Twitter, Paulo Coelho, Facebook, were instrumental in getting information out of Iran over these last few weeks that the evil Supreme Being has ordered a clampdown on what little democracy exists in Iran. Should they not be joint recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize?

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/07/434151.html
http://www.indymedia.org/en/2009/07/926569.shtml

Also see

http://www.worker-communistpartyofiran.blogspot.com/

for some amazing film footage of women on the front line in Iran

Keith

I was a frequent reader of your works translated by Arash since at least ten years ago when I was a high school student. Indeed I have read all of your books published until a few years ago and your words have always been inspiring to me. I read about Arash Hejazi today when for the first time I saw his name (and not only his image), and it sounded quite familiar to me, so I got to your blog to double check.

It’s unfortunate the incidences which have happened in Iran. People are certainly risking their lives to reach some fundamental humanistic freedom, which is of course much respectable. However, knowing my country quite well, I believe the election is only an excuse for the opposition to show its resentment. Don’t tell me the election was rigged while every candidate had more than forty thousands monitors at the polling stations!! We have always had election disputes in Iran and will continue to have it over the next century. I can only trust the opposition as much as I trust the government itself when it comes to the issue of election fraud.

And It doesn’t matter to me so much that 70-80 percent of the people in capital has voted for the opposition, what matters to me is that at least 70 percent of the lower class population has voted for the current government. I’m from a small city in Iran where 80 percent has voted to Ahmadinejad and this is absolutely understandable for me. In such a small city the cultural freedom that Tehranis are seeking are not even appealing to the youth whose major problems are tradition and economy. I don’t mean that Ahmadinejad has managed the economy very well, but I mean that the opposition has only made the election an excuse in order to go to the streets and demand its social freedom, as this is their only chance to raise their voice.

Any way, I’ve become totally disappointed of the reform movement in Iran, as I believe now the reformists and the university youth are insulting the vulnerable lower middle class population. They still haven’t learnt that they can’t overtake the pace of history while the rest of their country demands something else (Khatami also thought so but couldn’t do much!). They are of course a big population 40% but not the majority yet! I’m talking within the framework of the system, though, I don’t mean people are satisfied with the ‘regime’ (no one likes their government!); I mean within this system, the reformists have only been able to attract 40% of the people.

So I’m afraid I don’t have much affinity with the likes of Arash or Neda who dispute the vote of their vulnerable compatriots. After all, those who advocate ‘being a warrior of light’ should base their battle on the right principles! I believe these twitter savvy youth who organize the protests should be sent to exile to remote villages so that they learn that they are not the only ones living in this country. Although I appreciate the demand of these youth, I’m only with them when they get a better understanding of the true demands of the vulnerable and poor Iranians.

Aatash

love
amir reza