Not going quietly (photo: LA Times)
Here in London, for anyone wishing to show solidarity with the Iranian people, there will be a demonstration today (9 June) to mark the anniversary of the 1999 Iranian student protests which were also brutally suppressed by the regime. It starts at 6 PM and the organisers request that attendees wear green if possible and meet at 16 Prince’s Gate, SW7. The nearest Tube station is South Kensington.
Alexander Hitchens writes on the new Hitchens-Maher blog on Standpoint about the tactics of the Iranian police state:
A Farsi language website affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard,http://www.gerdab.ir/, has published pictures of Iranian protesters, asking viewers to identify the ‘criminals’.
On one of these web pages, the pictures numbered 1 and 19 are stamped with the word ‘identified’. There is also a second page of circled faces, which have yet to be identified.
These tactics should serve as yet another reminder (as if we needed one) as to the type of state we are dealing with: a totalitarian, theocratic gangster regime, marshalled by a ruthless and invasive secret police.
The Iranian state has also threatened further crackdowns on student protests:
The warning was issued after the G8 world powers expressed “serious concern” over the violence unleashed after the hotly-disputed re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which left at least 20 people dead.
Iranian authorities have banned all gatherings amid a fierce crackdown on protestors, reformists, journalists and political activists after the election crisis which rattled the pillars of the 30-year-old Islamic republic.
Witnesses said leaflets were being distributed in several Tehran squares urging people to join a march on Thursday to mark the 10th anniversary of student protests which were violently suppressed by the authorities.
“No permission for a gathering or march has been requested or issued,” Tehran governor Morteza Tamadon said in a strongly worded statement to the official news agency IRNA.
“But if some people make moves that are contrary to security initiatives under the influence of anti-revolutionary networks, they will be trampled under the feet of our alert people.”
Thousands of people are planning to silently march through more than 200 cities and towns in unauthorised demonstrations. The demonstrators intend to show their discontent over the reelection last month of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and commemorate the 10th anniversary of a violent confrontation between students and security forces.
Iranian Police Chief Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam vowed Wednesday in a statement broadcast on state television that his forces would confront any demonstration, and some officials warned that the Revolutionary Guard would be deployed to back anti-riot police and pro-government Basiji militiamen.
Tehran’s governor-general Morteza Tamaddon said any protesters would receive a “crushing” response. “No request was made for any permit for rallies on Thursday and no permit has been issued,” he said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
“The enemies of the Iranian nation are angry with the post-election calm in Iran and try to damage it through their TV channels,” he said.
One Comment
Wish I could be there if you only to meet people who have been affected by the situation directly. Do you think the Islamic Human Rights Commission might be interested in getting involved? Surely Kafa will take on the Iranians. If that fails then we can get iEngage to talk about it.