open Democracy News Analysis - democracy & iran - Comments

Drez on "Iran’s unfinished crisis"

Drez — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:30:36 +0000

There seems to be two sides to most arguments and the current situation in Iran is no different.
Repression and moving toward a police state is to be countered where ever it can, but we should not forget that Ahmadinejad won the vote by a huge percentage.
Even taking into account the objections put forward by the opposition after the election the likelihood of fraud on that scale is minuscule at best. I don't believe their official objections even raised the question that there were 10 million fraudulent votes (that was left to the Western media).
There have been a number of unbiased assessments internationally which also concur with this view.
Ahmadinejad did win the election which has proven very unpopular for large swathes of Iranian society (not least the middle class in Tehran). He is a conservative hard-liner and part of a regime that has shown it will use great force to quash any opposition. This is bound to cause huge internal political issues.
But the other side of this is the large covert operation relentlessly hammering the Iranians from abroad. There are those in the West (and Israel) that will stop at nothing to destroy the Iranian Republic.
It is a double edged sword, so what do you do?
Build a stronger opposition, but build it politically. Weak oppositions always lead to poor governments. Not an easy task in Iran at the moment. Good luck.

Davide1982 on "Iran: revolution for the hereafter"

Davide1982 — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:55:39 +0000

Most of Iranians are really fed up with local authorities and laws which are unbearable anymore. Below is the list of main restrictions enforced in Iran that may turn the life of average American into real nightmare:

http://www.myhowtoos.com/en/red-hot/89-10-reasons-you-would-never-live-in-iran

bigC on "The archaeology of Iran’s regime"

bigC — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:05:00 +0000

Despite Big C, there would almost certainly have been a run-off if the
election had been honestly run.

There is no evidence to support this. The only independent Poll conducted in Iran prior to the poll ( http://www.smh.com.au/world/independent-opinion-poll-backs-official-result-20090616-cgkl.html ) actually give Ahmadinejad a bigger margin than the official result.

It is inconceivable, for instance, that
the minor candidates, who received millions of votes last time, and one
of whom is ethnically based, would not have received similar scale of
votes this time, enough to force A-jad into a run-off.

Why is it "inconceivable"? Are you saying that it is unknown for voter bases to collapse from one election to another? And what is the "ethnically based" point supposed to mean? Are you suggesting that Iranians are incapable of voting according to anything but ethnic allegiance? If you are referring to the Azeris it is clear that the majority of them are rural, poor and deeply religious, the very people this obnoxious little man targeted and campaigned amongst. It is perfectly "conceivable" that he would have beaten the equally repellent Mousavi in this constituency - though he did not beat him in his own district.

How come your post starts with exactly the same passage as another poster - complete with the same grammatical errors. are we quoting without acknowledging professor?

leili on "Iran’s election: people and power "

leili — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:49 +0000

I see that the news of Iran are reflected to western people falsified. There are many things you don't know about Iran. for example : Iranian rich people support Musavi. they live in Tehran and big cities. Ahmadinejad's supporters are living in villages and small cities. they are majority but many of them haven't internet and couldn't say their opinion to world. Western reporters and cameras are in Tehran and they couldn't see the real majority

Dieter Heymann on "Iran: a green wave for life and liberty "

Dieter Heymann — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:53:29 +0000

Let me assume that the "green wave" ultimately wins and brings about democratic regime change in Iran. What will happen next? If the results of successful democratic revolutions against repressive governments of the past 30 years in Poland, South Africa, and Russia are lessons I pity the Iranian people. The first thing to happen will be a gigantic "yard sale" of Iran's wealth, especially of oil and gas. Unemployment will rise dramatically and the number of people below the poverty line will also grow. New unrest against the sellout will be violently repressed by a Shah-like government a la Boris Yeltsin.

Syrian in London on "Arabs and the Iranian upheaval"

Syrian in London — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:41:05 +0000

I am curious to know how this article could have been written without any mention of the very lively contributions of Azmi Bishara and Hamid Dabashi
in this debate, and Hussein Ibish's critique? Without referring to these sources, this piece is weak.

See also Hamid Dabashi’s The Arab Roaming the Streets of Tehran.

Abigailhrek on "The archaeology of Iran’s regime"

Abigailhrek — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:34:31 +0000

Remember SAVAK, the dreaded secret police of the Shah? Well, along with
many about a dozen other secret police organizations in the current
Iranan 'Mukhabarat' State, we also have VEVAK, the dreaded secret
police. Plus ca change, eh?

http://ezinearticles.com/?id=2513600

jjgol on "The archaeology of Iran’s regime"

jjgol — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:21:54 +0000

I think this is great analysis and I am sure Moussavi had more than enough support in Iran to have won the election. I was there in Iran in the weeks leading up to the election. Also, if the same president was going to win again why would so many more people turn up to vote to set a record in participation. It would not make sense to assume they all came out to elect the incumbent president. The turnout at this election was truly a recordbreaking one, that dwarfed the first time Khatami got elected.

nasrin on "Iran’s quantum of solace: step back, look long "

nasrin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:18:08 +0000

Great title and equally good insight into what the Iranian's and those who support them fear and feel.

mahasti on "The archaeology of Iran’s regime"

mahasti — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:28:53 +0000

In my earlier comment I said that on first arriving in Iran [from Paris], Khomeini flew to Qom; he actually flew to the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.

syed salamah ali on "The archaeology of Iran’s regime"

syed salamah ali — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:33:19 +0000

This op-ed piece is one of the same kind appearing in Western M$M. There is wishful thinking, too many comparisons to events past and philosophy, Western Philosophy! The event took place in Iran in an exclyusively Iranian context and can only be understood correctly and rightfully by Iranians on Iranian soil. The Iranian 'emigre' in America and Europe led by the rich Jewish Iranian emigre and 'crocodile tear' shedding Impostor to the Throne of Persia and by the 18,000 Israel based TWITS did not succeed in getting the "regime change" they had so carefully planned even with the US$100 million CIA allocation for demonizing, destabilizing and creating civil unrest.SEVEN were killed. How sad! And the Joan of Arc was on her way to a Gym. How many are being killed daily by the IDF since 1948? Weren't these the same Iranians which the Israelis and Americans were and still are itching to bomb, bomb, bomb to the Stone Age. Yeah, the same city slickers who have now become so dear to Western M$M.

Ethan II on "The archaeology of Iran’s regime"

Ethan II — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:57:26 +0000

Remember SAVAK, the dreaded secret police of the Shah? Well, along with many about a dozen other secret police organizations in the current Iranan 'Mukhabarat' State, we also have VEVAK, the dreaded secret police. Plus ca change, eh?

Well, at least the Iranian Revolution had the support of philosopher Michel Foucault...And A-jad still has the enthusiastic support of Galloway M.P.

Have there been prominent people on the left who, contrary to Galloway M.P., have sternly condemned what happened in Iran after June 12? Have there been mass demos in London, as there were about Gaza?

Despite Big C, there would almost certainly have been a run-off if the election had been honestly run. It is inconceivable, for instance, that the minor candidates, who received millions of votes last time, and one of whom is ethnically based, would not have received similar scale of votes this time, enough to force A-jad into a run-off.

Mozzafar on "Iran’s quantum of solace: step back, look long "

Mozzafar — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:36:24 +0000

Well balanced and soundly approached. Enjoyed the essay as it reflects the essence of what is taking place in the streets of the capital.

mahasti on "The archaeology of Iran’s regime"

mahasti — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:35:55 +0000

I agree with the author's overall analysis and comparisons between 1979 & 2009. But in stating that "...at its heart the revolution of 1979 was - like today's movement - a humanist one; and that the gradual rise to power of despots like Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad represent not its fulfilment, but its betrayal and forgetting," he fails to point out that the process of dehumanization was anything but gradual. Counter-humanism started the moment when Khomeini landed in Iran and directed his helicopter to take him to Qom instead of to Tehran University as previously scheduled. To add flesh to the symbolic gesture, Khomeini then ordered the execution of ancien regime figures at a school in Tehran without a trial.

Let's not forget that Mousavi's leadership, incredibly effective and courageous as it has been, is hardly a reflection of a humanist ideal. The current movement needs to reject the contradictory notion of an "Islamic republic" and morph into a fully anti-totalitarian, humanistic platform. If not, history will repeat itself and the next generation of Iranians will inherit a duplicate Khomeini artifact.

jdubow on "The archaeology of Iran’s regime"

jdubow — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:11:13 +0000

Stealing an election that would have been won anyway is a common miscalculation by corrupt regimes. Think of Richard Nixon and his Watergate team, an unneeded action that led to ruin and dishonor. Such miscalculation does, however, serve as a scavenger function that devours necrotic political organizations.