August 6, 2009 Protest

Tehran Bazar, 14 Mordad (5 AUG)

Inauguration Expected To Spark More Unrest In Iran

National Public Radio – August 3, 2009

By Mike Schuster Read the rest of this entry »

Special Guards, Tehran, 8 Mordad (30 July) 18:30

Fighting people & police in Vanak SQ–8 Mordad 88

Mosala protest July 30th 2009

Sohrab Erabi: a new martyr for Iran’s protesters?

The teenager disappeared June 15, when hundreds of thousands rallied in Tehran. Officials notified his mother of his death only on Saturday, despite her repeated inquiries at courts and prisons.

By Iason Athanasiadis | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor from the July 13, 2009 edition

Athens – In Iran, the burial Monday of 19-year-old student Sohrab Erabi has caused a fresh flood of sympathy similar to that occasioned by the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman whose death at a protest last month was caught on video and watched by millions around the world. Read the rest of this entry »

Protest in Front of the HS Building

Iran Protesters Take to Streets Despite Threats

Marchers shouted slogans Thursday and made victory signs in Tehran, where protests were called to commemorate 1999 clashes between students and the police. For more photos, click on image. (Photo: European Pressphoto Agency)

By Michael Slackman, published in the New York Times on July 9, 2009

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. Read the rest of this entry »

IRAN:  Women at Forefront of Popular Defiance

By Sara Farhang

Iran is home to one of the most vibrant women’s movements in the region. (Photo credit: faramarz/flickr/creative commons)

TEHRAN, Jun 25, 2009 (IPS) – When tens of thousands of protesters braved the ongoing government crackdown to gather in Tehran’s Baharestan Square in front of the Parliament building Wednesday in response to a call by supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, they were met with some of the harshest violence seen since Iran’s post-election turmoil erupted nearly two weeks ago. Read the rest of this entry »

The Gandhian Moment

Ramin Jahanbegloo – published in Dissent Magazine on June 20, 2009

WITH THE refusal of Iran’s political establishment to re-run the elections, more repression and violence seems inevitable. However, what we are witnessing since the first demonstrations against the results of the presidential elections might very well be considered as a major nonviolent movement in a Gandhian style. There is already an evident similarity between the civil disobedience movement in today’s Iran and successful nonviolent movements led by Gandhi in India in the 1920-1940s and Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States in the 1950-1960s.
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Speaking out against violence in the Iranian Parliament

On June, 28, 2009, Masoud Pezeshkian, a member of Iran’s parliament spoke out against violence and torture.  (Video is in Farsi with English in closed captions.)

Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian speaks against government actions in Majlis by using Imam Ali as the example. Imam Ali is the son in law of Prophet Mohammad and is considered the role model of Iranian citizens. His birthday is celebrated as father’s day in Iran. Dr. Pezeshkian in his speech uses Imam Ali’s letter to Malek Ashtar that specifically tells him what he should not do just because he is in position of power exactly what the government of Iran has been doing these past few days.

Dear All,

Despite the continuation of uncertainty, and the heavy presence of anti-riot police on the streets of Tehran and other major cities, all the correspondence from the country shows that the general mood is improving. Somehow people have crossed the threshold of fear. But the main reason is that although large demonstrations are not allowed anymore, other events indicate that this protest is far from over.  I hope this window brings you some of the reasons for this interpretation.

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