Syria & Iran

Overheard from a Syrian activist during the Egyptian revolts: "If they fail in Egypt, there is no hope for us in Syria". True words and they didn't fail, though what they achieved in Egypt remains fragile and is still in danger of being wiped out by the military council.

What was said about Egypt however, also applies to Syria and maybe to a larger scale. Because of its geo-political position, if Syria fails, there's no hope for the rest of the Middle-East. If people manage to get their basic human and political rights, this is a blow to both Iran and Hezbollah, who lose an important ally in the region. It also shows the people in other regional dictatorships that this type of protest cannot be silenced, even with the level of brutality show by the regime of Assad.

For Syrians especially Iranians have become the cartoonesque bad-guys to be feared and hated. Videos appeared on the internet of (alleged) Iranian forces being captured by demonstrators and questioned about their role in helping Syrian armed forces in squashing dissent. It is important to note that the Iranian post-election protests of 2009 where not shown in Syria. Many Syrians are unaware of Iranians showing their discontent with their government and the large amount of students, lawyers, journalists, politicians and ordinary citizens locked up to this day.

Friends told me of their visits to Paris this week, going to Syrian protests and being afraid to identify themselves as Iranians.

It is instrumental that in this time when our governments find ways of collaborating the Syrians and Iranian people do the same. We don't share a language, but we do share a common dream of democracy, freedom and dignity.

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An insightful article on the struggle in Syria here:

http://www.merip.org/mero/mero081011

Happy Birthday Zamaneh!

Five years ago a man with almond eyes, long hair in a pony tail and a Frank Zappa style moustache and goatee walked into our cultural center Mezrab. After sitting for a while and asking some questions about what we do in our center he introduced himself as Mehdi Jami, the director of an about to be launched media platform called Zamaneh. He was looking for young and interesting people with something to share with the world to join him in creating this station.

I had been a bit sad that summer. My band members had left for a tour of Eastern Europe, and I was alone, working in the cultural center. When the bandmembers returned I said I had a new job: creating a weekly show on world music for this station that broadcasts into Iran through satelite and internet.

In the years that have passed I was always its strongest supporter as well as its biggest critic. It's not hard to imagine why I supported Zamaneh. A young station operating independently and allowing for different voices to be heard and tell their stories. A platform in which both the new generation as well as the old guard was creating shows. How can you not be excited about this? I always defended Zamaneh when paranoid Iranians (and there are oh so many of them) accused Zamaneh of being a mouth-piece of the Mullahs, the CIA or in some cases both. Or when during the post election turmoil of 2009 some thought that Zamaneh should abandon independent journalism and clearly take sides with the Green Movement.

I have also been a critic, voicing my discontent with some programmes, suggesting improvements in other fields, but always out of respect for what was there: a station that, if it survived, would be instrumental in creating a template for journalism that Iran needs: uncensored, respectful, deep-digging, impartial, independent. I voiced criticism not just to be a grouch, but to help improve what I loved and respected.

I'm happy to say that Zamaneh is still around, and still improves on the old formula. There's an operational English site that on a daily basis gives us news about Iran in English:

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/

It teaches aspiring journalists the basics of journalism, it is the only major Iranian news outlet with a page dedicated to Queer issues (homo-emancipation). These are only a few of the reasons I love Zamaneh. Others have their own parts they read and follow. Is Zamaneh today what it needs to be tomorrow? I feel it has a long way to go, but I see it's getting there and I enjoy opening it daily to read the new articles and analysis.

And it did show its fans that it's here to stay. Those who are not pleased with Zamaneh can choose to wish its death (something Iranians are very good at, how many projects did we see come and go while we only grumbled about how bad it was without doing anything ourselves?), or submit ideas, articles, comments and critique, and in this way help to build the platform we can all be proud of.

I look forward to the coming five years!

Happy Music

This is why I have hope for Iran. No matter how bad things get, there's always some young people enjoying themselves, and in doing so creating stuff for us to smile and shake our hips at:

1. the new clip of Eendo:

2. Here's a little home-made track by Naeim Meschian, our resident funkmeister and sound-technician.

Middle-East Linkage

I have lots to write about, but for now a summary of interesting links:

Iran -

Tehran Review has a two part article about the famous film director Makhmalbaf's evolving political life, as written by Ian Buruma:

http://tehranreview.net/articles/9535

Iranian Dervishes get sentenced to jail and flogging after peaceful protests:

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-dervishes-get-jail-flogging

Often in the West we focus on the persecution of Jews and Christians in Iran. While the discrimination they face is real, there is a much stricter persecution of Islamic sects who are considered to be heretical. Examples are Sunni (depending on the political climate), Baha'i and various Sufi orders.

Egypt -

Egypt tries to appease the protest movements by firing a large amount of police officers:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/2011713151838644663.html

The revolution inspires poetry:

http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/2036/kareem-abdulsalam_teargas-poems

Enjoy...

Power play and Women's rights in Iran.

It's no secret there's an ordinary power grabbing game going on in Iran. Not only are individuals fighting for a share of the power pie, they're fighting for a share of power for their faction as well as their position. In Iran's complicated power structure all begins and ends with the Supreme Leader (Khamenei), but how it trickles down to ministries, committees, councils, (secret) police, military factions, etc. is a constant fight that's been heating up in the last months.

Notably there's the Revolutionary Guard, a military force with considerable economic clout since it's a major share holder in many companies and has its own airstrips, ports, etc, that has decide to tell what candidates or even what number of people from a certain faction are allowed to run. It's not clear what they will do when candidates they don't want on the ballots run (other than the usual talk of blood in the streets), but that the organisation permits themselves such statements is indicative of the position they have or believe they should have:

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/former-prime-minister-accused-sedition

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/revolutionary-guards-commander-sets-conditions-return-reformists

It should be noted that Ahmadinejad's rise to power went hand in hand with the rise of the Guards, a partnership that's been abandoned since, with the Guards siding for Khamenei, and Ahmadinejad covertly accusing them of power abuse: http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/ahmadinejad-decries-reporting-illegal-ports-statement)

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Sadly in this power game the chips are often issues that have a deep impact on regular Iranians. For instance women will face a lot of harsh regulations when it comes to what they're allowed to watch, or how they're allowed to dress. An excellent write up about this is provided by Tehran Bureau:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/07/the-hejab-hype-and-the-force-of-fear.html

But apart from the impact these social and political policies have it's important to realize the discussion is had in the Iranian political landscape between staunch orthodox principalists and politicians who advocate a more liberal view when it benefits their political agenda. If there are politicians and clerics with a principally more liberal view they are sidelined and marginalized.

Case in point is Ahmadinejad's opposition to gender separation in Universities and his opposition to the amount of power the Supreme Ruler. Even in the pseudo-democratic system of Iran the agreement was that the Ayatollah should remain impartial in the election process. When Khamenei obviously sided with Ahmadinejad after the 2009 elections there was not a peep from his camp about abuse of power. In that particular election struggle the sly Rafsanjani sided with the reformist candidates. Today we see reformist Rafsanjani claiming it's a shame that Ahmadinejad opposes the gender separation.

In the crazy political arena of Iran, some Iranians might well decide that Ahmadinejad is the candidate of modernity and reform (only a short while ago he promised each Iranian family a plot of land of 1000 square ft. to build their own villas in addition to opposing the power of both Khamenei, the Revolutionary Guards, the stricter rules for women) forgetting that in previous struggles he was a champion for the issues he currently (seemingly) opposes.

The sad reality is that with this struggle and the players involved, all outcomes will be a continuation of a desperate situation for Iranians, or things getting worse.

I want change in Iran...

This Monday twelve political prisoners have ended their hunger strike. These prisoners of the notorious Evin jail were protesting the deaths of Hoda Saber and Haleh Sahabi, prominent figures of the Religious-Nationalist party.

(see: http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-prisoners-end-hunger-strike )

What is noteworthy in this episode is the response of influential dissidents. Important dissident clerics, former president Khatami and the children of Karroubi and Mousavi and many others called for the prisoners to end their strike. Ayatollah Zanjani even called it a religious duty to stop the strike and said "...this country needs loved ones like you in order to achieve freedom and rebuilding". I find this to be a very troubling reaction. Of course I don't want anyone to die in an action, but when all forms of protest has been taken away from us, and in the case of these prisoners even their freedom, why undermine their protests by telling them to stop?

Even wild animals with a basic instinct for survival stop eating and often die when put in cages. Why should humans be asked to suffer graciously when they are put in solitary cells and subjected to physical and mental torture? Khatami and his clan could have been stronger in condemning the regime, saying that while it is horrendous to think of the suffering of the strikers, it is the result of the treatment of the regime. A strike that will positively stop when they are treated as humans.

The response to the prisoners' strikes sums up the crisis of the Green Movement and many other activist movements of Iran. Where we are quick to point out the changes we want, it's hard to say what we are actually willing to do to get it:

- We don't want hunger strikes, as we don't want our dear activists to suffer

- We don't want sanctions as it will be the poor that suffer, not the ruling elite

- We don't want protests in the street without permission as that means more people will get arrested and killed

- We don't want to strike at work, as most factory workers have a temporary contract and no one wants to lose their livelyhood

- We don't want to sabotage any state material as we don't want to be seen terrorists

- We don't want to give up buying products that are produced by companies owned by the Revolutionary Guard as that would mean giving up part of our luxury.

- We don't want to speak out in a way that identify us as that means losing the chance to travel to Iran.

Thoughts on Amina Arraf and Iranian Journalism

If there's one way I can define our work in the Mezrab, it is that we allow people to tell their own stories. This can be a song, a story, a personal film or anything else that connects the personal you with an audience. The reading of weblog posts is a perfect fit with this philosophy. In essence it's a very Persian artform. Driven from government controlled media outlets, Iran's internet users have flocked to the anonymity of the internet, where the most secret and sacred thoughts and observations can be penned down, protected by a pseudonym. One of the major ways of getting the true stories out of Iran and similarly oppressed countries is to read the blogs and the twitter feeds.

One of the voices that we read in the Mezrab from the internet was that of Amina, a gay Syrian blogger, who openly defied the oppressive regime of Assad. Her story, exciting and brave, was picked up by Al Jazeera, the Guardian, the BBC and many other respected news outlets. As I thought the Syrian situation is especially relevant to Iran I translated one of her posts for Zamaneh. Then she disappeared. According to an update by her cousin she was arrested by the Syrian secret police. One week after an international campaign to locate her and secure her release, it's been proven that the blog was in fact a hoax. All posts were (probably) written by an American man called Tom MacMaster.

(write up here:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/06/12/137139179/gay-girl-in-damascus-apologizes-reveals-she-was-an-american-man )

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That such a hoax was possible is not a surprise, there's billions of internet users with all the tools that they need to set up such an operation. That it went on for so long says a lot about how journalism functioned in extraordinary circumstances, reporting from countries where the standard rules of journalism don't seem to work. Some are more lax about their sources (and don't mind that they don't prove adequately who they are, as coming forward would put their life in danger) and grateful for even the little bit of information that comes out of certain countries. Al Jazeera had camera crews covering Tahrir square in Cairo, why can't we cover events in Iran in the same way?

While the speed with which the Amina hoax was disproven shows the power of the internet (in different countries people were working to uncover the truth, both professional journalists as well as "amateurs", all the time sharing information with each other in a "wikipedia" spirit of selflessness) this whole episode reminds us that we need to think about the state of journalism and writing in itself. It shows that while every person with an internet connection can write a story and publish it online, there is much added value with the existing media, it is to uncover the untruths and propaganda and to provide fresh thoughts and analysis on the facts that are out there. Also, existing media can distribute basic journalistic skills that we need to navigate a media landscape in which every neighbour and friend is a medium, and some government controlled media of many countries are propaganda tools. I'm very happy that our Iranian exiled media is doing just that: building skills and foundations, giving a stage for not just facts but also analysis:

Radio Zamaneh has e-learning courses for various levels that hundreds of aspiring journalists have already followed.

The association On File gives journalists with a non-Dutch background a home to network and access to various courses. (not Iranian, but a lot of Iranians have been welcomed by this lovely crowd: http://www.onfile.eu/ )

Tehran Review's Shervin Nekuee and Ali Mohtadi discuss the need of a "Green" medium with journalistic pioneer Mehdi Jami:

http://tehranreview.net/articles/9131

Iranian Progressive Youth supports academic thought by creating an essay writing contest. The winners are presented this Tuesday (Tomorrow) at 16.00 in Leiden. Info here: http://iranpy.net/articles/1248

An Eye For An Eye

A case that's been discussed extensively by the Iranian media is that of the woman who was blinded and had her face disfigured with acid by a man who's advances she'd rejected. By Iranian Quranic law of eye for eye she has the right to blind the man by injecting his eyes with drops of acid.

Though these cases or commonplace in Iran, where usually the family of a killed one is asked if the killer should be put to death or bloodmoney should be paid to spare his life, it's the possible blinding of a person that has caught the public's attention and has sparked the debate.

One of the articles written a while ago was against this system of revenge killing and maiming, to which the sister of the victim wrote this response. It was very difficult for me to read, as the writer sympathetically argues for the right of her sister to blind her attacker.

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/debate-surrounding-irans-first-blinding-acid-sentence

Amnesty

Having heard the tales of Irish resistance over the years, I was surprised to hear from the Irish themselves that they're a docile people. Centuries of servitude to the Brits has left its mark. Apparently no one goes to demonstrate in Ireland. When 1000 people gather in Dublin for a demonstration it's huge and makes it all the news channels. More often a demonstration is ten or twenty people walking in a figure of eight.

Maybe it fits the national psyche more to work in small efficient work units. A guerrilla approach to activism. Whatever the reason for their success is, I was inspired by the Iranian Group of the Irish branch of Amnesty. A small band of brothers and sisters that uses a lot of creativity in organizing their actions and in the short time they've existed have become one of the most active branches of Amnesty Ireland.

On this very same trip we were lucky enough to meet the Dutch couple that set up Amnesty in the Netherlands many decades ago. Such stories they had to tell!

Anyway, here's some inspirational material for you. First off, iconic material from over the years:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/05/28/amnesty.anniversary/index.html?hpt=C1

And a short animation to mark the fiftieth birthday of Amnesty:

An Alternative to Where's My Vote

Since the last presidential elections in Iran the slogan of the protest movement has been: "Where's My Vote".

While I have to confess I didn't vote in the elections, I supported both the protesters as well as their slogan. For me the slogan wasn't just about the votes cast and thrown out in the 2009 elections, they were for all votes that we cannot cast for candidates of our own choice.

However, since two years have passed, I believe if we want to start another round of protest, we need another set of slogans. Slogans that obviously refer to the events of 2009, but take the reality of today into account. The sad issue we face is the great number of people who've been killed and the greater number of people locked up.

I suggest the following slogans:

Where's My Teacher?

Where's My Classmate?

Where's My Friend?

Where's My Son?

Where's My Daughter?

Where's My Journalist?

Where's My Lawyer?

Where's My Mother?

Where's My Father?

Where's My Filmdirector?

Where's My Busdriver?

Where's My Musician?

etc. etc.

Every Iranian has a friend who's been killed, locked up, or has left the country. The majority of students I spoke to outside of the country have said they left the country without the intention to stay, but really don't want to go back to their country.

Also, every Iranian knows someone who's a supporter of this regime. We know millions of people who live in a separate reality with no access to the articles we read, people we speak to, Youtube clips we watch. Consequently they refuse to believe the injustice that goes on in their own country (though the ones I've spoken to do have a strong sense of justice, they curse the regime of the Shah for locking up, torturing and killing innocent people). Ask them the questions I just wrote. Where are these people? Why do you trust a government that needs to survive by killing and locking up students, teachers, lawyers, journalists, etc?

Just kick those shins a little bit. If we all do it, it might be more effective than the next protest that gets a few thousand people into the street, exposing them to the batons of the Baseej militia.

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Here's something heartwarming. A dissident action in which speakers are distributed in Tripoli, blasting the forbidden anthem of the country.

Happy Birthday

We arrived in Ireland two days ago. Many hours of delay because of Obama's arrival, and an elated crowd, much more excited than when the Queen of England visited a week before. However, the highlight of my day was not Obama's visit, it was celebrating the birthdays of Bahman Amouyi (husband of journalist Jila Bani-Jaqoub) and Masoud Bastani. These two men are political prisoners adopted by Amnesty's Ireland Iran group. The celebration is to let them and their families know that they are not forgotten.

Here's two articles that give you a bit of an idea of who these two men are:

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-journalist-protests-against-violation-prisoner-rights

http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=9322

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So this is it. two years pass since the mock elections of Iran, and when we get involved it's to comfort the relatives of those who stuck out their necks for the rest of us. Is there no one else who will raise his voice or his fist?

Maybe this is another reason why I obsessively follow the news in Syria and Libya, to comfort myself with their eventual success where Iran has failed, and hope that their success will inspire us.

Fight on, my brothers, fight on, my sisters. And with fight, I also mean dance, laugh and sing.

The waiting artists

The American poet Charles Bukowski once famously wrote about prostitutes and poets that society outlaws the one ignores the other, which should give you an idea about the power they have.

In Iran the poets are not being ignored. Our filmmakers, these current day poets, deal with censorship and repression on a daily basis. The most famous case being that of Jafar Panahi, who was sentenced to six years in jail and a twenty year ban of making films. He's free at the moment (though not allowed to leave the country) waiting for his appeal, but what is waiting life for an artist who's not allowed to create? Below you'll find an excerpt of his "This Is Not A Film":

Arab Spring

Howdy folks, apologies for the long absence. Work at the Mezrab Cultural Center took over and I was crazy busy. Anyway, I'm back now, and hope to be back for a while, posting news and reflections on politics, culture and life in the Middle-East.

The ongoing struggle in the Arab is in danger if dropping off the front pages as unrest in some of the countries has been subdued or doesn't seem to go anywhere (Bahrain, etc), while in other countries it has become civil war or is in danger of becoming civil war (Libya, Syria, etc). Not the sexy success stories we would like to consume.

However, even the messy stories of people getting killed by the dozens, rebels taking and retaking quarters in embattled cities are all part of a larger narrative that will fundamentally change the face of the region.

Now since any grand narrative can be broken down into smaller pearls of human experience, here's a few that you should know of:

Some Libyans have set up an English language radio show. It's really funny since they're discussing serious stuff, but in a strong Cockney accent. It's a station of Ali Gs!

http://tributefm.com/player.php

The most moving story from Syria is the blog of Amina A. who writes from Damascus. She's put her life on the line, writing about her life as a lesbian dissident, staying in the country with her father while the rest of her family has left the country:

http://damascusgaygirl.blogspot.com/

Radio Zamaneh does a great time covering the conflict between Ahmadinejad and the clerical leaders on their English language site. This conflict reads like a complicated game of Chaos Chess, with many pawns and moves and shifting rules and alliances. The highlight of it was when one of the Ahmadinejad clique was accused of witchcraft and Djinn-binding. Here's the latest move:

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/guardian-council-backs-parliament-dispute-ahmadinejad

More reports

Enduring America has a day after live-blog:

http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2011/3/2/the-latest-from-iran-2-march-marching-through-the-blackout.html

Our man Thomas Erdbrink:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/28/AR2011022802923.html?sid=ST2011022805422

The crazy Ghadafis

It would be funny if because of it people weren't dying. No scratch that, it's a tragedy that people are dying, but this is still hilarious:

Seif-of-Eslam Ghadafi flat out denying anything happening in the country in an interview with Christiane Amanpour. No violence against protestors, no uprising of the people: "Show me a single attack, show me a single bomb," he told her. "The Libyan air force destroyed just the ammunition sites. That's it."

Take note that this is said at the time that media report all but four cities in Libya in the hands of protesters, and two of those being contested. For the article on the interview go here: http://abcnews.go.com/International/saif-gadhafi-interviewed-by-christiane-amanpour-worldwide-exclusive/story?id=13011545

And for jobs that papa Ghadafi can do after this whole mess is over, he can be a DJ!

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Meanwhile, outside of Libya, Oman has joined the countries where unrest has spread. Oman is a peaceful nation run for 40 years by a Sultan who came to power when he overthrew his own father. How thousand and one nights! It's been inching towards modernity and democracy at the pace of a demented snail with reforms such as granting all citizens over the age of twenty the right to vote in the year 2003.

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The news on Iran isn't so much what's happening in the street, but rather the discussions about how to proceed with the movement. Is it going to be weekly demonstrations? Will other methods of civil disobedience be used? Will people resort to violence? I'm collecting a few articles which I will post online tomorrow.

End of the Reformist Era

It's been brewing for a while: talk of taking the struggle in Iran beyond reform. Even some friends who have been staunch supporters of reform from within the system doubt wether the current political climate in the country leaves any room for reform. Wether enough people are convinced inside the country, and wether their conviction will be turned into action, is a question I cannot answer, but here's an insightful article to read from Tehran Review, on protest, revolution and Iran:

http://tehranreview.net/articles/7691

Where are we?

More than once did I hear Iranians lament that they need al-Jazeera to cover events in Iran like they did in Tunesia, Egypt and Libya. But even the little that us Iranians can do to fill the gap, it seems that we don't. The Green movement has brought out another declaration. Apparently it's a game changer, reaching out to workers and minorities. But so far, no one has translated it. And sadly my Persian is not good enough to do it either.

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Again, to remember the real people involved in the movement in Iran, here are some personal stories:

From Teheran Bureau: "Mariam", 23 years old

From Teheran Review: N. Sayeh

But maybe most striking is this personal story (in Persian) from an Iranian transgender who participated in demonstrations with her friends, as published in Radio Zamaneh:

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/society/degarbash/2011/02/23/2025

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Finally a good analysis of why events in Libya play out differently than in Egypt or Tunesia, and why Iran is different even from all three is to be found here: http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2011/2/24/from-tunisiaegypt-to-libyairan-notes-of-caution-on-sudden-ch-1.html

Iran update. Politics and Culture

I can't verify if this is true. If it is though, what bad Hollywood script do these thugs read and follow? I can imagine a director telling actors, pretend you're the most stereotypical Middle-Eastern bad-asses, and this being the result:

According to Rooz Online the thugs surrounding the house of Karroubi have broken into his house, locked him up in a room and are threatening to cut his head off. Link to Naj's neo-Resistance page as she writes it up in English:

http://iranfacts.blogspot.com/2011/02/bad-and-ugly.html

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On the cultural front, the Prince Claus Fund is organising an event on contemporary Iranian photography. It will be held in the Nieuwe Kerk on Thursday Evening. For info go here:

http://www.princeclausfund.org/nl/calendar/transit-tehran-an-evening-about-contemporary-iranian-photography-on-24-february.html

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Persian speakers, have you found these guys yet? The creaters of "Lokht dar Ayneh" (Naked in the Mirror) hold a mirror to Persian society with a bi-weekly updated sketch on Iranian mores and taboos. Very much a rough diamond and lots of room for improvement, but some of the six episodes that have come out so far are hilarious!

Giving the resistance a human face

While victims turn into numbers, and events more abstract and removed from our reality, here's a small article to remind us where talking about living and breating human people.

photo's and short profiles of six protesters in Iranian prisons and one under house arrest:

http://www.good.is/post/seven-iranians-jailed-after-the-2009-protests-who-are-still-in-jail-now/

Why Iran isn't Egypt or Tunesia

While it certainly is educational to compare the situation of Iran with Egypt and Tunesia (and yes, there are parallels to be found), it's not a simple why can the Arabs, and not the Iranians facilitate change in their countries? In Egypt and Tunesia, the deposed ruler was the head of a corrupt institution, hated by anyone who's ambitions in life was thwarted, whether it was because of poverty or the human rights abuses. In Iran, there is actual support for this regime with a significant part of the population. This support can be because they have personally benefited from this regime or they see the regime as the guardians of their culture and belief (ie. abandoning this regime is opening the doors for all kind of moral corruption). Understanding this reality helps to understand the insistence of opposition leaders Mousavi and Karroubi to not to discredit the whole system of the Islamic Republic, but only the reality of it under Ahmadinejad and Khamenei. It is to keep a door of understanding open to the devout target audience that might see in their struggle a true moral compass to follow, rather than the current leaders who behave so barbarically.

Whether this is a sound tactic (or even a moral one) is up for debate. But one cannot wholeheartedly support or dismiss it without studying all factors in the field. Here are some important contributions to the discussion:

Pedestrian of the Sidewalk Lyrics blog chimes in on what it means to be a non-violent demonstrator in a country where journalists have been expelled and the state can do with you as it pleases: http://www.sidewalklyrics.com/?p=7984

Tehran Bureau brings the following article on the labor force that the Green movement so far has been unable to connect with: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/02/irans-labor-flash-point.html

I hope that the flash news articles about events in Iran have come and gone, serious debate will take hold about how this movement should develop. Especially since the founding fathers will be more and more closed off from the rest of the movement, and rather will turn into symbols for the movement to use (check out news on how they are treated at the Zamaneh news site: http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/ )