroubi joins protesters:

The rally:

A letter from Ayatollah Montazeri
http://kojayi.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/ayatollah-montazeris-letter/

....Declaring results that no one in their right mind can believe, and despite all the evidence of crafted results, and contrary to the people’s protestations, in front of the eyes of the same nation who carried the weight of a revolution and 8 years of war, in front of the eyes of local and foreign reporters, attacked the children of the people with astonishing violence. And now they are attempting a purge, arresting intellectuals, political opponents and Scientists.

Now, based on my religious duties, I will remind you:

1- A legitimate state must respect all points of view. It may not oppress critical views. I fear that this will lead to the loss of people’s faith in Islam.

2- Given the current circumstances, I expect the government to take all measures to restore people’s confidence. Otherwise, as I have already said, a government not respecting the people’s vote has no religious or political legitimacy....

And a first hand account from the LA Times today:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-voice18-2009jun18,0,4022096,print.story

Every night at 9, Golaleh goes to the top of her five-story apartment in northern Tehran, where she has a view of the whole city.
"It's like a date," she said of the nightly rendezvous, because like clockwork voices of opposition protesters start calling out from rooftops in all directions.
One man usually starts.
God is great, he will shout. Then hundreds respond.

Their cries remain faceless. People stay hidden in the dark so that police cannot track them. "But we can distinguish between them : There are men, women and even children" who chant until 10 p.m., Golaleh said in a telephone interview Wednesday. Her last name has been withheld for her protection.

Protesting off the streets and under the cover of night is one way to avoid police violence while "letting out our energy together," said Golaleh, a 31-year-old book translator studying English literature at Al Zahra University in Tehran.

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dalaigh lllama

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Wed Jun-17-09 11:13 PM
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1. Way to protect her identity, LA Times

(Golaleh's) last name has been withheld for her protection.

Protesting off the streets and under the cover of night is one way to avoid police violence while "letting out our energy together," said Golaleh, a 31-year-old book translator studying English literature at Al Zahra University in Tehran.

Wonder how many Golaleh's fit those parameters. I'm surprised they don't just give her address while they're at it.

Ijits. :eyes:

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Aloha Spirit

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Wed Jun-17-09 11:23 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. oh man, google search results for that name = 2,480

Hopefully the police are too busy to arrest people for shouting God is Great from their roof!

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woo me with science

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Thu Jun-18-09 12:04 AM
Response to Original message

3. Amazing pictures. Thank you. nt

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Aloha Spirit

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Thu Jun-18-09 12:40 AM
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4. Aw you're welcome! There were protests besides Tehran but I couldn't find photos.

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Aloha Spirit

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Thu Jun-18-09 07:50 AM
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5. Details of torture emerge, confirm twitter reports

Here is WSJ from yesterday:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124523854750623001.html

...."Students' Web sites reported mass resignations by Tehran University professors outraged over the incident. One medical student said he and his roommate blocked their door with furniture and hid in the closet when they heard the militia's motorcycles approaching. He heard the militia breaking down doors, and then screams of anguish as students were dragged from their beds and beaten violently.

When he came out after the militia had left, friends and classmates lay unconscious in dorm rooms and hallways, many with chest wounds from being stabbed or bloody faces from blows to their heads, he said. The staff of the hospital where the wounded students were taken, Hazrat Rasoul Hospital, was so shocked that they went on strike for two hours, standing silently outside the gate in their white medical uniforms."....

Students who were arrested went either to high security prisons or to the basement of the Interior Ministry.
Details from released students offer this report of torture at the Interior Ministry:

http://saveiran.xanga.com/704941207/item/

Students were taken to the underground of the interior ministry. Plainclothes attacked the university, insulting them and beating them up.
Once they were taken to the underground, guards continued to torture them. Some of them went to the Evin prison
A group of around 46 with a minibus were taken to the basement of the interior ministry blindfolded.
When in the bus, they were put in seats where above above them were metal cans. Basij would come by and hit the cans to torture them. This was awful mental torture.
They noticed at the point the bus turned that they were going underground. From Basij comments, they knew they were going to the basement of the interior ministry.
The place they were held appeared 100 m size (not sure if square or distance)
The floor was covered with black ash and steam was coming out of it. Students were forced to lie on the ground and roll across it. If they hit someone elses feet, they'd get hit with baton.
The guards kept asking, "are you going to make revolution?" and issued family insults ....

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Kaleko

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Thu Jun-18-09 03:47 PM
Response to Reply #5

7. Speechless... What can I say to make the slightest bit of a difference

in the lives of those who survived?

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Aloha Spirit

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Thu Jun-18-09 11:17 PM
Response to Reply #7

8. Not sure. I think they want us to just make sure it stays in the news

Which is HARD!

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Aloha Spirit

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Thu Jun-18-09 03:27 PM
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6. Here's a youtube video giving a sense of what Golaleh is referring to in the LATimes piece

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C69NvFGxZQE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ehuffingtonpost%2Ecom%2F2009%2F06%2F13%2Firan%2Ddemonstrations%2Dviole%5Fn%5F215189%2Ehtml&feature=player_embedded

Posted Monday/ from Isfahan.

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