Windows on Iran-February 11th Special #2

Heavy governmental security on the streets of Tehran preventing Green Movement marchers from reaching Azadi Square, February 11th 2010 (22 Bahman).

Dear All,
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As the Iranian authorities continue to brag about the success of the February 11 rallies, the Iranian Cyber Army has renewed its attacks on Persian websites that are now distributing real news and images from the event. News coming out of Iran, slowly but surely, reveals the highly orchestrated nature of the rally, the heavy transportation of the people from the provinces. More importantly, the news coming out of Iran explains why the Iranian official media did not go live with their reporting and the pictures they showed later where closed angle and from limited locations.

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Full Blown Martial Law
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* Friends leaving Tehran for the U.S. early in the morning of Monday, February 8, described the condition of the city as a full blown martial law. Streets were barricaded with armored cars, and passing cars were inspected to ensure the streets remain empty of Green Citizens for the Feb. 11 rally.
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* These and many other facts were not accessible to foreign reporters who arrived a the right time and traveled along selected routs. Reporting on events which the Iranian government wants to present in a certain light is, therefore, a highly risky and complicated matter which poses ethical and political questions. I have a recent piece discussing this particular issue in the online magazine Counterpunch. In it, I quote from a moving letter by Iranian journalists in exile speaking about their jailed counterparts in Iran: http://www.counterpunch.org/keshavarz02112010.html .

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What Was Really Going on In the Azadi Square
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* While the Greens were being beaten up and prevented from getting to the Azadi Square, this very short clip shows buses getting the supporters to the location:

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And, to see many more videos of the buses, click here: http://www.rahesabz.info/story/10205/ .

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Despite all the efforts, however, the actual crowd gathered in the Azadi Square for Mr. Ahmadinejad’s address appears to have been way below what the government has been claiming in its reports (which were not broadcast live). Furthermore, shots of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s speech are closed angle to cover specific areas. I attach here a revealing eight minute clip taken by a cell phone from inside the square as Mr. Ahmadinejad speaks:

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This is the Treatment the Opposition Received

* While the carefully imported supporters recieved cake and fruit juice, the following treatment was reserved for the opposition: http://www.facebook.com/mousavi#!/video/video.php?v=107608539255933&ref=mf .

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And:

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* “Neither canons, nor tanks, or the Basij will stop us”:

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And, to see many more videos, click here: http://www.rahesabz.net/story/10075/
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*  Down with Russia:

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* “Down with the Dictator” on Tehran metro:

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* Slogans in support of Mir Hussein Mousavi:

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* More support for Mir Hussein:

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* The Green supporters in Isfahan sing the song of the group “yare dabestani” a minute into the video:

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* Political prisoners must be freed:

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* Political prisoners must be freed:

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* Asking for public referendum :

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* Down with the dictator: http://www.facebook.com/mousavi#!/video/video.php?v=107603179256469&ref=mf .

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* And in this site, you will find many twits accompanied by images:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/2/11/836212/-Tweets-from-Iran-(UPDATE-with-images .

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* And Iranian.com, another site which keeps posting Feb.11 protest videos as they come in: http://www.iranian.com/main/2010/feb/protests-22-bahman .

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Exciting New Website on Iran — Iran Unfiltered
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* Young and energetic Iranian Americans are becoming more and more involved in producing intelligent and informed discussion on the internet regarding the country of their cultural heritage. I have news of one such site for you: http://www.iranunfiltered.com/ . Do visit the site. And as you enjoy the new headlines, news and analysis remember the web master is from St. Louis. Have fun!

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My Anonymous E-miler’s Brother Injured During Protest

* I send all our best wishes to my anonymous e-mailer who has been providing wonderful personal insight …and whose brother has been shot in protests. Fortunately he is alive and recovering. We will refrain from contact for a while.

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A Beautiful Gilaki Song to Lighten up the Mood

* Music from the province of Gilan in Northern Iran is particularly lively and cheerful. Men and women working in rice and tea fields sing these songs. Here is a short clip with a Gilaki song and lots of beautiful images from Gilan. Enjoy!      http://www.kalam.tv/fa/video/13876/index.html .
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Have a great week, and pass on https://windowsoniran.wordpress.com/ to friends.

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Best,

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Fatemeh

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===================================
Fatemeh Keshavarz, Professor and Chair
Dept. of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Washington University in St. Louis
Honorary Co-Chair, Iranians For Peace
Tel: (314) 935-5156
Fax: (314) 935-4399
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Windows on Iran / Special Issue

The State-run newspaper "Keyhan" estimated the crowd at Ayatollah Montazeri's funeral (above) at only 5,000!!!

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Dear All,
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Today has been described as a new day in the life of the Iranian Green opposition.  At the request of Mr. Mousavi and Karrubi, hundreds of thousands of people turned up to participate in the funeral of the Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri who passed away on Sunday. Ayatollah Montazeri parted ways with the founder of the Iranian Revolution over the issue of human rights violation in Iran (among other things).
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* The Iranian official news agency described the funeral attenders as approximately 5,000! It is not quite clear how they think they can maintain the appearance. However, look at the photo above this message to see a shot of the “five thousand” mourners for yourself.

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* The BBC has an informative news item as well:

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* Not surprisingly, Ayatollah Montazeri’s personal website seems to be down (possibly hacked). In the absence of that, I refer you to this general article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosein-Ali_Montazeri.
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Don’t forget to share “https://windowsoniran.wordpress.com/” with friends.

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Good night,

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Fatemeh
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===================================
Fatemeh Keshavarz, Professor and Chair
Dept. of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Washington University in St. Louis
Honorary Co-Chair, Iranians For Peace
Tel: (314) 935-5156
Fax: (314) 935-4399
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Windows on Iran—Breaking News

Dear All,

Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, one of the spiritual leaders of the Green Movement, has passed away.

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Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, died last night at age 87 in the city of Qom. In the past few months, he had come to be known as the spiritual father of the Green Movement in Iran. Mr. Mousavi and Karroubi have declared tomorrow, Monday, Dec. 21, a day of national mourning.
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Background

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Grand Ayatollah Montazeri was designated successor to Ayatollah Khomeini until their major fall out in 1988. Montazeri’s dismay was caused by many issues including the executions of the opposition leaders, the lack of openness to political parties, and the insistence on exporting the revolution. Not only did Ayatollah Montazeri loose his political position as a result of objecting to these policies, he was condemned to house arrest, severe curtailment of his personal activities, and regular abuse by the state run media.
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In real life, he never lost his respect among the general public or the other grand Ayatollahs. His images surfaced at almost any public protest. With the crystallization of  the Green Movement after the 2009 election, Montazeri emerged as its spiritual father. He issued daring statements in condemnation of the government’s abuse of power, repression, and particularly torture and abuse in the Kahrizak prison.
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His death is unlikely to be good news for the current regime in Iran. It has already triggered events, even before the designated day of morning, which they are trying desperately to prevent. Below see a small sample coming out of Iran hours ago.
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Demonstrations in support of Ayatollah Montazeri
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* In his birth place near Isfahan:
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* Ilm o San’at University, takes a few seconds for the image to get straightened:

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* Sharif University:

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Have a Great Winter Break,

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Fatemeh
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===================================
Fatemeh Keshavarz, Professor and Chair
Dept. of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Washington University in St. Louis
Honorary Co-Chair, Iranians For Peace
Tel: (314) 935-5156
Fax: (314) 935-4399
==================================

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Windows on Iran 92

Keep spreading the word about the September 18th "Ruz-i Qods" Green Rally!!! Please post this flyer to your blog, facebook page, or website. And, see below for lots of new and important information!

Dear All,

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All signs point to the fact that difficult – and decisive – days may be ahead in Iran. But the good news first. For years, Iranians who are ranked as number four bloggers in the world, have been prevented from visiting the sites that the Iranian government has considered containing information contrary to its interests and filtered. Those who devised creative ways to break the filter and get into such sites, are usually in danger of being found and subjected to jail and other punishments.

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What is most amazing is that the Iranian government considers the existence of undesirable websites as “foreign interference” in its internal affairs.

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Well, this state of affairs may have been ended once and for all. Using Google, an Iranian by the name Mehdi Saharkhiz has come up with an internet tool which he has called the “Green Machine”

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The Green Machine! Good News for the Greens in Iran

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* Here is the site that gives you instruction for downloading the Green Machine. According to Mr. Mousavi’s facebook page, after you download the Green Machine, you can visit any website – filtered or otherwise – without being detected: http://greenmachine.s3.amazonaws.com/green.html.

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Latest Friday Sermon by the Supreme Leader

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* On the morning of Friday, September 11, Mr. Khamenei delivered his latest Friday sermon affirming his earlier position that the election had been a great success and that any protests will be dealt with harshly. It is not quite clear what is his definition of “harsh” as, death, torture, and forced confessions have all been tried already. Anyway, this is the response he got from the residents of Tehran in the evening:

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Breaking News

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* Dr. Ali Reza Beheshti, Professor of Political Science in Tehran University and chief consultant of Mr. Mousavi’s election campaign, who continued his efforts by heading the group that Mousavi formed to follow up on physical abuses in the Iranian jail, has just been arrested. Mr. Mousavi issued a statement (no.12) to condemn the arrest. He predicts that other grave attacks are on the way: http://www.rahesabz.net/story/1301/. For the English translation on Mousavi’s Facebook, visit: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=134451867605&ref=mf.

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Former Reformist Presidential Candidate Mehdi Karroubi

* There are strong – unconfirmed – rumors that the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has already issued the order for the arrest of the reformist leader and presidential candidate Mr. Mehdi Karrubi.  While this is a very likely move at this point, it is also possible that the rumor is spread in order to test the public reaction.

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Ahmadinejad Will Not be Invited to the Party

* President Obama’s spokesperson has made it clear that in his journey to the U.S. to speak in the United Nations this month, Mr. Ahmadinejad will NOT be invited to the official party that the United States will throw for the world leaders.

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Abdol Kareem Soroush Speaks Up

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Leading Islamic intellectual Dr. Abdol Kareem Soroush (or, Dr. Abdulkarim Soroush).

* The renowned Iranian reformist thinker, Dr. Abdol Kareem Soroush who has been controversial with his criticism of the Islamic Republic over the past two decades, has written an open letter to the Supreme Leader. The letter criticizes the leader for his response to the protests and predicts the fall of what Soroush calls “Islamic Dictatorship”: http://www.rouydadnews.com/pages/150.php.

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The Green Day Coming

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* The first day Iranians will have an opportunity to walk out and show their opposition is Friday September 18. It is traditionally know as the Qods Day in support of the Palestinians. However, there are already indications that this year Sept. 18 will be a Green Day more than anything else. Mr. Mousavi’s facebook has

posted this: Green Mousavi Banner on Highway Bridge!

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A Beautiful New Song for the Green Movement

* Iran’s poets and artists continue to celebrate the Green Movement. Here is the latest song. The lyrics are by Houshang Ebtehaj “Sayeh,” one of the most acclaimed ghazal writers of contemporary Iran:

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Another Iranian Woman Artist

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A beautiful painting by Nasrin Khosravi. Please click the link to the left for more of her wonderful work.

* Because, I opened this window with an anxious tone, and because I am preparing it on the tragic day of September 11, I would like to close it with the soothing watercolor work of an Iranian woman painter, Nasrin Khosravi, who – in this series of paintings – has celebrated peace and serenity with images of people, flowers, doves, and more. Click here for a presentation of her work: Nasrin Khosravi Paintings. Enjoy!

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Don’t forget to share https://windowsoniran.wordpress.com/ with friends.

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Good Night,

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Fatemeh

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===================================
Fatemeh Keshavarz, Professor and Chair
Dept. of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Washington University in St. Louis
Honorary Co-Chair, Iranians For Peace
Tel: (314) 935-5156
Fax: (314) 935-4399
==================================

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