You are doing very good. I am sure people here take the reports coming from twitter and facebook with a grain of salt but, until the bastards remove the ban on reporters, that's all it can be done. Khodam direct report from the field is very appreciated. I hope he stays safe. My many many thanks to him for joining people on street. I owe him.
Those who make fun of these reports can check more up-to-date and 100% accurate sources like Fars News. If they are feel jealous that ISP made $1 off Google ads, they can send me their PayPal account so I can send them the same amount so they feel better.
Those who make fun of these reports can check more up-to-date and 100% accurate sources like Fars News. If they are feel jealous that ISP made $1 off Google ads, they can send me their PayPal account so I can send them the same amount so they feel better.
Hundreds protest in Iran, defying crackdown vow
Play Video AP – Iran president declares new era for country
AP – In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside …
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer Nasser Karimi, Associated Press Writer – 14 mins ago
TEHRAN, Iran – Thousands of protesters streamed down avenues of the capital Thursday, chanting "death to the dictator" and defying security forces who fired tear gas and charged with batons, witnesses said.
Turning garbage bins into burning barricades and darting through choking clouds of tear gas, the opposition made its first foray into the streets in nearly two weeks in an attempt to revive mass demonstrations that were crushed in Iran's postelection turmoil.
Iranian authorities had promised tough action to prevent the marches, which supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi have been planning for days through the Internet. Heavy police forces deployed at key points in the city ahead of the marches, and Tehran's governor vowed to "smash" anyone who heeded the demonstration calls.
In some places, police struck hard. Security forces chased after protesters, beating them with clubs on Valiasr Street, Tehran's biggest north-south avenue, witnesses said.
Women in headscarves and young men dashed away, rubbing their eyes in pain as police fired tear gas, in footage aired on state-run Press TV. In a photo from Thursday's events in Tehran obtained by The Associated Press outside Iran, a woman with her black headscarf looped over her face thrust her fist into the air in front of a garbage bin that had been set on fire.
In another image, a man dropped to his knees, overcome by the effects of tear gas.
But the clampdown was not total. At Tehran University, a line of police blocked a crowd from reaching the gates of the campus, but then did not move to disperse them as the protesters chanted "Mir Hossein" and "death to the dictator" and waved their hands in the air, witnesses said. The crowd grew to nearly 1,000 people, the witnesses said.
"Police, protect us," some of the demonstrators chanted, asking the forces not to move against them.
The protesters appeared to reach several thousand, but their full numbers were difficult to determine, since marches took place in several parts of the city at once and mingled with passers-by. There was no immediate word on arrests or injuries.
It did not compare to the hundreds of thousands who joined the marches that erupted after the June 12 presidential election, protesting what the opposition said were fraudulent results. But it was a show of determination despite a crackdown that has cowed protesters, who have not held a significant rally for the past 11 days.
Onlookers and pedestrians often gave their support. In side streets near the university, police were chasing young activists, and when they caught one, passers-by chanted "let him go, let him go," until the policemen released him. Elsewhere, residents let fleeing demonstrators slip into their homes to elude police, witnesses said.
All witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals. Iranian authorities have imposed restrictions that ban reporters from leaving their offices to cover demonstrations.
Many of the marchers were young men and women, some wearing green surgical masks, the color of Mousavi's movement, but older people joined them in some places. Vehicles caught in traffic honked their horns in support of the marchers, witnesses said. Police were seen with a pile of license plates, apparently pried off honking cars in order to investigate the drivers later, the witnesses said.
Soon after the confrontations began, mobile phone service was cut off in central Tehran, a step that was also taken during the height of the postelection protests to cut off communications. Mobile phone messaging has been off for the past three days, apparently to disrupt attempts at planning.
The calls for a new march have been circulating for days on social networking Web sites and pro-opposition Web sites. Opposition supporters planned the marches to coincide with the anniversary Thursday of a 1999 attack by Basij on a Tehran University dorm to stop protests in which one student was killed.
Demonstrators dispersed by nightfall. But after sunset, shouts of "death to the dictator" could be heard from rooftops around the city — a half-hour nightly ritual by Mousavi supporters that has continued even since the previous crackdown.
Mousavi and his pro-reform supporters say he won the election, which official results showed as a landslide victory for incumbent hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Days of massive demonstrations erupted, until supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared the results valid and warned that unrest would not be tolerated.
In the crackdown that followed, at least 20 protesters and seven Basijis were killed, according to police.
Police have said 1,000 people were arrested in the crackdown and that most have since been released. But prosecutor-general Qorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi said Wednesday that 2,500 people were arrested and that 500 of them could face trial, Press TV reported. The remainder have been released, Najafabadi said.
Arrests have continued over the past week, with police rounding up dozens of activists, journalists and bloggers.
In the latest detentions, prominent human rights lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah was taken away by security forces from his office Wednesday along with his daughter and three other members of his staff, the pro-opposition news Web site Norouz reported. A former deputy commerce minister in a previous pro-reform government, Feizollah Arab-Sorkhi, was also arrested at his Tehran home, the site reported.
A large number of top figures in Iran's reform movement, including a former vice president and former Cabinet members, have been held for weeks since the election.
Iranian authorities have depicted the postelection turmoil as instigated by enemy nations aiming to thwart Ahmadinejad's re-election, and officials say some of those detained confessed to fomenting the unrest. Opposition supporters say the confessions were forced under duress.
Ahead of the protests, Tehran's governor Morteza Tamaddon accused "foreign counterrevolutionary networks" of plotting new marches. "If some individuals plan to carry out any anti-security actions by listening to (protest) calls ... they will be smashed under the feet of our aware people," he said late Wednesday, according to the state news agency IRNA.
___ Associated Press Writer Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090709/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election
-
Slideshow:Iran Election
-
Play Video Video:Iranian art displays another side Reuters
- Barack Obama Video:Rudd shares stage with Obama at G8 Australia 7 News
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer Nasser Karimi, Associated Press Writer – 14 mins ago
TEHRAN, Iran – Thousands of protesters streamed down avenues of the capital Thursday, chanting "death to the dictator" and defying security forces who fired tear gas and charged with batons, witnesses said.
Turning garbage bins into burning barricades and darting through choking clouds of tear gas, the opposition made its first foray into the streets in nearly two weeks in an attempt to revive mass demonstrations that were crushed in Iran's postelection turmoil.
Iranian authorities had promised tough action to prevent the marches, which supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi have been planning for days through the Internet. Heavy police forces deployed at key points in the city ahead of the marches, and Tehran's governor vowed to "smash" anyone who heeded the demonstration calls.
In some places, police struck hard. Security forces chased after protesters, beating them with clubs on Valiasr Street, Tehran's biggest north-south avenue, witnesses said.
Women in headscarves and young men dashed away, rubbing their eyes in pain as police fired tear gas, in footage aired on state-run Press TV. In a photo from Thursday's events in Tehran obtained by The Associated Press outside Iran, a woman with her black headscarf looped over her face thrust her fist into the air in front of a garbage bin that had been set on fire.
In another image, a man dropped to his knees, overcome by the effects of tear gas.
But the clampdown was not total. At Tehran University, a line of police blocked a crowd from reaching the gates of the campus, but then did not move to disperse them as the protesters chanted "Mir Hossein" and "death to the dictator" and waved their hands in the air, witnesses said. The crowd grew to nearly 1,000 people, the witnesses said.
"Police, protect us," some of the demonstrators chanted, asking the forces not to move against them.
The protesters appeared to reach several thousand, but their full numbers were difficult to determine, since marches took place in several parts of the city at once and mingled with passers-by. There was no immediate word on arrests or injuries.
It did not compare to the hundreds of thousands who joined the marches that erupted after the June 12 presidential election, protesting what the opposition said were fraudulent results. But it was a show of determination despite a crackdown that has cowed protesters, who have not held a significant rally for the past 11 days.
Onlookers and pedestrians often gave their support. In side streets near the university, police were chasing young activists, and when they caught one, passers-by chanted "let him go, let him go," until the policemen released him. Elsewhere, residents let fleeing demonstrators slip into their homes to elude police, witnesses said.
All witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals. Iranian authorities have imposed restrictions that ban reporters from leaving their offices to cover demonstrations.
Many of the marchers were young men and women, some wearing green surgical masks, the color of Mousavi's movement, but older people joined them in some places. Vehicles caught in traffic honked their horns in support of the marchers, witnesses said. Police were seen with a pile of license plates, apparently pried off honking cars in order to investigate the drivers later, the witnesses said.
Soon after the confrontations began, mobile phone service was cut off in central Tehran, a step that was also taken during the height of the postelection protests to cut off communications. Mobile phone messaging has been off for the past three days, apparently to disrupt attempts at planning.
The calls for a new march have been circulating for days on social networking Web sites and pro-opposition Web sites. Opposition supporters planned the marches to coincide with the anniversary Thursday of a 1999 attack by Basij on a Tehran University dorm to stop protests in which one student was killed.
Demonstrators dispersed by nightfall. But after sunset, shouts of "death to the dictator" could be heard from rooftops around the city — a half-hour nightly ritual by Mousavi supporters that has continued even since the previous crackdown.
Mousavi and his pro-reform supporters say he won the election, which official results showed as a landslide victory for incumbent hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Days of massive demonstrations erupted, until supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared the results valid and warned that unrest would not be tolerated.
In the crackdown that followed, at least 20 protesters and seven Basijis were killed, according to police.
Police have said 1,000 people were arrested in the crackdown and that most have since been released. But prosecutor-general Qorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi said Wednesday that 2,500 people were arrested and that 500 of them could face trial, Press TV reported. The remainder have been released, Najafabadi said.
Arrests have continued over the past week, with police rounding up dozens of activists, journalists and bloggers.
In the latest detentions, prominent human rights lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah was taken away by security forces from his office Wednesday along with his daughter and three other members of his staff, the pro-opposition news Web site Norouz reported. A former deputy commerce minister in a previous pro-reform government, Feizollah Arab-Sorkhi, was also arrested at his Tehran home, the site reported.
A large number of top figures in Iran's reform movement, including a former vice president and former Cabinet members, have been held for weeks since the election.
Iranian authorities have depicted the postelection turmoil as instigated by enemy nations aiming to thwart Ahmadinejad's re-election, and officials say some of those detained confessed to fomenting the unrest. Opposition supporters say the confessions were forced under duress.
Ahead of the protests, Tehran's governor Morteza Tamaddon accused "foreign counterrevolutionary networks" of plotting new marches. "If some individuals plan to carry out any anti-security actions by listening to (protest) calls ... they will be smashed under the feet of our aware people," he said late Wednesday, according to the state news agency IRNA.
___ Associated Press Writer Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090709/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election
Well, nothing significantly new or game changing.
Is it me or the purpose of these riots and demonstrations are becoming less and less clear? Are these about Mousavi vs Ahmadinejad or Khamenei vs Rafsanjani or anti-IR all together or about recent political prisoners or revenge against the recent deaths or demanding more social freedoms or simply going out to get some action?
It seems that not only these "demonstrations" have lost their momentum from the first couple of days post election but also their purpose and focus as well.
July 10, 2009
Iran Security Forces Move to Crush Renewed Protests
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN and NAZILA FATHI
CAIRO — Thousands of Iranians poured into the streets of Tehran on Thursday, clapping, chanting, almost mocking the authorities as they once again turned out in large numbers in defiance of the government’s threat to crush their protests with violence.
As tear gas canisters cracked and hissed in the middle of crowds, and baton-wielding police officers chased up and down sidewalks, young people, some bloodied, ran for cover, and there was an almost festive feeling on the streets of Tehran, witnesses reported.
A young woman, her clothing covered in blood, ran up Kagar Street, paused for a minute and said, “I am not scared because we are in this together.”
The protesters lighted trash on fire in the street, and shopkeepers locked their gates, then let demonstrators in to escape the wrath of the police. Hotels also served as safe havens, letting in protesters and locking out the authorities. It has been almost four weeks since the polls closed and the government announced that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won re-election in a landslide.
And it has been almost four weeks of defiance, in the face of the government’s repeated, uncompromising and violent efforts to restore the status quo. The government did succeed in keeping people off the streets the last 11 days, leaving many to simmer on their own as political insiders and clerical heavyweights slugged it out behind the scenes.
But there was an opening to take to the streets again on Thursday, in a collective show of defiance, and many protesters seized it, even though the principal opposition leaders stayed away. Mir Hussein Moussavi, who claims he won the election, Mehdi Karroubi and the former president Mohammad Khatami have agreed to pursue their complaints through the legal system, and to protest only when a permit is issued.
But the mood of the street never calmed. One witness said that if it had not been for the overwhelming show of force, it appeared that tens of thousands were prepared to turn out.
The day was supercharged from the start, with a protest called for 4 p.m. to honor the students who 10 years earlier were bloodied and jailed during a violent confrontation with the police. Under a hot summer sun, police officers in riot gear patrolled the streets in roving bands of about 50. Then the crowds started to form, men, women and children packing the sidewalks. Traffic stopped and drivers honked or stepped from their cars in solidarity. The people chanted “Down with the Dictator,” “God is Great” and “Mouss-a-vi “ as they walked along Enghelab Street.
It was almost festive.
“Tell the world what is happening here,” one 26-year-old engineering student said. “This is our revolution. We will not give up.”
Asked what he wanted, he said: “We want democracy.”
One witness gave this account: “The crowds are too huge to contain. Riot police running up and down Fatemi Street, beating people, barely got out of the way. The crowds just get out of their way and come back.”
There were scenes like that reported all over the city, though the main skirmishes seemed to have occurred near Tehran University and at Enghelab Square. Police shot tear gas into Laleh Park. As night fell, the scene grew more severe. The air filled with acrid smoke and soot, and police officers and Basij militia members ran along the streets.
A man in a business suit pulled out a collapsible baton and beat a person with a camera until the baton broke. A middle-aged woman ran through the crowd, her coat covered with blood stains. Protesters hurled rocks at security officers. Two men held a huge floral arrangement of yellow and purple flowers on green leaves in commemoration of those killed last month and in 1999, a witness said.
But still, no matter who stopped to talk, witnesses said, there was a sense of mission and unity that seemed almost validated by the brutal government response. A 55-year-old woman on the streets in support of the marchers said: “This is Iran. We are all together.”
The security forces did not fire on protesters, witnesses said, and it was unclear how many people were injured or arrested. Until now, the government has relied on three main tactics to try to put the turbulence of the presidential race behind it: detentions; the violent suppression of street protests; and shifting blame to “meddling” foreign nations, primarily Britain and the United States, but also Israel and Saudi Arabia, for fomenting the unrest.
The nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has sanctified the election, and the powerful Guardian Council has certified the results. But the opposition has continued to insist that there were widespread irregularities rendering the vote and the results invalid. They have refused to concede, which has served to keep the conflict from fading .
Cell phone messaging was disconnected Thursday for a third consecutive day, apparently to prevent communication between protesters. The government also closed the universities and declared an official holiday Tuesday and Wednesday, ostensibly because Tehran has been shrouded in a cloud of heavy dust and pollution.
But neither the announced holiday nor the murky air seemed to thin the crowds.
Many people thrust their hands into the air, making the vee sign for victory. Even as they watched, and sometimes tried to stop, police officers and militia as they beat unarmed women and men — and there were a lot of women on the street as there have been throughout the crisis — the crowds remained mostly peaceful, an eyewitness said.
A crowd chanted “please stop” and chased two Basij away.
The streets burned with garbage fires. Tear gas settled all around. And on one street thousands of people pushed on, proclaiming their solidarity and defiance. “We don’t want war,” said one 27-year-old man in a black shirt. “We just want freedoms.”
Nazila Fathi contributed reporting from Toronto.
Iran Security Forces Move to Crush Renewed Protests
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN and NAZILA FATHI
CAIRO — Thousands of Iranians poured into the streets of Tehran on Thursday, clapping, chanting, almost mocking the authorities as they once again turned out in large numbers in defiance of the government’s threat to crush their protests with violence.
As tear gas canisters cracked and hissed in the middle of crowds, and baton-wielding police officers chased up and down sidewalks, young people, some bloodied, ran for cover, and there was an almost festive feeling on the streets of Tehran, witnesses reported.
A young woman, her clothing covered in blood, ran up Kagar Street, paused for a minute and said, “I am not scared because we are in this together.”
The protesters lighted trash on fire in the street, and shopkeepers locked their gates, then let demonstrators in to escape the wrath of the police. Hotels also served as safe havens, letting in protesters and locking out the authorities. It has been almost four weeks since the polls closed and the government announced that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won re-election in a landslide.
And it has been almost four weeks of defiance, in the face of the government’s repeated, uncompromising and violent efforts to restore the status quo. The government did succeed in keeping people off the streets the last 11 days, leaving many to simmer on their own as political insiders and clerical heavyweights slugged it out behind the scenes.
But there was an opening to take to the streets again on Thursday, in a collective show of defiance, and many protesters seized it, even though the principal opposition leaders stayed away. Mir Hussein Moussavi, who claims he won the election, Mehdi Karroubi and the former president Mohammad Khatami have agreed to pursue their complaints through the legal system, and to protest only when a permit is issued.
But the mood of the street never calmed. One witness said that if it had not been for the overwhelming show of force, it appeared that tens of thousands were prepared to turn out.
The day was supercharged from the start, with a protest called for 4 p.m. to honor the students who 10 years earlier were bloodied and jailed during a violent confrontation with the police. Under a hot summer sun, police officers in riot gear patrolled the streets in roving bands of about 50. Then the crowds started to form, men, women and children packing the sidewalks. Traffic stopped and drivers honked or stepped from their cars in solidarity. The people chanted “Down with the Dictator,” “God is Great” and “Mouss-a-vi “ as they walked along Enghelab Street.
It was almost festive.
“Tell the world what is happening here,” one 26-year-old engineering student said. “This is our revolution. We will not give up.”
Asked what he wanted, he said: “We want democracy.”
One witness gave this account: “The crowds are too huge to contain. Riot police running up and down Fatemi Street, beating people, barely got out of the way. The crowds just get out of their way and come back.”
There were scenes like that reported all over the city, though the main skirmishes seemed to have occurred near Tehran University and at Enghelab Square. Police shot tear gas into Laleh Park. As night fell, the scene grew more severe. The air filled with acrid smoke and soot, and police officers and Basij militia members ran along the streets.
A man in a business suit pulled out a collapsible baton and beat a person with a camera until the baton broke. A middle-aged woman ran through the crowd, her coat covered with blood stains. Protesters hurled rocks at security officers. Two men held a huge floral arrangement of yellow and purple flowers on green leaves in commemoration of those killed last month and in 1999, a witness said.
But still, no matter who stopped to talk, witnesses said, there was a sense of mission and unity that seemed almost validated by the brutal government response. A 55-year-old woman on the streets in support of the marchers said: “This is Iran. We are all together.”
The security forces did not fire on protesters, witnesses said, and it was unclear how many people were injured or arrested. Until now, the government has relied on three main tactics to try to put the turbulence of the presidential race behind it: detentions; the violent suppression of street protests; and shifting blame to “meddling” foreign nations, primarily Britain and the United States, but also Israel and Saudi Arabia, for fomenting the unrest.
The nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has sanctified the election, and the powerful Guardian Council has certified the results. But the opposition has continued to insist that there were widespread irregularities rendering the vote and the results invalid. They have refused to concede, which has served to keep the conflict from fading .
Cell phone messaging was disconnected Thursday for a third consecutive day, apparently to prevent communication between protesters. The government also closed the universities and declared an official holiday Tuesday and Wednesday, ostensibly because Tehran has been shrouded in a cloud of heavy dust and pollution.
But neither the announced holiday nor the murky air seemed to thin the crowds.
Many people thrust their hands into the air, making the vee sign for victory. Even as they watched, and sometimes tried to stop, police officers and militia as they beat unarmed women and men — and there were a lot of women on the street as there have been throughout the crisis — the crowds remained mostly peaceful, an eyewitness said.
A crowd chanted “please stop” and chased two Basij away.
The streets burned with garbage fires. Tear gas settled all around. And on one street thousands of people pushed on, proclaiming their solidarity and defiance. “We don’t want war,” said one 27-year-old man in a black shirt. “We just want freedoms.”
Nazila Fathi contributed reporting from Toronto.
Dear ashtar I think you have a point. Earlıer I saıd nothıng sıgnıfıcant is happening and that things will go to normal tomorrow but someone suggested i should throw myself off a cliff just because he couldn't answer any more logically.
Every revolution needs a strong leader who the majorıty want and support and follow. Rıght now we don't have such a body in Iran and Mousavi clearly is part of the regime and for many he was the excuse for these demonstrations and not the end. At the moment it's not clear to me what people want because havıng Mousavı as presıdent ıs not the answer to their shouts for democracy. Mousavi ıs part of the system afterall.
Every revolution needs a strong leader who the majorıty want and support and follow. Rıght now we don't have such a body in Iran and Mousavi clearly is part of the regime and for many he was the excuse for these demonstrations and not the end. At the moment it's not clear to me what people want because havıng Mousavı as presıdent ıs not the answer to their shouts for democracy. Mousavi ıs part of the system afterall.
From ABC News
July 9, 2009
TEHRAN UNREST: "IT WAS NOTHING LESS THAN WAR. PRAY FOR US."
TEHRAN UNREST: "IT WAS NOTHING LESS THAN WAR. PRAY FOR US."
An apparent eyewitness account from Tehran today, came to me in an email in Persian:
"At 5 pm we went to one of the meeting points, but there was no one there...At 6 pm we were at the intersection of Palestine and Keshavarz Blvds (the center of town). The police were busy identifying people. There were two groups: the disciplinary forces (police) and the plainclothes (lebas shakhsi). Then we went towards Laleh Park but we saw that the demonstrators were coming from Laleh Park toward Vali Asr and they were shouting "Mir Hossein, Ya Hossein." We asked them why they're coming this way and they said every other way was closed, we had to change direction. Again we arrived at intersection of Palestine and Keshavarz Blvds and the police attacked with tear gas and batons. We were stuck and being attacked from both sides. People had opened the doors of their houses, many were seeking refuge in the houses. People's cigarettes and the fires people had lit in their gardens were counteracting the tear gas. When things calmed down a bit we went toward Keshavarz again, but this time we were encircled from three sides -- East, West, and the Northern streets and alleyways. Suddenly an empty bus appeared and drove straight into the demonstration. Inside the bus was filled with plainclothes officers who were hiding and wanted to attack from the center of the crowd. We ran away toward the southern alleyways, one out of five houses open their doors for us. We heard shootings - we don't know if the bullets injured anybody. But thereafter the houses were filled with people injured
One person had his arm shattered in different places, another had a broken skulls. As soon as we came out of the houses they continued to use the tear gas and batons. We ran, but it was no use. A young girl and young man were killed in front of us. Know that it was the disciplinary forces that fired the bullets and were attacking people with the batons and tear gas. The plainclothes officers did not have batons, they had planks of wood to beat us to death. The Ansar (special forces) were also there, they took a young guy right in front of us. The police were attacking people; once they targeted someone they would catch them and hit them to death. There were a lot of people lost/disappeared.
The mobile phones were cut off in many areas. Our only hope was people's houses who had opened their doors to us. They had water and fire to counteract the tear gas and they all had first aid kits. After a lot of running away and chasing, we tried to get out of being encircled by police. The only option seemed like suicide -- we had to cross them, passing through hundreds of officers. They did not think that any protesters would come toward them, so they didn't think we were part of the demonstration. There was a lot going on during the rest of our journey, but all the roads heading toward Vali Asr were filled with cars honking their horns in protest. The police hitting the cars as well, using batons on
We were in the red zone and it was nothing less than war. Pray for us."
July 9, 2009
TEHRAN UNREST: "IT WAS NOTHING LESS THAN WAR. PRAY FOR US."
TEHRAN UNREST: "IT WAS NOTHING LESS THAN WAR. PRAY FOR US."
An apparent eyewitness account from Tehran today, came to me in an email in Persian:
"At 5 pm we went to one of the meeting points, but there was no one there...At 6 pm we were at the intersection of Palestine and Keshavarz Blvds (the center of town). The police were busy identifying people. There were two groups: the disciplinary forces (police) and the plainclothes (lebas shakhsi). Then we went towards Laleh Park but we saw that the demonstrators were coming from Laleh Park toward Vali Asr and they were shouting "Mir Hossein, Ya Hossein." We asked them why they're coming this way and they said every other way was closed, we had to change direction. Again we arrived at intersection of Palestine and Keshavarz Blvds and the police attacked with tear gas and batons. We were stuck and being attacked from both sides. People had opened the doors of their houses, many were seeking refuge in the houses. People's cigarettes and the fires people had lit in their gardens were counteracting the tear gas. When things calmed down a bit we went toward Keshavarz again, but this time we were encircled from three sides -- East, West, and the Northern streets and alleyways. Suddenly an empty bus appeared and drove straight into the demonstration. Inside the bus was filled with plainclothes officers who were hiding and wanted to attack from the center of the crowd. We ran away toward the southern alleyways, one out of five houses open their doors for us. We heard shootings - we don't know if the bullets injured anybody. But thereafter the houses were filled with people injured
One person had his arm shattered in different places, another had a broken skulls. As soon as we came out of the houses they continued to use the tear gas and batons. We ran, but it was no use. A young girl and young man were killed in front of us. Know that it was the disciplinary forces that fired the bullets and were attacking people with the batons and tear gas. The plainclothes officers did not have batons, they had planks of wood to beat us to death. The Ansar (special forces) were also there, they took a young guy right in front of us. The police were attacking people; once they targeted someone they would catch them and hit them to death. There were a lot of people lost/disappeared.
The mobile phones were cut off in many areas. Our only hope was people's houses who had opened their doors to us. They had water and fire to counteract the tear gas and they all had first aid kits. After a lot of running away and chasing, we tried to get out of being encircled by police. The only option seemed like suicide -- we had to cross them, passing through hundreds of officers. They did not think that any protesters would come toward them, so they didn't think we were part of the demonstration. There was a lot going on during the rest of our journey, but all the roads heading toward Vali Asr were filled with cars honking their horns in protest. The police hitting the cars as well, using batons on
We were in the red zone and it was nothing less than war. Pray for us."
Sorry, but "an apparent eyewitness account" in an email describing today's events as "nothing less than war" is as good as "an apparent eyewitness account" claiming that police and Basij were handing pastries and flowers today.
Seems like the foreign media is either trying to milk the Iranian audience or in an attempt not to lose them to a competing network are willing to report any unsubstantiated report they can get their hands on. And the more dramatic and alarming the report the better.
One wonders how many emails or twitter messages ABC received today and what made them use this particular one to report.
Maybe you'd like to make a long distance call to your OWNERS and tell them to allow free press everywhere in the country so everyone can see the real truth ... of how calm everything is and how much everbody's in love with the regime ...
http://www.youtube.com/user/peive17#grid/uploads
http://www.youtube.com/user/peive17#grid/uploads
دیگر کسی نمی ترسد، همه آمده بودند، اینها رفتنی اند
گزارش ارسالی برای نشریه دانشجویی بذر -18 تیر 1388
چه صلابتی دارد این 18 تیر. همه آمده اند. جوان و پیر و میانسال. نه فقط در یک خیابان؛ که اینبار آموخته اند از روزهای پیش. در هفت هشت نقطه مرکزی تهران تظاهرات های توده ای بر پاست. سکوتی در کار نیست. همه شعار می دهند. بعضی ها الله اکبر می گویند اما به سرعت مرگ بر دیکتاتور! دولت کودتا استعفا استعفا! جانشینش می شود. مرکز درگیری ها چهارراه ولی عصر – انقلاب است: پارک دانشجو. جمعیت متمرکز و فشرده است و گاردهای ضد شورش با گازاشک آور و باتوم یورش می برند. چهره ها خونین است. جمعیت مرتب از پیاده رو به خیابان و خیابان به پیاده رو جا به جا می شود. ماشین ها مثل دو هفته پیش همه بوق می زنند. بوق های ممتد. باز هم مشت ها در آسمان است و دو انگشت به نشانه پیروزی و همبستگی. موج مردم از همه خیابان های اصلی به سمت میدان انقلاب و دانشگاه سرازیر است. اینبار شعار طولانی جدیدی را به سبک دوران انقلاب 57 همه می خوانند:
محمود خائن آواره گردی/ خاک وطن را ویرانه کردی/ کشتی جوانان وطن آه و واویلا..... مرگ بر تو! مرگ بر تو.... مــــرگ بــر تــــو!
گاز اشک آور مثل نقل و نبات بر جمعیت می بارد ولی باور نکردنی است انگار همه عادت کرده اند. حال هیچکس به هم نمی خورد. فقط فورا آتشی روشن می کنند. بعضی ها دود سیگار را به چشم کنار دستی می فرستند. در تقاطع بلوار کشاورز و خیابان کارگر هستیم. از پایین گارد ویژه به سمت ما هجوم می برد. شعار گویان به سمت بالا می دویم. از طرف خیابان فاطمی جمعیت فشرده ای به ما ملحق می شوند و دوباره به سمت پایین بر می گردیم با شعار: نترسین! تنرسین! ما همه با هم هستیم!
خبری از تیراندازی در این قسمت نیست. از بقیه جاها هم هنوز خبری در این مورد نرسیده. چقدر دختر! چقدر مادر! در صف اول. خشمگین و شاداب و الهام بخش! دوباره به سمت ما هجوم می برند. اینبارلباس شخصی ها را هم آورده اند ولی تعدادشان نسبت به روزهای قبل کمتر است و مشخص است که تحت تاثیر افشاگری های این سه هفته در مورد جنایت های بسیجی هاست. به بعضی از اینها لباس فرم سپاه پوشانده اند که منظمتر به نظر بیایند. حالا با تعداد زیاد و با موتور به جمعیت حمله می برند. چند صد نفری وارد بازارچه جنب پارک لاله می شوند که راه در رو ندارد و آنجا گیر می افتند. همراه با چند نفر از روی نرده ها و سیم خاردار می پریم و وارد محوطه پارک می شویم. مقصد خیابان امیرآباد است. دارند از نبش فاطمی خیابان را می بندند که جمعیت امیرآباد به جمعیت اطراف پارک نپیوندند. امیرآباد غلغله است. نبش کوچه ای که ندا در آنجا جان باخت، جمعیت ایستاده اند و شعار مرگ بر دیکتاتور می دهند. پیرمردی که می گوید 80 سال دارد با خوشحالی می گوید دیگر کسی نمی ترسد. همه آمده اند. اینها رفتنی اند. ببین اینهمه جمعیت ولی بر عکس سال 57 یک عمامه به سر هم در میانمان نیست! انتقام خون ندا را این مردم می گیرند! راست می گوید.
مردم وضعیترا خوب درک کرده اند. ضعف و شکنندگی رژیم را دریافته اند. دیگر هیچکس نمی ترسد. پیر و جوان شعار می دهند. محکمتر و مصممتر از سه هفته پیش. خودرویی که در آن خانواده ای نشسته است و بوق ممتد می زنند به آهستگی به سمت شمال خیابان امیرآباد در حرکت است. پسر خانواده سرش را بیرون آورده و به مردم می گوید: باز هم می خواهید مسالمت آمیز مبارزه کنید! نمی بینید که اینها اسلحه دارند! خواهرش هم با شعار مرگ بر دیکتاتور همراهیش می کند!! تنها عکس العمل من تکرار شعار با آنان و بالا بردن مشت است.
خود را سریعا به اینترنت می رسانم و این گزارش را می نویسم. امشب خیلی داغ خواهد بود. شعارها بر بام ها غوغا خواهد کرد. زخمی ها و دستگیری ها هم کم نیست. هنوز هوا تاریک نشده، ایست های بازرسی را در گوشه و کنار گسترده اند با بسیجی های یونیفرم پوش. به خیال خود می خواهند ارعاب کنند و به مردم حالی کنند که وضع فوق العاده است! چه حماقتی!! این هزاران هزار مردمند که امروز با حضور قدرتمند خود در خیابان ها به رژیم حالی کردند که هوا پس است! از بقیه شهرها هنوز خبری ندارم. ولی بدون شک 18 تیر امسال در تهران، یک واقعه به شدت تاثیرگذار بر روند تحولات جاری خواهد بود. بدون شک.
گزارش ارسالی برای نشریه دانشجویی بذر -18 تیر 1388
چه صلابتی دارد این 18 تیر. همه آمده اند. جوان و پیر و میانسال. نه فقط در یک خیابان؛ که اینبار آموخته اند از روزهای پیش. در هفت هشت نقطه مرکزی تهران تظاهرات های توده ای بر پاست. سکوتی در کار نیست. همه شعار می دهند. بعضی ها الله اکبر می گویند اما به سرعت مرگ بر دیکتاتور! دولت کودتا استعفا استعفا! جانشینش می شود. مرکز درگیری ها چهارراه ولی عصر – انقلاب است: پارک دانشجو. جمعیت متمرکز و فشرده است و گاردهای ضد شورش با گازاشک آور و باتوم یورش می برند. چهره ها خونین است. جمعیت مرتب از پیاده رو به خیابان و خیابان به پیاده رو جا به جا می شود. ماشین ها مثل دو هفته پیش همه بوق می زنند. بوق های ممتد. باز هم مشت ها در آسمان است و دو انگشت به نشانه پیروزی و همبستگی. موج مردم از همه خیابان های اصلی به سمت میدان انقلاب و دانشگاه سرازیر است. اینبار شعار طولانی جدیدی را به سبک دوران انقلاب 57 همه می خوانند:
محمود خائن آواره گردی/ خاک وطن را ویرانه کردی/ کشتی جوانان وطن آه و واویلا..... مرگ بر تو! مرگ بر تو.... مــــرگ بــر تــــو!
گاز اشک آور مثل نقل و نبات بر جمعیت می بارد ولی باور نکردنی است انگار همه عادت کرده اند. حال هیچکس به هم نمی خورد. فقط فورا آتشی روشن می کنند. بعضی ها دود سیگار را به چشم کنار دستی می فرستند. در تقاطع بلوار کشاورز و خیابان کارگر هستیم. از پایین گارد ویژه به سمت ما هجوم می برد. شعار گویان به سمت بالا می دویم. از طرف خیابان فاطمی جمعیت فشرده ای به ما ملحق می شوند و دوباره به سمت پایین بر می گردیم با شعار: نترسین! تنرسین! ما همه با هم هستیم!
خبری از تیراندازی در این قسمت نیست. از بقیه جاها هم هنوز خبری در این مورد نرسیده. چقدر دختر! چقدر مادر! در صف اول. خشمگین و شاداب و الهام بخش! دوباره به سمت ما هجوم می برند. اینبارلباس شخصی ها را هم آورده اند ولی تعدادشان نسبت به روزهای قبل کمتر است و مشخص است که تحت تاثیر افشاگری های این سه هفته در مورد جنایت های بسیجی هاست. به بعضی از اینها لباس فرم سپاه پوشانده اند که منظمتر به نظر بیایند. حالا با تعداد زیاد و با موتور به جمعیت حمله می برند. چند صد نفری وارد بازارچه جنب پارک لاله می شوند که راه در رو ندارد و آنجا گیر می افتند. همراه با چند نفر از روی نرده ها و سیم خاردار می پریم و وارد محوطه پارک می شویم. مقصد خیابان امیرآباد است. دارند از نبش فاطمی خیابان را می بندند که جمعیت امیرآباد به جمعیت اطراف پارک نپیوندند. امیرآباد غلغله است. نبش کوچه ای که ندا در آنجا جان باخت، جمعیت ایستاده اند و شعار مرگ بر دیکتاتور می دهند. پیرمردی که می گوید 80 سال دارد با خوشحالی می گوید دیگر کسی نمی ترسد. همه آمده اند. اینها رفتنی اند. ببین اینهمه جمعیت ولی بر عکس سال 57 یک عمامه به سر هم در میانمان نیست! انتقام خون ندا را این مردم می گیرند! راست می گوید.
مردم وضعیترا خوب درک کرده اند. ضعف و شکنندگی رژیم را دریافته اند. دیگر هیچکس نمی ترسد. پیر و جوان شعار می دهند. محکمتر و مصممتر از سه هفته پیش. خودرویی که در آن خانواده ای نشسته است و بوق ممتد می زنند به آهستگی به سمت شمال خیابان امیرآباد در حرکت است. پسر خانواده سرش را بیرون آورده و به مردم می گوید: باز هم می خواهید مسالمت آمیز مبارزه کنید! نمی بینید که اینها اسلحه دارند! خواهرش هم با شعار مرگ بر دیکتاتور همراهیش می کند!! تنها عکس العمل من تکرار شعار با آنان و بالا بردن مشت است.
خود را سریعا به اینترنت می رسانم و این گزارش را می نویسم. امشب خیلی داغ خواهد بود. شعارها بر بام ها غوغا خواهد کرد. زخمی ها و دستگیری ها هم کم نیست. هنوز هوا تاریک نشده، ایست های بازرسی را در گوشه و کنار گسترده اند با بسیجی های یونیفرم پوش. به خیال خود می خواهند ارعاب کنند و به مردم حالی کنند که وضع فوق العاده است! چه حماقتی!! این هزاران هزار مردمند که امروز با حضور قدرتمند خود در خیابان ها به رژیم حالی کردند که هوا پس است! از بقیه شهرها هنوز خبری ندارم. ولی بدون شک 18 تیر امسال در تهران، یک واقعه به شدت تاثیرگذار بر روند تحولات جاری خواهد بود. بدون شک.