One Nation Under Mullahs

It is the beginning of the end for the Islamic artifice in Iran. Days, weeks, months, years from now, we will know the full story, but we have seen the opening act - and it came with a bang. Unlike the previous tyrants, these ones will not go away so quietly. And nobody expected them to.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian security forces fired warning shots in Tehran on Monday and beat opposition protesters among thousands seeking to renew their challenge to the government six months after a disputed election, witnesses said.

The Guardian - It's not easy getting a clear picture of what's happening in Iran these days: correspondents from western news organisations have not been granted visas since June's disputed presidential elections; the few accredited foreign journalists still in Tehran face severe restrictions; and international attention focuses mostly on the nuclear issue, with occasional diversions like the saga of the young British yachtsmen who strayed into Iranian waters.

Yet there's no shortage of information from individual Iranians who manage to keep in touch with the wider world, by phone, email and social networking sites. Opposition websites such as Mowjcamp and Tehran Bureau do a good job of reporting and aggregating news. It's mostly bad and adds up to a big picture of continuing repression of activists associated with the opposition, still striving to keep up the protests that began when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed victory over Mir Hossein Mousavi. National University Students Day next Monday looks likely to be marked by more rallies on campuses. The defiant mood is caught by a powerful new song by classical artistes Shajarian and Parisa demanding "justice for injustice".

BEIRUT, Lebanon (NY Times) — Iran’s broadest and most violent protest in months spilled over into a second day on Tuesday, as bloody clashes broke out on university campuses between students chanting antigovernment slogans and the police and Basij militia members.

As the scale of Monday’s demonstrations became clearer, Tehran’s police chief announced that 204 people had been arrested in the capital, the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported. The clashes took place on campuses in cities across the country, as students and opposition members took advantage of National Student Day to vent their rage despite a lengthy and wide-ranging government effort to forestall them.

Protesters march at Tehran University on December 7, 2009.


Students start a fire to lessen the effects of tear gas.