27 December 2009

Murder in Tehran

Iran saw further protests today and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the regime murdered up to nine demonstrators including the nephew of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the real winner of June’s elections.

Sunday was a major holy day in the Shia calendar, Ashura which honours Imam Hossein. Despite this security forces opened fire on protesters killing four, A fifth is believed to have died as a result of head injuries (doubtlessly meted out by British agents provocateur) after being beaten by police. Among the dead was Ali Mousavi, reported to have been shot through the heart.

Demonstrators – many chanting slogans against Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – retaliated by attacking members of the security forces, in some cases ripping off their uniforms and beating them with their own batons. Police cars were set on fire and photographs appeared to show riot officers retreating under a hail of stones.

A further four people were killed and many others injured in the northern city of Tabriz, according to reformist websites. Clashes were also reported in several other cities, including Isfahan, Shiraz, Arak, Mashhad, Babol and Najafabad.

Today's events differed from previous clashes in a way that seemed to herald further turmoil to come. By using lethal force on a day meant to honour one of Shia Islam's holiest figures, the regime may have undermined its claim to uphold Iran's religious traditions. The violent response of the protesters to the security forces was also unprecedented and suggested many are becoming fearless in the face of state repression.

A friend who lives in the centre of Tehran, right has confirmed that it was a grim day. It is a pointer as to what we will see in Iran over the coming months. Hopefully Ahmadinejad and Khamenei will be gone this time next year.

6 comments:

Susan English Mason said...

Jams, This is the worst news.

Reports here are saying that some police forces are refusing their commanders' orders to shoot at demonstrators and are shooting in the air instead.

jams o donnell said...

Now that is good to hear. If only thugs like the Basij would follow suit

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Terrible. We can only hope that those two will soon be gone, as you say.

jams o donnell said...

I surely hope so Welshcakes

beakerkin said...

Jams

It is time to take a look at this entire Iran mess in factual history.

1) This is a regime that thinks its actions are sanctioned by God and as such will do unspeakable evil that can only be rationalized by Galloway.We can bandy left vs right, but I doubt that any responsible government would send 9 year olds with plastic keys to heaven to clear minefields.

2) The Marxist left did collaborate and assist the religious zealots in the initial revolution. They were then disposed of as useless idiots at a latter date.

3) The Shah is gone roughly 30 years. It is time to stop excusing every human rights atrocity with the paraphrase but the Shah.

4) Iran has spread its theocracy beyond its borders.

5) Iran is a sponsor of global terrorism aimed at Jews in Argentina.

6) Iran does discriminate against Jews who have lived in Iran before Islam. Iran does discriminate in the cruelest terms against Bhai.

7) There are distinct nationalities with real claims of nation status that exceed those that the left rail about. Kurds have a language and thousand year history. They do not smack planes into office buildings or kill civilians for publicity stunts.

A religious backed totalitarian state will always find zealots who will carry out orders. There is no Iranian Boris Yeltsin who will stand up to tanks.

If one did the left would call him a CIA tool.

I do not group all on the left as reprehensible. However, the Galloways, Livingstone's , McKinneys and University hacks are off the map.

beakerkin said...

Jams

They are not vile in the traditional
sense of a strongman like Muggabe. One can make a deals with a strongman as they are unsavory but greedy. Those types want a peaceful
retirement and they will take deals.

The Iranians are similar to Communists in that they seek to create a global hegemony. There is
nothing one can offer other than surrender.

The best outcome with the least bloodshed is some patriot in the Armed forces will value the real people more than imagined utopias.
I am not optimistic as political hacks seem to be at the top of the army.

This may sound funny, but groups like Communists require political orthodoxy and lack professionalism.
Their global dreams of conquest will always fail because their best
and brightest are marginalized for
hacks.