Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Iranian Election Fraud Riots (Day Five)

Update (6/18/2009):Berman Post: Iranian Election Fraud Riots (Day Six). End of Update:

Let me start the post with some inspirational protest crowd shots: http://img504.yfrog.com/i/2d1.jpg, http://twitpic.com/7mjyt .

As you can see, the protest are continuing as the death toll continues to rise (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE55F54520090617?sp=true and http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/world/middleeast/18iran.html?_r=1&hp).

Videos embedded below. (from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html)









Videos embedded below. (from http://hotair.com/archives/2009/06/17/video-under-fire-iranian-protesters-storm-basij-complex)





In what may be the first real promising sign of a real impact, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri said: ""No one in their right mind can believe" the official results from Friday's contest, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri said of the landslide victory claimed by Ahmadinejad. Montazeri accused the regime of handling Mousavi's charges of fraud and the massive protests of his backers "in the worst way possible."

"A government not respecting people's vote has no religious or political legitimacy," he declared in comments on his official Web site. "I ask the police and army personals (personnel) not to 'sell their religion,' and beware that receiving orders will not excuse them before God."
" (http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iran/story/70155.html). Full letter at http://kojayi.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/ayatollah-montazeris-letter.

A proposing rumor is that the Revolutionary Guard is refusing to mobilize and move against the protesters (http://www.nypost.com/seven/06172009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/iran_in_crisis__an_ayatollah_undone_174574.htm?page=0). I think the report of the Guard being deployed for a crack down is much more likely (http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6137). Then again, there are reports of Iran importing thugs to help beat down the protesters, Hamas specifically (http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2009/06/hamas-helping-ahmadinejad-quell-revolt.html).

Robert Kagan says that Obama is siding against the protesters (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061601753.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns).

If that is so, he will not be following Dan Senor and Christian Whiton's advice on how to promote freedom in Iran (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124520276223621661.html).

The Iranian leadership feels differently, or at least thinks they have a handy excuse/distraction by blaming America with interfering for the protests (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124523854750623001.html and http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE55F6FV20090617).

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/288654.php has the reaction of the state department, and his reaction (Language Warning):

"This is so insulting and clueless only a 'diplomat' could have said it.



The State Department strongly rejected claims that the U.S. was interfering in the disputed June 12 election, pointing out that diplomats from other countries had also been summoned.

"I suspect we are in good company. As the president has said, we are not interfering in the debate that Iranians are having about their election and its aftermath," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. "This is not about the United States."



Hey jackass...a government that is in the process of killing its own citizens is not engaging in debate. It's called murderous repression you feckless crapweasel*.

"

Canada and Germany join France standing with the protesters (http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/06/canada-joins-sarkozy-condemns-evil.html).

Michael Totten says that in that with all the powerful imagery of the protests, we missed the real revolution, or more accurately coup; "“In the most dramatic turnabout since the 1979 revolution,” they wrote, “Iran has evolved from theocratic state to military dictatorship.”

If this analysis is correct – and right now, it looks like it is – the White House may need to start over from scratch. Iran is the same country it was a week ago, but it no longer has quite the same government.
" (http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/totten/70242).

A picture is making the rounds which 'proves' the election was rigged. I can not read Arabic, but the explanation is that the photo is two screen shots of the vote counting, and it shows a decrease in the vote total of one of the opposition candidates. Not a decrease in percentage, but decrease in the total number of votes they had received (http://loft965.com/2009/06/17/picture-that-proves-iran-election-rigging).

Not all the crowd pictures are real. One such image found by http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/33954_Iranian_Fauxtography_Watch appears to have been enhanced to make the crowd look larger. It is hard to tell, but I think that is a pro-Ahmadinejad rally. That is admittedly little more then a guess on my part based on what I have seen people at different rallies holding. Someone who agrees with my assessment at http://www.hurryupharry.org/2009/06/17/ahmadinejads-millions-of-photoshopped-supporters.

Another warning not to be to swept up with every rumor at http://trueslant.com/joshuakucera/2009/06/15/what-if-we-are-all-wrong-about-iran.

'Go Green' for the Iranian protesters. If you follow me on Twitter (Twitter.com/BermanPost) or if you glance at the blog title at the top of the page, you will notice that I have gone green. It is not in support Mousavi. If Mousavi would have won and there had been no protests, he almost certainly would have continued on the path Ahmadinejad was on. I am green in support of the people, in support of a real Democratic movement in Iran that was all but unthinkable no more then a week ago. A movement that could lead to real change in a country that really needs it.

Put more eloquently (http://hotair.com/archives/2009/06/17/video-iranian-protests-gaining-steam-despite-crackdown): "However, and this is the point that Obama and others miss, the Iranian protests have the potential to go beyond Mousavi — which is why the mullahs want to suppress them. The Iranian people have begun to awaken to the fact that they can be more powerful than the mullahcracy that has oppressed them for 30 years. If the protests continue to grow in number, Mousavi will eventually become a footnote as Iran frees itself from tyranny and grasps self-determination.

No one is cheering on Mousavi — we’re cheering the Iranian people. And we’re frankly puzzled why the leader of the free world has yet to do so.
"

More info on helping the protesters for newbies at http://reunifygally.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/help-iran.

Given that they are being threatened against using twitter, they may need it (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5561345/Iranians-warned-not-to-use-sites-such-as-Twitter.html). The bloggers and webmasters are also being threatened (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/tehran-threatens-bloggers-deviant-news-sites).

More info on the cyberway at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090617/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election_media_2 and an update at http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/web-attacks-expand-in-irans-cyber-battle.

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Iranian Election Viewed as Rigged
Berman Post: Iranian Election Fraud Protest (NYC)
Berman Post: Iranian Riots Continue
Berman Post: Iranian Election Fraud Riots (Day Three)
Berman Post: Iranian Election Fraud Riots (Day Four)
Berman Post: Iranian Election Fraud Protest at Union Square (NYC)

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