Ramblings

2010-12-10T10:43:00.001+01:00

2010-12-10T10:11:00.001+01:00

More from London

2010-12-10T09:39:00.001+01:00

Student demos 9th Dec

2010-12-10T09:16:00.002+01:00

The Signal: در پل حافظ ( پل كالج) چه گذشت؟ صحنه هائی از نبرد قهرمانانه مردم با اوباش رژیم

2010-01-05T09:25:00.001+01:00

The Signal: Scenes from the Heroic Fight of People against Islamist Hooligans!

Quiet

2010-01-05T09:16:00.001+01:00

Why is it quiet now after the Ashura uprising?

Green revolution

2009-12-28T19:38:00.002+01:00

So much been happening in Iran that I haven't jotted down. Yesterday, Dec 27th, was Ashura, also 8th day after death of Ayatollah Montazeri. Demos became uprising becoming revolution.
News coming this evening of more battles in the centre. Rumours of military unhappiness at what's going on, of top level secret meetings...

Come and wet this truncheon

2009-09-04T19:38:00.002+02:00

Here's some old school:
Still makes my blood boil:
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Early days back then:

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Whilst I'm on the theme, another object lesson from the time in ridiculously biased reporting:
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This one, I first saw many years ago. The footage was provided to the travellers by a Channel 4 film crew who were making a schools programme about travelling lifestyle, some 7 or 8 years after the beanfield. There's actually longer footage around than this, I used to have a tape some 40 or 50 minutes long. The reporter had to retake his to-camera piece several times, each time toning it down, until it could be sanitised enough for broadcast. I believe he left journalism after this event. Here's his original - with the comment that it's some of the most brutal police behaviour in Britain in a long time.
Unfortunately, that wasn't true. This particular brutality was the specialty of the cops back then. I don't know what they're like now, but back in the day, it was par for the course. the Beanfield, of course, remains a particularly nasty example. Because of this footage having surfaced, it's also well documented just how brutish it was.

back from the canvas

2009-08-11T21:14:00.004+02:00

So, got a bit of a breather. Haven't had chance yet to pick up on what's been happening in Iran. It seems fronm what I've gathered so far that the power struggle amongst the ruling class is continuing unabated. I haven't yet touched base on what's actually happening on the ground. And still I have no real picture on how big a gap there is between the aspirations of the demonstrators and the intentions of the "reformers".

Meanwhile - today I've been busy finding out more about cryptography. About time, probably.

And in the Atlantic, the first named storm should be called Ana any hour now. Bill, in the background, looks nasty - possibly for Florida - in 10 days or so.
Hundreds have died in Taiwan flooding from Typhoon Morakot. Rain amounts have neared Reunion world records and there's been massive flooding.
Earthquakes shook Asia too today, promising more; and more storms killing in Japan. The planet's been quiet lately - seems that time's over. Here's more.

Coming and going

2009-08-07T12:06:00.002+02:00

Should be away again in a few hours. We'll see what happens.

The Iranian revolution has remained in and out of the headlines - Ahmadinejad was inaugurated this week, with clashes outside. Apparently it wasn't even broadcast live on State TV - presumably for fear that it would be disrupted, or that people would wonder "Where's Khatami and Rafsanjani and Moussavi?"

Things are still happening. I'd love to get a feel for what's really happening because it seems there isn't the fear that you'd expect if the crackdown had been truly successful. There are reports of rapprochement with security forces. On the other hadn, there are also horrific reports of torture, rape and murder coming out of the prisions.
And still people are fighting. Last night, there were reports of gunshots and a Basiji base being attacked by a crowd. Here's footage from the streets:

I'm going to try and catch up on everything that's been going on for the last few weeks and post what I can. Someday I'm sure I'll actually be able to visit Iran and see the sights for myself. And at that time, this blog will give me a handy jog to my memory to remember the second revolution.

off again

2009-07-30T13:36:00.003+02:00

will be gone for a few days again in a while. Hearing that Moussavi has turned up at the cemetery even as cops are trying to break up the crowd.
Matt Weaver on the Guardian blog makes the good point:

(It's interesting that Reuters now seems to be breaking news on Iran before the usually reliable sources on Twitter. Last month Twitter was beating the wires on news of the protests by several hours in some cases).

Saeed is still going strong though.
And hearing now that 10,000 have gathered already at the cemetery. SO seems the twitterfeeds are coming back online.

Been away

2009-07-30T08:16:00.003+02:00

Have been away for a few weeks. Enjoyed a family holiday.
The Ashes are on - the Third Test starts today. I'm working from home today, so that's worked out well.
Had a bit of a rough night - woken around 3 by the wee one, then couldn't get back to sleep. Sounded like a heavy storm in the distance approaching, but it became a bit of a damp squib. Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic, there's been no named storm yet. In fact, I haven't even seen an invest that looked worth tracking.
And Iran. Ah, a lot has been happening I think, out of the spotlights. The leadership in Iran is split. Rafsanjani finally spoke out, at a Friday prayers on Tehran University. That led to more protests which were again beaten down. Some say the RG has effectively mounted a coup with Khamanei.
And the people on the streets - it seems they've become more radicalised, which is the way of these things. When even shouting Allah Akbar becomes punishable, then the theology will be questioned along with the theocracy.
Today's the 40th day since the massacres of June 20th. Once again, tens of thousands are expected to march. They are likely walking into more guns. But the revolution is still happening.

On holiday

2009-07-02T23:47:00.001+02:00

...back in a few weeks

The revolution is here

2009-07-02T23:45:00.001+02:00

Give me a minute....

Daily

2009-06-30T14:58:00.003+02:00

Seems like vali-asr square is becoming the regular location of the daily protests. People are gathering there again now, and cops reported to be preparing to attack again.

Surprise!

2009-06-29T21:18:00.003+02:00

So the Guardian COuncil or whatever translation you want to use has confirmed Ahmadi as President.
Well there's a fucking surprise.

Meanwhile, thousands marched again today, again at vali-asr square. They tried to form a human chain. Again attacked by riot cops and basiji. Again people fought back.
But this uprising is still not laying down. Word of people on the move from arrest, and hundreds, probably thousands arrested, but still they're out there.
Even now, I think the regime is worried about cracking down too hard. This isn't China; too much blood won't be accepted. Even the blood that has already spilled is beyond forgiveness. When the sun goes down, the sound comes from the balconies and rooftops "Death to the Dictator".
The revolution has only just begun.

update

2009-06-28T08:20:00.003+02:00

Obviously things have been suppressed somewhat. All the same, there were reports yesterday of thousands (mainly women) gathering at the place where Neda was killed, and fighting in Enghelab square and laleh park amongst others. SO quite clearly the people in Iran have not laid down and taken it, even if that's the only story getting out to the West.
Today is another commemoration for the martyrs - and supposedly, it's actually legal! So this will be interesting to see.
In that memory, here's new video of the shootings at Azadi square on June 15th:

Oh and...

2009-06-26T18:03:00.001+02:00

...fuck Michael Jackson!

Swedish embassy occupied?

2009-06-26T17:49:00.001+02:00

Hearing that the Iranian embassy in Stockholm has been occupied. Always brings back some strange memories hearing that...

No news is bad news

2009-06-26T17:24:00.005+02:00

Very very quiet on getting news out. Yesterday there was little on teh clashes getting out. Most news sources didn't even report them and I haven't seen any video yet. This despite what i was hearing about a considerable riot in the centre of tehran. There were also many thousands at the Behesht Zahra cemetery. Reports also of a gathering at the place where Neda was shot, but they were quickly attacked (beaten, some reports of shootings). And I've seen film of a candle lit vigil outside Tehran university.

Here's Nite Owl's report from yesterday.

Today is supposed to be releasing green balloons. Which is a huge comedown from what today was being billed as earlier in the week. I've seen one pic of a green ballon (well binliner actually) allegedly from Tehran this afternoon, but that's all and it's not verified.
Update: OK here's some:

and here (Facebook).
and fotos

No news either of Khamenei speaking at Friday prayers. Still rumours of a Rafsanjani statement, some say he's going to speak in support of Khamenei. I doubt that strongly.

So has the regime succeeded in smashing the resistance? I doubt that too. Yesterday showed that tens of thousands are still taking to the streets even after some bloody attacks. The hired Basiji thugs can only be kept in the cities for so long. the net will only be nailed down so long. The university exams have finished today.
A line in the sand has been crossed and nothing will be the same again.

Moussavi

2009-06-25T16:05:00.002+02:00

He put out a defiant statement earlier this afternoon. Now being reported (Gooya News) that he's under house arrest. He was originally supposed to appear at the demo today, but that's unlikely to say the least!

street fighting

2009-06-25T15:33:00.002+02:00

At the moment, there are reports that the police are not having it all their own way. There must be more than a thousand there, because one report says cops are surrounded and fighting two sides at once.
Reports of gunfire - at least one dead, helicopters dropping chemicals again, tear gas, burning buses.

more already

2009-06-25T14:12:00.002+02:00

More than 1000 ppl chanting against Regime asking others join then near Taleghani Cr. Clashes at Enghalb Sq

Demo needs to be much bigger.

Quiet

2009-06-25T14:06:00.002+02:00

twitter is very quiet today. Obviously something going on - even sources using other methods are quiet on Twitter.
One message through though. Riot police are already gathering for this afternoon's march.

news report

2009-06-25T00:12:00.003+02:00

Here:

Iran: Protestors killed as security forces open fire near parliament

Hundreds of protesters gather near parliament building Wednesday afternoon, several reported killed after Revolutionary Guard forces fire tear gas, live bullets at crowd

Rest of the article at the link.

this from yesterday

2009-06-24T23:26:00.002+02:00

When remember, according to the media this morning, the protests had all been beaten down

So here's a message from my youth. Spot the similarities. And the message: when communities are attacked, they fight back

From Moussavi on facebook

2009-06-24T23:00:00.002+02:00

The more you share, the more awareness comes up, we belong to the world, the world belongs to us.

Coming to a head

2009-06-24T22:50:00.002+02:00

Tomorrow's demo. It beggars us in the West, to see the courage, after a massacre today, we'll see again people marching tomorrow. Hopefully in their hundreds of thousands, in their millions, too many for the regime to control and to beat. For the martyrs and for liberation. For self-determination.
I'm an atheist. I'm not a proponent of representative democracy. I don't like the belief systems of godbotherers and liberals. But I * really* don't like the beliefs of those who want to take and retain power at all costs. And I don't like those who say that their way of thinking and being is the solution for all, whether Imam or Cadre leader.
This is about the freedom of self-determination. Let people work out what they want without the arm of any oppressive state to coerce them - be it liberal or fascist, theocratic or secular.
The call to march tomorrow is epic in its heroism. It has that poetic quality, and perhaps none more so than in Google's translation of it from Farsi to English:

Thursday, June 4 hours 5 pm, mourning and violence Martyrs Memorial in the spirit of recent owner of the slogan "vote rate is the nation", the leader of struggle and oppression belongs with large posters with the relevant branch with a flower, to. Dear supporters suggest. Extensive information by email and posters for your player, media Shmayyd

Our thoughts are with you. The world is watching.

No shit

2009-06-24T22:33:00.002+02:00

Reminds me of how I felt during the miners strike. This is even worse and the anger here shines:

From an Iranian twitter this afternoon:

Internet back on don't know how long bastard Basij whores Khamenei is murdering scum and Ahmadinejad is his dog.
We will remain we will remember we will not forget we will not forgive we will not seek revenge we will have justice.
Bajis whores do you get paid for each brother you kill each sister you murder?
they think they can kill enough so that we will love them? The consent between rulers and ruled is broken will never return
There is no more pretense. This regime has no popular legitimacy no political legitimacy no religious legitimacy only force
After today they can never again pretend that there is any justification for their rule. It is rule by murder.
murdering basij whores when you kill one you make ten new enemies. The more of us you kill the more our numbers grow.
Khamenei you feed on your people bitch Ahmadinejad licks the blood off the streets basij whores murder for pay.
Nokia and Siemens - accessories to murder.
this regime has nothing to offer but murder. No policy but to make all Iran a giant prison.

tomorrow

2009-06-24T21:38:00.002+02:00

Protest confirmed for tomoorow, 4:30PM, from Vali-asr to Enghelab Square. Moussavi & Karoubi both behind it.
Big demo before Friday prayers - and Rafsanjani still expected to make his statement after Khamenei leads prayers.
No news yet on the military, bit if the rumour's true that Hezbollah were involved in today's attack, again that suggests the regime is losing its legitimacy with the military.
Couple of trusted comments:

Rafsanjani poised to step in, possibly to make statement On Friday as Khamenei tales Friday Prayers again.
Rafsanjani will act and he will do it soon. the army are never going to open fire on Iranian ppl. Be patient.

Of course, it's in Rafsanjani's interest that he comes in as the saviour, after it gets nasty. That's politicians for you.

I think the photo is from today, waiting to have Saeed of Revolutionary Road confirm.

another martyr

2009-06-24T20:26:00.001+02:00

Don't think this is from today, but was uploaded today:

reliable info

2009-06-24T20:16:00.002+02:00

OK, got something.
it seems the girl who was shot died. She's the only confirmed death today, although gathering by the reports, there will be more.
There are still battles going on in the centre - and it must be dark now. This seems to confirm what I suggested earlier - that this is not all one-sided, that people are fighting back in the face of a deliberate attack.
Amazing bravery.

unclear

2009-06-24T20:03:00.003+02:00

back from work. Very unclear what's happened.
This is probably from today, but early in the march

One of the best sources hasn't been heard from in a couple of hours. Last messages were:

we must go - dont know when we can get internet - they take 1 of us, they will torture and get names - now we must move fast -
thank you ppls 4 supporting Sea of Green - pls remember always our martyrs - Allah Akbar - Allah Akbar - Allah Akbar
Allah - you are the creator of all and all must return to you - Allah Akbar -

That last statement is the same "prepared for martyrdom" statement that Moussavi issued a few days ago.

I gather the demo tomorrow is on, but that there's no mosque prepared to hold a ceremony. Location of the demo is being held secret for now.

This nightmare report from CNN: "this was a massacre"

Here, how scared the regime is of the martyrdom of Neda. Her family has been kicked out of their house.

wtf happened?

2009-06-24T17:26:00.002+02:00

Picture of today from Revolutionary Road:
Terrible stuff coming out:

they pull away the dead into trucks - like factory - no human can do this - we beg Allah for save us -

ppls murdered everywhere -

so many killed today

I think there's an attack on the leadership too. Strange disowning of protests on Karroubi & Moussavi websites - possibly not legitimate. Rumours they & Khatami are under house arrest.

Tomorrow's protest cancelled?

2009-06-24T16:45:00.003+02:00

Karroubi has cancelled tomorrow's protest (or postponed until next week) as far as I can make out. No word from Moussavi on it though. Don't know if this is official or disnformation at this point.

Sounds like alot of fires around the centre of tehran. Very little news getting out now though.

Won't stop people

2009-06-24T16:20:00.003+02:00

The bloody attack going on - I don't think it's going to deter people from tomorrow's march.
Reports of 4 dead now. No way of confirming, but believable from what's coming out.
Tomorrow's march is to mourn the dead. Now there are more to mourn.

update

2009-06-24T15:58:00.002+02:00

Sounds very bad on the protest. Bad beatings, shootings. Hezbollah, not Basiji or RG it's said. Still people fighting back too.

Update:

Protestors in Jomhuri St make police and Suppression forces retreat

Full scale riot outside the parliament by these accounts, assuming the street is Jomhuri-ye-Eslami.

Shooting

2009-06-24T14:59:00.001+02:00

Apparently police have opened fire at the crowd.

Update: Lots of reports coming in now of gunfire, shootings. Impossible to tell what's true and what's not. Reports of a girl shot and taken to clinic/hospital. Stories of machine guns, helicopters shooting. Hopefully alot of exaggerations, the mobile network is down so will take a while to become clear.
Seems like the regime is trying to crush this demo to discourage people from attending tomorrow.

Tear gas

2009-06-24T14:21:00.004+02:00

The demo in baharestan Square is under attack. Reports of tear gas being used. Otehr protests reported around Tehran.

Update:
reported -

the conflict is so hard in Baharestan Sq . They beat people so hard

I doubt in this situation if Moussavi will show up today. Amazing that so many people have done so.

Pictures from last Thursday

2009-06-24T13:17:00.003+02:00

here's some photos I haven't seen before, from the demo on Thursday 18th - which was large.
Ironically, they come from the Tehran 24 site which is primarily a tourist site. But it does also have a link out to the Boston Globe photo survey of the demos which has been widely circulated. I think the domain is actually a US-owned one, so no trouble linking this out for them.

And unfortunately the webcam here at Tehran Traffic.com has been disabled, but if you can read Farsi, there may be some relevant information about road closures on the site...

More on today's demo

2009-06-24T13:10:00.001+02:00

Guardian's reporting:

Protesters are gathering for the start of a rally in Tehran in 30 minutes. Jasmin, one of the protesters told al-Jazeera, that she is not put off by the heavy presence of the security forces. Speaking on a phone line from Tehran she said some of the militia have made sly victory signs to the protesters at previous rallies.

Impending demo

2009-06-24T13:07:00.003+02:00

Saeed of Revolutionary Road is reporting that there's

More than 10.000 Bassij Milittias get position in Central Tehran, including Baharestan Sq

I'm not convinced that today's demo is a good call - assuming it gets beaten back, will this reduce the numbers for tomorrow?

Here's one way to deal with Basij - unknown what date this is. Particularly cool is the girl throwing stones too!

Again the media

2009-06-24T07:39:00.003+02:00

BBC says

Iranian riot police and militiamen appear to have halted protests in the capital, Tehran, after days of clashes over the country's disputed election.

As if protests are only being held for the benefit of the Western media, and if there's a day's break, everything must be over. Who knows what they'd make of the '78 revolution these days, with 24 hour coverage and incessant impatience. That revolution took over a year. These days, they expect everything in a week or the news agenda moves on. Ridiculous.
Well, to the best of my knowledge, there were no big demos planned for yesterday. Except for the one outside the British embassy by the regime, which was small (see picture).
Today's different though. 9:00 at the closed bazaar - which isn't photogenic, so won't be reported but gives people a chance to meet, and 16:00 at Baharestan Square.
See what happens.
Tomorrow is the big one.

Rock the bazaar

2009-06-23T15:40:00.002+02:00

So new tactic for tomorrow is everyone's to go shopping down the bazaar at 9:00. Which will be closed.
they seem fairly certain the the bazaar's are going to be closed. Apparently closed all over the country today.
So that's one key branch. Haven't heard yet about the oilworkers.

Is this the argument between Britain and Iran?

2009-06-23T13:38:00.002+02:00

It's being reported that

Britain has reportedly Frozen $1.6B assets of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's supreme leader

The article says

Payvand.com - Unsourced reports are circulating that British banks have frozen $1.6 billion in funds belonging to Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the supreme leader. This supposed affront is cited as another reason for displeasure with Britain in high places in Iran.

"The total assets frozen in the UK under the EU (European Union) and UN sanctions against Iran are approximately 976,110,000 pounds," Ian Pearson, Britain's Economic Secretary to the Treasury said in a written statement to parliament on Thursday.

The statement did not give any further details.

Mojtaba Khamenei has emerged as one of the driving forces behind the government's crackdown, diplomats and observers said, as reported in a Guardian article published on June 22nd. Also, according to some Iran analysts, Khamenei, 70, is maneuvering to position his son as his successor.

Now i've no idea about the validity of this report. But the idea of the son of a cleric being a billionaire is a bit more imperial than republican. Brings us back to that idea of this being a clash between a caliphate and a republic. With Rafsanjani as a Cato the Elder.

Demos here and there

2009-06-23T12:18:00.002+02:00

It's reported that:

Gov demos outside UK embassy in Tehran today shouting 'death to England' - 'death to BBC'

Despite the Guardian earlier reporting that

There were plans today for an anti-British demonstration outside the British embassy in Tehran, according to the state-funded Press TV. But the protest has apparently been banned. "Iran's interior ministry condemns Britain's interference but has granted no permission for the gathering outside the British embassy on Tuesday," the ministry said on its website.

I guess if this is really happening, that at least won't be able to be kept quiet!

Still no real news on the strike. Of course, those who were forced to go into work have been urged to "not work anyway", so the numbers will be difficult to really judge.
At least they get to join the rest of us ;-)

Fisk

2009-06-23T12:15:00.002+02:00

As usual, Fisk has his own wonderful and cantankerous approach, cutting through the bullshit:

Unleashing a rabble of armed government forces on to the streets and claiming that all whom they shoot are "terrorists" is an almost copy-cat perfect version of the Israeli army's public reaction to the Palestinian intifada. If stone-throwing demonstrators are shot dead, then it is their own fault, they are breaking the law and they are working for foreign powers.

When this happens in the Israeli-occupied territories, the Israelis claim that the foreign powers of Iran and Syria are behind the violence. When this happens on the streets of Iranian cities, the Iranian regime claims that the foreign powers of the United States, Israel and Britain are behind the violence.

And it is indeed an intifada that has broken out in Iran, however hopeless its aims. Millions of Iranians simply no longer accept the rule of law because they believe that the law has been corrupted by a fraudulent election. The dangerous decision by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to throw his entire prestige behind Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has erased any chance that he could emerge above the battle as a neutral arbiter.

So is today a strike?

2009-06-23T10:36:00.001+02:00

No news yet that I've found...

What to do?

2009-06-23T10:10:00.002+02:00

Here we go again. I can see my problem with The Guardian's Robert Tait is going to turn into a bitchfest ;-)
Get this from their liveblog:

8.45am:
Mousavi's appears to be planning a general strike.

OK. Pretty serious stuff.
Now from their daily news podcast.

8.55am:
The protesters "are powerless in the face of an overwhelming police and security force presence. People are genuinely intimidated," the Guardian's former Tehran correspondent Robert Tait says on Guardian Daily

So one side "General Strike", Tait side "Powerless and intimidated".
And it's because of this nonsense I haven't even bothered listening to their news podcast recently. Shame really, 'cos I'm a big fan of Football Weekly...

wag the dog

2009-06-23T07:09:00.002+02:00

So it's the 30th anniversary today of the raiding of the American Embassy in Tehran, according to one of the main twitters. After Khamenei's attack on Little Satan Britain, they're expecting a demo outside the British embassy and a possible engineered diplomatic crisis.
Like what? Well, doubtless there's SAS in the embassy who wouldn't take kindly to an incursion.

Only thing - the Hostage crisis started in November. So I'm not sure which anniversary this refers to...

Allegedly one of the guys in the photo is Ahmadinejad.

before sleep

2009-06-22T23:28:00.003+02:00

A few bits:
There's a statement out by Rafsanjani. Unfortunately I haven't seen a translation yet.

And Huff Post blog reports

Iran scraps certain punishments. Strange timing, I'd say. "Iran's parliament plans to scrap stoning and amputation of a hand as punishments in a revised version of the Islamic penal code, the official IRNA news agency reported Monday."

Yeah, gotta agree. Sounds like strange timing. the source post quotes:

"Parliaments judicial commission decided not to put some Islamic punishments including stoning in the (revised) law in line with the interests of the country,"

So this basically puts the lie to their interpretation of Sharia. It's not a Qu'ran dictated punishment, but a legal and political expediency.

Tabriz

2009-06-22T21:20:00.000+02:00

Hadn't heard anything from tabriz, where the situation was said to be bad earlier. However, this has gone up from CNN, seems it was earlier today, which shows a large crowd of riot police running away down a tabriz street. Whether this footage is today or not is unclear from the video.
The commentator that forms most of the video says this has all "the signs of a revolution".

Brave people

2009-06-22T20:53:00.001+02:00

Today's demo

Still ongoing

2009-06-22T20:41:00.001+02:00

Clashes still being reported now around 7 Tir Square & Valliasr. Gunfire too.

Karoubi's put out a statement condemning the oppression and calling on the nation to march on Thursday.

A new Tiananmen?

2009-06-22T20:25:00.002+02:00

Not Tehran now, but the Amazon. Dozens massacred at Bagua Grande in Peru a few weeks ago on June 5th when an Amazon tribal uprising was beaten back by Peruvian police. The state says 24 cops died and only 10 protesters. Activists have confirmed at least 30 dead and say hundreds are missing. Peru's PM has quit last week as a result of the outrage.

The people were protesting a law allowing for the ransacking of the Amazon. The law has been suspended whilst the anger boils.
Links to stories here:
English: Independent and here
Dutch and more
Spanish here and below:

demo news

2009-06-22T16:23:00.003+02:00

Lots happening - the mourning demo is being held anyway and has been attacked. Brave people.
Updates here:
latest is:

hafte tir, karimkhan, sanayi and laleh park are the scene of clashes between secret forces and the crowd who are wearing all black and are holding flowers in their hands.

Gotta go.

demo started

2009-06-22T13:51:00.001+02:00

Clashes reported in Ferdosi Square & Valiasr Square

update tactics

2009-06-22T13:04:00.001+02:00

This is smart:

today we have hidden cameras in good locations ready to give u film

There's a real awareness of the power of media/net that's really an object lesson for the future. This is the first major uprising in a web literate society. Lots to learn.

Who is Robert Tait?

2009-06-22T11:54:00.002+02:00

I'm getting a little mystified by The Guardian's "Man from Tehran", Robert Tait.
I heard him speaking last week on The Guardian podcast, and he was very dismissive of the protest movement. Fair enough, i thought, most of us didn't expect such an impressive display of defiance.
Then every day i seem to be reading articles by him saying how the movement is finished, like this today:

A deadly crackdown on opposition demonstrators appeared tonight to have punctured the most serious protest movement in Iran since the 1979 revolution, as an eerie quiet settled on Tehran and the regime turned its attention to more familiar enemies overseas.

Protesters who have shaken the authorities by venting anger en masse at the "stolen" elections that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to office spoke of a hiatus, even a despair, settling on the movement

This seems to echo the dubious email he passed to the Guardian blogger Mark Tran yesterday, saying that everyone had given up.
Then yesterday he also reported a false report of many dead in a metro bombing.
Now he's on the blog again:

Robert Tait, the Guardian's former Tehran correspondent, wonders whether pro-Mousavi supporters are running out of ideas.

This despite confirmation that there's a mourning demo this afternoon -backed by Karroubi - which is a direct challenge to the authorities again, that a series of strikes is about to be announced, etc...

So is Robert Tait just out of touch or something else?

Arrested

2009-06-22T11:28:00.002+02:00

Apparently the guy who runs this is under arrest.

Meanwhile - confirmed there's a 4 o'clock vigil for the martyrs today.
Friday prayers - it's said that Khamenei will again lead them, but that Rafsanjani will make a statement afterwards. Sounds like that's going to be a critical day.

More on the political manoeuvrings

2009-06-22T11:03:00.003+02:00

So I was listening to BBC World Service today, and there was a discussion on there with one of the founders of the revolutionary Guards who now lives in exile in the States. Can't remember the name, but would like to know for background.
Anyway, he said Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader's son wants the job. Over at Huff Post, there's a translation of this letter where the first time I've heard, it's said that Khamenei senior has cancer, and that's why this power struggle is happening now.
So the struggle is about the role of Supreme leader, and how that sits with the republican system and how that role has an imperial quality to it (remember, Iran has a long Imperial history - much longer than it's been islamic!).
The translation on Huffington post also says Rafsanjani wants the Supreme Leader role, but I don't think that's right, I understood it was Montazeri who was after that role.
The letter apparently also says that almost half of the Council of Experts have called for annulment of the elections.

I guess they're figuring a way to save their skins. If this carries on, they have less and less respect from the population.

The people demonstrating need to be cautious in their expectations: clerics and politicians are generally more concerned with their own welfare than the peoples'.

Al Arabiya

2009-06-22T10:35:00.003+02:00

Al Arabiya has been closed down yesterday. probably articles like this made them unpopular with the regime. It's saying that influential Iranian powers were not looking to replace the Supreme Leader but to replace the whole structure of having a supreme leader - ie swinging the other way from theocracy to full representative democracy.

They're also headlining today with:

Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi urged supporters to stage more protests over the re-election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a direct challenge to the Islamic Republic's leadership.

Especially Mousavi's quote:

The revolution http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifis your legacy. To protest against lies and fraud is your right. Be hopeful that you will get your right and do not allow others who want to provoke your anger... to prevail.

In your protests, continue to show restraint. I am expecting armed forces to avoid irreversible damage.

Other news is that it seems neda's funeral has already taken place in secret. There's supposed to be a public mourning for her at 4 today at 7 Tir Square.

last one tonite

2009-06-21T23:16:00.003+02:00

The split in the Iranian leadership is now clear. Mousavi declared a "criminal".

Seems more confirmation that Montazeri has declared 3 days of mourning (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday). He says "I express my strongest support for nation in defense of their rights".

Seen the footage tonight of the shouts from the windows and rooftops. Their fight is not over by a long way.
Guess everyone needs some sleep after yesterday's long night. I'm gonna do the same.

Crowds out

2009-06-21T21:53:00.004+02:00

It's long dark in Iran. There's been very little news getting out today, considering what's been going on, from the little bits that have come out. And virtually nothing from outside Tehran.
Alot about Neda, of course, the girl shot down in the streets yesterday. Apparently her funeral will be tomorrow - but that's unconfirmed at this time. There will be marches for the martyrs 5-7 tomorrow. Rumour that Montazeri has declared days of mourning - I find that difficult to believe. That would be tantamount to an open challenge to Khamenei.
And rumours that the strike starts tomorrow. Again, I've heard that some will strike, others that teh general strike is from Tuesday. I honestly don't think anyone's got it together to be that organised yet!

Another picture:

Not much news getting out

2009-06-21T21:41:00.002+02:00

Seems there was a big crowd outside the UN office, that's on the street where the first video today came in. last we heard though was that the mobile network was down.

And there seems to be alot of behind the scenes machinations going on.

More street footage:

Just to say...

2009-06-21T21:30:00.005+02:00

I'm not Iranian BTW! (Maybe I shouldn't say that, as apparently millions of Twitterers believe that changing the settings on their Twitter account can confuse the Iranian regime. Despite my Twitter settings say I'm in Greenland by default, which I reckon is more cunning - get all Iranian Twitterers to say they're in grenland too, and the powers that be will never work it out, surely? So I could mislead them too just by pretending this blog's from Tehran. But it isn't. Probably if I was there, I'd have even less time to write anything - I'd like to think I'd be on the streets too.)
I have loads of respect for the way people there are standing up to oppression, as I think millions of people throughout the world do. As I do for people wherever they do that. (Read back through some of the older blogs here and I hope that's clear ;-)I've managed to find a few reliable sources over the last days (and years) and am pulling together what i can.
I'm putting this stuff together partly for anyone who wants to read it and partly as a sort of instant analysis and history from a distance of a moment, and of a moment for the net, not just for Iran. This is the first time I've seen the net really push and change international agendas and in some small way put the weight of people power firmly behind an act of resistance.
The people of Iran are performing an act of heroism for all of us. Let's make it a beginning, not an end in itself. Let's make it the beginning of something honest and decent, not just another tired old step of power hungry politicians, religious zealots and more acts of betrayal...

Fantastic footage

2009-06-21T21:18:00.004+02:00

More video from today:

And here - 'Death to Khamenei'.
Notice how this is a working class population. And everyone's filming on their phones. When the net's really open again, YouTube is gona be *flooded* with footage!

from cnn

2009-06-21T15:42:00.001+02:00

Don't know if this embedding CNN player works...

quick blog

2009-06-21T15:34:00.002+02:00

Video from yesterday:

National strike called for tuesday.
More demos happening today. I've seen footage on CNN, but haven't confirmed it from today yet.
No news about that bomb in the metro. More disinformation? (if so, my apologies for reporting it!)

feeling sick

2009-06-21T14:31:00.000+02:00

gonna take a lay down for a while. Take the laptop with me...

Mousavi

2009-06-21T14:28:00.002+02:00

PersianKiwi is now twittering Mousavi. Again, he's been a reliable source so far, but no word where Mousavi's statement is from:

I did not go to meeting of Guardian Council Sat because their final decision was made on Friday b4 I go
We need advice and help to organize a National Strike Plan - if u can help post on his facebook
any person with Project Management ability or mobilization experence contact Mousavi on facebook -

OK, I've got both of those - but this is a bit unusual, to say the least!

And a real bomb?

2009-06-21T14:26:00.002+02:00

Guardian reporting:

Robert Tait, our former man in Tehran, says there are reports that a bomb has exploded in the past few minutes at Talaghani Street undergound metro station, close to the former US embassy. Reports suggest that there are many dead, though there few details or confirmation.

Seems like the fake bomb yesterday wasn't enough to distract people so the regime is trying a new tactic.

New video - says it's from Tehran today

2009-06-21T14:19:00.000+02:00

From Revolutionary Road...: All we want is a better world!

Hopefully this is from today. Hugely impressive if so.

forces of victory

2009-06-21T14:04:00.002+02:00

Looking at the footage, another thing that makes me think the regime can't depend upon the army is the relative ineffectiveness of the suppression of the protests. Not that this is anything light or anything other than terrifying and disgusting. But look at how ill equipped the Basiji militia is:

This is not Tiananmen. This is not that bloody, merciless elimination of opposition where thousands died. And I've no doubt that Khamenei would order that if he could.

Reports say Basiji are beating people on the streets today.

Khatami contd

2009-06-21T13:44:00.001+02:00

Twitter statement goes on. I've no idea what the source of this is - speech or statement

The Gov can retain respect by releasing all political prisoners and reinstating communication for the ppl
The people have spoken and we must respect that - #Iranelection - Gov cannot kill and imprison the ppl for speaking
The movement will continue

Khatami

2009-06-21T13:35:00.002+02:00

PersianKiwi - connected source apparently - is tweeting a Khatami statement:

The country is under virtual martial law
The door is still open for this Gov to speak & negoiotiate with us
The nation of Iran has spoken - The poeple are the Government
The Law of the Constitution must be respected - The people must decide
the Gov must refrain from suppressing the nation & people of Iran with force
beating suppressing and arresting of our people will make the situation worse for the Gov - it must stop -

This is huge. Khatami has spoken out against Khamenei. Has threatened the regime. I think this means Khamenei has lost the military.

Story from yesterday

2009-06-21T13:27:00.003+02:00

Really good email, from a university professor at yesterday's demo on Guardian site. Sounds genuine.

Raised a question in me. What happened on the Tehran University campus last night? I haven't heard anything since late, when there was a rumour that helicopters were landing. Have to assume Basiji or police attacked. But I haven't heard anything yet - which is either very good or very bad.

more footage from yesterday

2009-06-21T13:07:00.003+02:00

Fuller footage of some that was seen yesterday, showing the crowd gathering. And despite the title, not at all violent.

Lolagar Mosque

2009-06-21T12:28:00.003+02:00

Seems the regime has retracted its comments about people dying in Lolagar mosque. Seems rather dubious, as they'd earlier claimed that protesters had set it on fire - despite the news coming out last night that Basiji had done it. I think we'll hear more about this.
Meanwhile, as I suspected, the stories about embassies taking in injured demonstrators also weren't true. CNN twitter reports:

Both UK & Dutch embassy said news of them taking in injured #iranelection protesters is not true. Desk here calling other embassies.

Guardian Liveblog has a very dodgy sounding quote from "a reader":

I think the mood Matthew after yesterday (I was there at the demo, where the atmosphere was very tense and eventually turned violent), is a feeling that "it's all over". There is a feeling that this opposition movement has now fizzled out. The shouts of 'Allah o Akbar' at night are expected to continue and sporadic violent clashes on the streets will persist for a while after sunset. However, the general consensus is that there will be no more mass demonstrations or any organized opposition. Most people have resigned themselves to this line of thinking.

Remarkably good English and in total contrast to everything else I'm hearing. There is no way someone with this level of English is a "normal person". I'd be near certain that this is a weak attempt at disinformation. But I'm not surprised the Guardian's fallen for it. Most of the mainstream media is way behind the curve on these events. BBC this morning was still reporting "it appears several protestors have been injured" despite news of many deaths already being widespread.
AP is currently reporting that State TV has said at least 20 died (Correction: that include the 7 official deaths last weekend). Quite unexpected for State TV to be saying this so openly. I suspect there's also a power struggle going on there - without knowing who's going to win, the State TV guys will want to be cautious - and of course some of the lower level journalists will be very sympathetic to the resistance.

Further, news that Faezeh Rafsanjani has been arrested. It seems that she's still being held - which can be taken as a direct challenge to Rafsanjani to publicly take sides. (He wasn't present at Friday prayers when Khamenei spoke, which was pretty damning in itself).

sunday morning

2009-06-21T09:31:00.003+02:00

Had to go to bed last night, felt so rough with a cold. it pathetic really, seeing what people in Iran are going through - but it's not like I'm actually doing anything to help! I can't see that they'd miss me ;-)
A couple of photos from Azadi Square yesterday afternoon:
I haven't seen the latest news yet. There were reports of 30-40 dead in tehran alone - that was nearly 12 hours ago. Dread to think where we are now. But I did catch on the news that Moussavi hasn't backed down.

Incidentally, my PC is playing silly buggers this morning. I was joking to Es about Basiji in the computer. I notice that Huff Post and Guardian are both also playing up. Don't know if that's me or them yet.

More martyrs

2009-06-20T20:22:00.002+02:00

And soon the next march for the martyrs. I don't see how the regime can survive. I guess a key question is, what will the military do?
Most of the violence so far is from the police and the Basiji. Will the army stand or shoot?

Daily Dish

2009-06-20T19:57:00.003+02:00

Good comment from Andrew Sullivan here:
"These are moments in history whose salience it is simply impossible to know as they happen. But today has already demonstrated both the total bankruptcy of the current Iranian regime and the immense bravery, humanity and genius of the Iranian people."

More dead

2009-06-20T19:40:00.003+02:00

Lots of reports of deaths coming in unfortunately. This from Demotix

"The Basij and Sepah forces, seen in this picture, after shooting into the air, directly shot two young protesters in the West of Tehran. I saw one of two that they shot in his head. The ambulance did not take him because they said he was dead so people take him to another place."

There are a couple of YouTube films around of a young woman who has been shot, dying on the street. I won't link them here, as they're very unpleasant and are around plenty on professional news blogs. Distressing though, and have already roused alot of online emotion.

More barricades here.

2009-06-20T19:02:00.002+02:00

One report says "Bassij deflagrate Lolagar Mosque at Azarbaijan St. where People hiding from their attack."
Another says that "Protesters were inside the mosque in Tehran, Azerbaijan St. which is now in fire"

More reports of street battles going on everywhere. Some twitter sources seem to have trouble connecting. Otehrs though are getting through.

"Tehran is on fire tonight"

2009-06-20T18:48:00.001+02:00

From Salon.com a short piece of news. "Tehran is on fire tonight"

embassies

2009-06-20T18:44:00.002+02:00

Reports everywhere to take injured to European embassies, and giving out the addresses. I strongly doubt if this is European policy, but I imagine all those diplomats will have a right old time. They won't want to get involved, but they can't turn people away either. This is a smart way of pulling in European powers.

Revolutionary Road...: Minute by minute with Revolution!

2009-06-20T18:38:00.001+02:00

Best live reports now.Revolutionary Road...: Minute by minute with Revolution!

Fighting

2009-06-20T18:29:00.004+02:00

Reports of fighting and gunfire all over Tehran; all over Iran. From footage that'scoming in now crowds are actually advancing. People are fighting back. I think it's getting dark there now, people are being called into the streets.
Hitting a critical mass tonight. The regime may not survive the night.

new footage

2009-06-20T18:20:00.001+02:00

Unattributed, but looks like it's from today. People on the streets. This is really the "ant's eye" view that has been discussed in the OpEds.

azadi

2009-06-20T17:57:00.002+02:00

Been out all day. Followed events on the mobile. Things have gone insane - Khamanei's threats yesterday have backfired. Now he's the one they want rid of.
Death to the dictator.
Unconfirmed date/location - supposedly Tehran today.
Mousavi said to be speaking to teh crowd now - prepared for martyrdom.

demo June 16thoutside government TV

2009-06-17T12:44:00.003+02:00

Again from m

esfehan

2009-06-17T12:41:00.003+02:00

Naghshe Jahan Sq / Esfehan
Again from m

2009-06-17T10:40:00.002+02:00

Attacking Basiji compound.
I guess this guy's distributing videos.

You Tube

2009-06-17T10:12:00.002+02:00

Day off again, so am catching up again.
Will today be the YouTube day?
Twitter is full of garbage again now - back to usual then ;-) But for a day or two there, there was a glimpse of a better idea.

no news is?

2009-06-15T22:43:00.003+02:00

Gotta say though that the twitterfeed could still use some more efficient filtering. I must have seen hundreds of links to the same photos. There seems to be only a small handful of english language sources of info still active. Probably not much more in Farsi. Could be just me I suppose at the end of a long day.
I hope that the people over there keep strong and safe. I think they've hugely impressed and inspired people all over the world and I hope they know how much people are behind them.

Meanwhile, Channel Four keeps its reputation as one of the few sources of news in the mainstream media (or MSM as I see it's now being acronymed)

latest

2009-06-15T22:12:00.002+02:00

Iranians confirming reports of street battles in various towns. National strike called for tomorrow. Basiji HQ petrol bombed (don't know if that's the one at Azadi Sq.).

update

2009-06-15T21:41:00.002+02:00

persiankiwi is back online, reports "were attacked in streets by mob on motorbikes with batons - firing guns into air - streetfires all over town - roads closed"

Sounds like the sort of chaos you'd expect there now. Battles in the streets, night and nobody knows.

It's on a completely different scale, but the cricket's back & exciting.

Ramblings

more

More from London

Student demos 9th Dec

The Signal: در پل حافظ ( پل كالج) چه گذشت؟ صحنه هائی از نبرد قهرمانانه مردم با اوباش رژیم

Quiet

Green revolution

Come and wet this truncheon

back from the canvas

Coming and going

off again

Been away

On holiday

The revolution is here

Daily

Surprise!

update

more video from the 24th

Oh and...

Swedish embassy occupied?

No news is bad news

Moussavi

street fighting

more already

Quiet

news report

this from yesterday

From Moussavi on facebook

Coming to a head

No shit

tomorrow

another martyr

reliable info

unclear

wtf happened?

Tomorrow's protest cancelled?

Won't stop people

update

Shooting

Tear gas

Pictures from last Thursday

More on today's demo

Impending demo

Again the media

Rock the bazaar

Is this the argument between Britain and Iran?

Demos here and there

Fisk

So is today a strike?

What to do?

wag the dog

before sleep

Tabriz

More video from June 22nd

Brave people

Still ongoing

A new Tiananmen?

demo news

demo started

update tactics

Who is Robert Tait?

Arrested

More on the political manoeuvrings

Al Arabiya

last one tonite

Crowds out

Not much news getting out

Just to say...

Fantastic footage

more video

from cnn

quick blog

feeling sick

Mousavi

And a real bomb?

New video - says it's from Tehran today

forces of victory

Khatami contd

Khatami

Story from yesterday