Iranian protests continue
The Iranian people are continuing their protests against the government and the results from Saturday’s election. For all intents and purposes, current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed the protests, calling them nothing more than “passions after a soccer match”, but it appears they could grow into something more. Several prominent reformists, including some former government leaders, are adding their voices to the din of protests, saying the government is not legitimate if it ignores the will of the people. Possibly the best known of these dissidents is Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. According to The Associated Press, he had this to say about the election.
A government that is based on intervening in (people’s) vote has no political or religious legitimacy.
As for the response of the current government, they are cracking down on journalists and their reporting of the protests. Foreign journalists have been warned to stay in their offices and not report on the ongoing demonstrations. Ten Iranian journalists have also been detained and their whereabouts are unknown at this time. The Revolutionary Guard has also warned of a crackdown against websites who have aligned themselves with Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate who lost in a landslide to Ahmadinejad and who is convinced the election was rigged.
There is another part of this story that I want to mention as well. Some bloggers have been questioning if we should support Mousavi, saying he would continue Iran’s march towards nuclear weapons, Hamas and Hezbollah would still be funded by Iran, military expansion by Iran would continue, etc. While all of that may be true, that should not be the point here. While he may not be any better for the United States than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it seems to be clear that the Iranian people want him to be President, no matter what the election results are saying. It is their country and their President. Shouldn’t they have the final say in the matter?
You see, I have this strange sense of fairness about me and what all boils down to is not our interests in the region. This is a struggle of a people who are trying to break free from a totalitarian government. It just seems fair to me that we should show that support. The hands of the United States government are tied, at least to some degree. They obviously can not send any kind of military support and their words and rhetoric can only do so much. We, the people of the United States, can do so much more, even if it is only showing our solidarity with the Iranian people. In my way of thinking, they deserve our support.
Larry, from what I understand the other factor in this scenario is the decision of the Mullahs whether to intervene or to side with the current regime. It does seem strange, does it not, to see Iran not for its threat but as a real nation in a turmoil that we can only hope works out.
rhbee´s last blog ..Votes don’t matter nor voters neither
I agree, rhbee. In reality, I have never viewed the Iranian people themselves as a threat. Their government is a different matter altogether. These protests could be the turning point in how much influence those people actually have in their government.