Breaking News: Iranian Protesters Rout Police; Rumor: Split in the Revolutionary Guard? Update: Neda’s Fiancé Interviewed
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on June 22, 2009
Quite a bit has changed in Tehran since the bloody violence from this past weekend. Has a split developed in the revolutionary guard? Are the assaults lessening? What about Pres. Ahmandinejad’s newest threats against the civilian protesters? Are the people’s cries for democracy and justice and human rights being listened to? Around the world, yes, there is great interest and concern, but, not here by our president… Obama is reportedly planning a family vacation at Martha’s Vineyard, per New York Magazine, so he’s got important vacation-stuff details to iron out, dontcha know. Quit being a hater…
Democrats and Republicans are both unhappy with Obama’s weak, casual position on Iran; upset that he doesn’t show support for the citizen freedom fighters in Iran:
The Plum Line: Report: Hillary And Biden Want Obama To Talk Tougher On Iran
Free Republic: Internal Discord Over Obama’s Iran Response? (Biden/Hillary Team Up & Throw Obama Under the Bus)
USA Today: Obama’s reticence on Iran stirs stew of opinion
Today, MSNBC: McCain: Obama needs to get tougher on Iran
FOX Politics: McCain Faults Obama for Cautious Response to Disputed Outcome of Iran’s Election
Michelle Malkin: Iran showdown: “Supreme Leader” tries to quell rebellion; US Congress does what Obama won’t
CNN: Who was Neda? Slain woman unlikely martyr
From Hot Air:
According to unconfirmed reports in Balatarin [Farsi], Gen. Ali Fazli, the head of revolutionary guards in Tehran, has been arrested after refusing to execute Khamenei’s order of using force against demonstrators in Tehran. He is a war veteran who lost an eye during the Iran-Iraq war.
Update: The regime counters Mousavi’s call for a strike by reportedly announcing that anyone who doesn’t come to work tomorrow is fired.
Neda, killed in cold blood during Iranian protest
Portions of the translated interview with Neda’s financé. Neda was killed during the protest and has become a symbol for the Iranian people of the freedom from oppression that they demand:
Kasamin Makan, Neda Agha-Setan’s fiancee, was interviewed by BBC Persia, noting that Neda would have turned 27 this year. “Neda’s goal was not Mousavi or Ahmadinejad, it was her country and was important for her to fight for this goal. She had said many times that if she had lost her life or been shot in the heart, which indeed what happened, it was important for her to continue in this path,” he said.
Considering her young age she has taught a lesson to us all.
Mr. Makan said regarding the day of the event: “When this happened Neda, was away from the front lines, in smaller alleys near Amir Abbad. She had been in the car with her music instructor for an hour in traffic. She got tired of the heat in the car and they decided to walk. However, based on the distributed pictures by people, there had been Basijis in civilian clothes present in the area and one of them had shot her in the heart.”
About the day of the incident, Mr. Makan said: “When the clashes were occurring, Neda was far away from the demonstrations, she was in one of the side alleys near Amir Abad. Thirsty and tired or being cooped up for about an hour in the car in heavy traffic with her music instructor, she finally gets out of the car and, based on the pictures sent in by the people, armed forces in civilian clothes and the Basiji targeted and shot her in the heart.”
“It was over in a matter of minutes, the Shariati Hospital was nearby, the people around her tried to bring her to the emergency room by car, but before that could even happen she died in her instructor’s arms.”
Mr. Makan added: “We got her body back finally yesterday with some difficulties. Of course, her body was not at the Tehran Coroner but at a one outside of Tehran. The medical examiners wanted parts of her body, including a portion of her femoral bone but the chief medical examiner would not say why and no explanations were ever given.”
“Finally the family consented just so they could get her body back as soon as possible, since just this issue could have resulted in delaying the reception of the body. We buried the body in a small area in the Zahra Cemetery in the late afternoon of 31 Khordad. Also, they had brought in other people who had been killed in the protests so it seemed that the whole event was scheduled to be such.”
About payment for releasing the remains, Mr. Makan had this to say: “No specific amount has been paid at this time, although hospitals, clinics, surgeons and medical examiners have been ordered by the Iranian security services, based on various orders, not to list ‘bullet wound’ as the cause of death on the death certificate in order to prevent the families from filing international complaints in the future. I haven’t seen the release notice of Neda’s remains yet, but I will obtain it from her father in the coming days.”
Mr. Makan regarding government ban of memorial service for Neda Agha Setan said: “We were going to hold her memorial Monday 1st of Tir at 2:30 PM at a mosque at Sharyati street north of Seyed Khandan. But Basijis and mosque officials refused our request for her memorial service so to avoid further public confrontation and instability. They knew that Neda was an died innocently, and people in Iran and the international community are informed of that fact. So they decided to avoid a situation where a mass rally would take place. In any way, we do not have permission for a memorial service for now.”
However, many eye witnesses told BBC Persia that a large gathering took place with the intention of performing a memorial service at Al Reza Mosque at Nilofar square in Tehran. But the security forces intervened by throwing people out of the mosque and intervening with the service…
Hot Air: Neda identified? Update: New details
How It Began Last Week… Protest Against Bogus Iranian Elections – Tehran, Iran, 13 June 2009
Defiant Tehran protesters battle police
Excerpt this morning from American Thinker: Curious incident on the streets of Tehran:
…But, the streets are not filling up with Iranian soldiers. Tanks are not rolling down the boulevards. At least not yet.
Is this a sign that the regime does not trust the armed forces to do its bidding against fellow Iranians?
Once the soldiers take up positions in the capital, once the tanks control the intersections, a very unstable dynamic exists. Will the officers order their men to fire on the protesters or to fire on the Basij? How does the army commanders view Palestinians and the Basij killing Iranians? How many Iranian commanders have sons and daughters in those demonstrations?
If the mullahs don’t trust the army on the streets of Iran, that is a sign for hope.
Sky News: Iran Cracks Down On Protesters
Michelle Malkin: Saturday in Iran: Deadly crackdown, Obama finally condemns; some foreign embassies reportedly accepting injured
Jim Blazsik: The Obama Moment: What Iran, Golf, Ice Cream and Hungarians have in common
Neoavatara: Iran Protests: The Regime Fights Back and Obama’s Hypocrisy On Iran
The Wide Awake Cafe: Brave Souls in Iran
Legal Insurrection: Remember “Ahmadinejad Won. Get Over It.”
RFD America: Iraqi Order 81 Enforced on American Family Farms
Founding Bloggers: Dear Obamabots: This Is What The Demand For Change Looks Like
Andrew Breitbart, Big Hollywood: Tweet This Movie: #TheStoningofSorayaM
Wall Street Journal: ‘The Stoning of Soraya M.’ Looks at the Treatment of Women in Iran
The Rhetorican: Ice Cream is the Godmother of Indifference
Sister Toldjah: So the Iranian people didn’t desire for “reform” until Obama, right?
America, You Asked For It: Iran Protest Coverage: Saturday June 20, 2009
American Thinker: Obama goes for ice cream while people bleed for freedom in Iran
Iran & Beyond, Abbas Djavadi’s Blog: Iran: Evolutionary Change
Reuters: Germany rejects Iran claims of political meddling
Italy Min: Iran Considered A No-Show For G8 Summit
Gateway Pundit: Noted Iranian Activist Kianoosh Sanjari: “The People of Iran Will Not Forgive Obama For Siding With the Regime” (Audio-Video) and Obama Tells Killer Iranian Regime “The World Is Watching”… Then Gets Ice Cream and Iranian Hero & Leading Activist Ahmad Batebi On Obama: “His Lack of Response Will Not Be Regarded Kindly” (Audio-Video)
Chuck DeVore, Big Hollywood: Review: The Stoning of Soraya M.
Pundit & Pundette: Iranian woman murdered in street and Iranian revolt highlights Obama’s inadequacies
Don Surber: Chicago-style vote counting in Iran
Scared Monkeys: Barack Obama … Let the Iranians Eat Ice Cream … Where is the Support for Democracy & Human Rights from the White House?
Nice Deb: An Iranian Protester Pleads For US/World Intervention
John P. Hanlon, Big Hollywood: Shohreh Aghdashloo: A Voice for the Voiceless
Hot Air: Britain pulling embassy families out of Iran and Chaos in Iran: I’m ready for martyrdom, says Mousavi; Videos: Woman murdered in cold blood; Update: Obama calls on regime to end violence; Update: Obama goes out for ice cream; Rumor: 150 dead? Report: Mousavi’s office sends letter to Obama? and Contrast: Iranian Protestors Shot As Obama Goes for Ice Cream
Politico: Obama calls on HuffPost for Iran question UPDATE (question rigging)
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