Saturday
Aug012009
The Latest from Iran (1 August): The Regime Gets Tough
Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 8:10
NEW Iran: Interpreting Ayatollah Jannati’s Challenge at Friday Prayers
The Latest from Iran (31 July): And Now….?
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1340 GMT: The "reformist" Parliamentary group Imam Khomeini Line has denounced today's events as a "so-called trial".
1330 GMT: Fars News Agency has published the "confession" of former Vice President Abtahi; this differs somewhat from the version reported out of the trial (see 1210 GMT). This may be because Fars had an advance "script" of Abtahi's testimony.
1210 GMT: Blaming Hashemi. And now to the political point of today's proceedings. Take note of how the "confession" of former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, as described by Fars News, is set out to tie former President Rafsanjani into the "plot" of the opposition:
But, if Rafsanjani is the chief villain, Iran can thank its ultimate hero:
1140 GMT: How Serious is that "Foreign Plot"? Well, Mark Palmer is far from a covert practitioner of regime change: he is the author of Breaking the Axis of Evil, which "has the gumption to argue what diplomats and political leaders dare not speak: that global peace with not be achieved until democracies replace the world's remaining dictatorships". A former State Department official, he advocated the invasion of Iraq well before March 2003, and he is now with the American Enterprise Institute.
Abbas Milani is also not very secretive: he is one of the most prominent US-based analysts of Iran. He is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, another "conservative" think tank (one of its most notable associates is former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice). While critical of the Iranian system, Milani has not advocated "regime change".
And Gene Sharp, singled out in the prosecution's indictment (see 0938 GMT), is an academic who has written for decades "on the strategic uses of nonviolent struggle in face of dictatorship, war, genocide, and oppression". A long-time fellow at Harvard University, the "instructions" cited in the indictment are not direct orders to the defendants (unless the prosecution has some dramatic evidence that Sharp has ever met any of them) but a reference to the general theories and analysis in his books.
Put bluntly, if this is a "foreign plot", as the Iranian prosecutors allege, it's a very poorly-designed one indeed, given that it took me five minutes to assemble the above information.
1105 GMT: Finding the Foreign Agents. This from the prosecution's opening statement:
1100 GMT: This trial is clearly an effort to break the "reformist" Islamic Iran Participation Front, with several of its high-ranking officials amongs the defendants. In addition to those listed in earlier entries, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, the Vice President of the IIPF, is on trial.
1040 GMT: Sea of Green Radio is dedicating itself to establishing and publicising the death toll in post-election conflict: "Any failure to hold Iranian authorities to account has one key consequence: it extends to repressive forces in Iran a licence to continue to kill without fear that the full scale of these murders will be exposed." Today it interviews the author of Iran Revolution, a blog pursuing an up-to-date confirmation of casualties.
1010 GMT: Other defendants include Mohsen Mirdamadi, General Secretary of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Mohsen Aminzadeh, a founding member of the Islamic Participation Front and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Khatami, and journalist Mohammad Atrianfar.
1000 GMT: Summary of prosecutor's introduction of defendants:
"What we have seen is a part of an unsuccessful velvet coup d'etat. Many arrestees have been previously arrested for being with Monafeghin [anti-Iranian terrorists]", including involvements in bombings. Others have travelled to Iraq to meet American troops and have sent American authorities videos of their plans for bombings. "Emad Behavar [leader of the youth wing of the Freedom Party] was an activist in Mousavi's campaigns, which was making film and distributing them to others in Iran....They betrayed their country by sending footage out to foreign media to change the image of Iran." One defendant is accused of destroying banks and other public property.
0938 GMT: From Revolutionary Road, who is live-blogging from the first trials of the detainees, the text of the indictment:
0925 GMT: The Battle Amongst the Clerics. Picking up on some news from yesterday: the Association of Teachers and Researchers of Qom, a "reformist" group, issued a statement asking protesters to continue. The Association asserted, "Grand Ayatollahs are worried and disappointed by the recent developments ,and what the
Friday prayer leader [Ayatollah Jannati] says in the Friday sermon does not reflect thoughts and beliefs of the Grand Ayatollahs and the professors and teachers in the seminaries and the Hawzahs [schools of clerical learning and interpretation]."
0845 GMT: Fars News Agency has posted a series of pictures from the trials. There is no update on the proceedings.
0600 GMT: Iranian state media are reporting that the first trials of demonstrators in the post-election conflicts have begun. It is unclear how many are being tried, but the estimates of 30 to 100 are greater than the original figure of 20 put out this week. The charges of rioting and vandalism seem relatively minor; the catch-all and more ominous allegation are "acting against national security" and "having ties with counter-revolutionary groups".
Fars News says that the trials began in "chaos and turbulence" at 9:10 a.m. local time (0440 GMT). There are "nearly 100" defendants, including former Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Behzad Nabavi, former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, and former Deputy Ministry of Economy Mohsen Safai-Farahani.
Kurdish officials in Iraq said last night that three American tourists have been detained by Iranian security forces after they strayed across the border during a mountain hike.
The Latest from Iran (31 July): And Now….?
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
1340 GMT: The "reformist" Parliamentary group Imam Khomeini Line has denounced today's events as a "so-called trial".
1330 GMT: Fars News Agency has published the "confession" of former Vice President Abtahi; this differs somewhat from the version reported out of the trial (see 1210 GMT). This may be because Fars had an advance "script" of Abtahi's testimony.
1210 GMT: Blaming Hashemi. And now to the political point of today's proceedings. Take note of how the "confession" of former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, as described by Fars News, is set out to tie former President Rafsanjani into the "plot" of the opposition:
After the election [Mohammad] Khatami and Rafsanjani had sworn to have each other's back, and I don't understand the point of it, knowing the diference [in votes between Ahmadienjad and Mousavi] was 11 million....Hashemi wanted to take revange on Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader....
Mousavi probably did not know the country, but Khatami, with all due respect... knew all the issues. He was aware of the capability and power of the leader, but he joined Mousavi and this was a betrayal,...I see myself as a reformist but stated that Khatami did not have the right to force [this] on Mousavi. I did not agree with Ahmadinejad's presidency but believe in people's votes, and congratulated as people's choice as the president.
It was wrong of me to take part in the rallies, but [Mehdi] Karroubi told me that we cannot call the people onto the streets with such a meagre number of votes, so we had better go to the streets ourselves to demonstrate our protest.
But, if Rafsanjani is the chief villain, Iran can thank its ultimate hero:
If the Supreme Leader would have backed up even a bit, today Iran's distress would have gone as far as that in Afghanistan and Pakistan; therefore people should thank the supreme leader for his moves. I am telling all friends and all that hear our voices to know the election matter was a lie to make an excuse for riots so Iran would have changed to another Iraq and Afghanistan so [the opposition] could hurt the regime and take over.
1140 GMT: How Serious is that "Foreign Plot"? Well, Mark Palmer is far from a covert practitioner of regime change: he is the author of Breaking the Axis of Evil, which "has the gumption to argue what diplomats and political leaders dare not speak: that global peace with not be achieved until democracies replace the world's remaining dictatorships". A former State Department official, he advocated the invasion of Iraq well before March 2003, and he is now with the American Enterprise Institute.
Abbas Milani is also not very secretive: he is one of the most prominent US-based analysts of Iran. He is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, another "conservative" think tank (one of its most notable associates is former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice). While critical of the Iranian system, Milani has not advocated "regime change".
And Gene Sharp, singled out in the prosecution's indictment (see 0938 GMT), is an academic who has written for decades "on the strategic uses of nonviolent struggle in face of dictatorship, war, genocide, and oppression". A long-time fellow at Harvard University, the "instructions" cited in the indictment are not direct orders to the defendants (unless the prosecution has some dramatic evidence that Sharp has ever met any of them) but a reference to the general theories and analysis in his books.
Put bluntly, if this is a "foreign plot", as the Iranian prosecutors allege, it's a very poorly-designed one indeed, given that it took me five minutes to assemble the above information.
1105 GMT: Finding the Foreign Agents. This from the prosecution's opening statement:
Some people like "Mark Palmer", President of "Konos Institute" have carried out much research on Iran and formed classed two or three years ago, to which they invited reformists like Emad Baqi to train them in "soft overthrow" of the Government.
There is a institute in US which is called "Hoover", and one of its member is Abbas Milani. His value to CIA is more than Reza Pahlavi [the son of the Shah] because of his good relationship with reformists and some members of the Kargozaran Party especially Mohammad Atrianfar. The institute has a project called "Democracy in Iran", and also Milani covers all of Akbar Ganji's financial costs overseas.
1100 GMT: This trial is clearly an effort to break the "reformist" Islamic Iran Participation Front, with several of its high-ranking officials amongs the defendants. In addition to those listed in earlier entries, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, the Vice President of the IIPF, is on trial.
1040 GMT: Sea of Green Radio is dedicating itself to establishing and publicising the death toll in post-election conflict: "Any failure to hold Iranian authorities to account has one key consequence: it extends to repressive forces in Iran a licence to continue to kill without fear that the full scale of these murders will be exposed." Today it interviews the author of Iran Revolution, a blog pursuing an up-to-date confirmation of casualties.
1010 GMT: Other defendants include Mohsen Mirdamadi, General Secretary of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Mohsen Aminzadeh, a founding member of the Islamic Participation Front and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Khatami, and journalist Mohammad Atrianfar.
1000 GMT: Summary of prosecutor's introduction of defendants:
"What we have seen is a part of an unsuccessful velvet coup d'etat. Many arrestees have been previously arrested for being with Monafeghin [anti-Iranian terrorists]", including involvements in bombings. Others have travelled to Iraq to meet American troops and have sent American authorities videos of their plans for bombings. "Emad Behavar [leader of the youth wing of the Freedom Party] was an activist in Mousavi's campaigns, which was making film and distributing them to others in Iran....They betrayed their country by sending footage out to foreign media to change the image of Iran." One defendant is accused of destroying banks and other public property.
0938 GMT: From Revolutionary Road, who is live-blogging from the first trials of the detainees, the text of the indictment:
Every fair man can easily see the big achievement of this great epic [election] in the political, cultural, social, and economic fields at national and international levels.
Firstly, this election converted into real democratic pride and performance, with a message to people around the world, that the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most secure and stable countries in the world for investment and progress in economic projects.
Secondly, in the field of international relations, this great national election contributed to the achievement of the full realization of peoples' rights. Therefore, there in no place for false claimants of freedom, democracy. and human rights [to challenge this]. From now on, Iranian diplomats and statesmen can do their roles better than ever in the world.
Thirdly, the profound effect of this election was that, more than ever, the national public realized that the pattern of religious democracy is efficient.
Fourth, since the support of the people is one of the most important components in national security to the holy Islamic Republic, the 85 percent turnout iof people in this election stabilised the national security and will help Iran in its domestic and foreign problems.
But as the supreme leader Ali Khamenei had warned people about enemies and their malicious intrigues, the losers and hopeless enemies immediately started to turn this victory into bitterness for the Iranian nation. According to available documents and evidence and the reasonable confessions of the accused, this was a pre-designed and scheduled velvet coup. More than 100 of 198 instructions of "Gene Sharp" for velvet coup have been carried out.
0925 GMT: The Battle Amongst the Clerics. Picking up on some news from yesterday: the Association of Teachers and Researchers of Qom, a "reformist" group, issued a statement asking protesters to continue. The Association asserted, "Grand Ayatollahs are worried and disappointed by the recent developments ,and what the
Friday prayer leader [Ayatollah Jannati] says in the Friday sermon does not reflect thoughts and beliefs of the Grand Ayatollahs and the professors and teachers in the seminaries and the Hawzahs [schools of clerical learning and interpretation]."
0845 GMT: Fars News Agency has posted a series of pictures from the trials. There is no update on the proceedings.
0600 GMT: Iranian state media are reporting that the first trials of demonstrators in the post-election conflicts have begun. It is unclear how many are being tried, but the estimates of 30 to 100 are greater than the original figure of 20 put out this week. The charges of rioting and vandalism seem relatively minor; the catch-all and more ominous allegation are "acting against national security" and "having ties with counter-revolutionary groups".
Fars News says that the trials began in "chaos and turbulence" at 9:10 a.m. local time (0440 GMT). There are "nearly 100" defendants, including former Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Behzad Nabavi, former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, and former Deputy Ministry of Economy Mohsen Safai-Farahani.
Kurdish officials in Iraq said last night that three American tourists have been detained by Iranian security forces after they strayed across the border during a mountain hike.
tagged Abbas Milani, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, Akbar Ganji, Behzad Nabavi, Fars News, Gene Sharp, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hoover Institute, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iran Revolution, Kargozaran Party, Mark Palmer, Mehdi Karoubi, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Mohammad Atrianfar, Mohammad Khatami, Mohsen Aminzadeh, Mohsen Mirdamadi, Mohsen Safai-Farahani, Reza Pahlavi, Sea of Green Radio in Middle East & Iran
Abbas Milani, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, Akbar Ganji, Behzad Nabavi, Fars News, Gene Sharp, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hoover Institute, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Iran Revolution, Kargozaran Party, Mark Palmer, Mehdi Karoubi, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Mohammad Atrianfar, Mohammad Khatami, Mohsen Aminzadeh, Mohsen Mirdamadi, Mohsen Safai-Farahani, Reza Pahlavi, Sea of Green Radio in Middle East & Iran
Reader Comments (16)
[...] Über die heute beginnenden “Prozesse” 1. August 2009 — Thomas v. der Osten-Sacken Via Enduringamerica [...]
Unfortunately your site offers only "official" statements to today's show trials, which are much reminding of Stalinistic purges. Clothing all accused with pyjamas and robbing Abtahi of his usual turban are the most evident signs of humiliation at the very beginning of this show. No comment on this?
Not a single word neither about Ayatollah Hojati Kermani, member of the Council of Experts, harshly condemning the killing of innocent protesters, attributed to the CIA and other foreign intelligence services: http://norooznews.org/news/13218.php
Six weeks after the rigged election it has become very clear that Western states have no pity for the protesters, they prefer "stable" conditions. Nevertheless the Islamic Republic is crumbling, we are witnessing the rise of an enduring Iran!
Poor Abtahi, I feel soooo sorry for him! They must have done cruel things to him to "confess"! :-(
Jashar,
I was thinking the same thing. His "confession" may be the first of many today that have been obtained in the same way.
The regime reveals how truly weak it is. If the govt is this scared to let the people speak, it shows that it doubts it's own legitimacy. Otherwise it would not have to resort to brute force to stay in power.
Arshama,
I believe the bloggers here are reporting, not condoning, what the regime is saying in the trials today. We in the West need someone like you to explain the significance of what you are seeing. We know that clothing the prisoners in pajamas is an effort to humiliate them. We need you who know the culture to point out that Abtahi was denied the right to wear his turban, because some of us don't know to look for it & may not know what it means.
If you read through some posts of the last few days, both here and in other blogs, you can see that many of us are sickened by what the government of Iran is doing in it's desperate attempts to hold onto power. The only solace is that the regime is destroying itself in the process. Myself, I am inspired by the courage of the people of Iran and can only hope I would be so brave in such a circumstance.
[...] Derweil haben, wie nicht anders zu erwarten war, “the “reformist” Parliamentary group Imam Khomeini Line has denounced today’s events as a “so-called trial”. Veröffentlicht in News, Vor Ort. Kommentar schreiben » [...]
Amy,
I have no doubt that many bloggers are reporting about what is going on in Iran, but unfortunately Enduring America has chosen to reflect only the regime's statements today. Fortunately there are other sources, where you can read what is really going on in this country, especially Josh Shahryar's Green Brief 45, giving full coverage of silenced oppositional voices:
http://iran.whyweprotest.net/green-brief/24146-green-brief-45-july-31-a.html
I really do regret that Enduring America makes no effort to publish such news as well.
Even though this might not be the last site, which reinforces such silencing, Iranians will continue their efforts to install a free Iranian Republic.
Arshama,
You really have got the wrong end of the stick. Enduring America is reporting the regime's statements in order to critique them and not validate them. Even a cursory reading of the site will show that it is about as far from being a platform for the regime as you can get!
[...] more from the original source: The Latest from Iran (1 August): The Regime Gets Tough | Enduring … Tags: afghanistan, friends-and, gone-as-far, strayed-across [...]
[...] Anklage ist jedenfalls nicht mehr als eine obligatorische Präambel. Wer sie nachvollziehen mag, Scott Lucas hat sie kurz zusammengefaßt, aber es lohnt nicht wirklich. Wohin die Reise wirklich gehen soll, [...]
ALTERNATE HISTORY: USA in 1964 & Khamenei's Iran in 2009
Pretend it is 1964 again in Washington, D.C., but this time America has a Khamenei-style president who hates reform and is determined to keep old ways unchanged.
Millions of people, led by Martin Luther, march on Washington to demand their constitutional rights. The president orders FBI and police to disperse them with clubs and guns. Telephone service is cut off, airwaves jammed and newspapers silenced. Anyone with a camera is beaten. Men in black cars seize King’s aides, journalists and Congressmen. Foreign journalists are ordered to leave the United States immediately.
On national television, the president appeals to unity and informs the public that brutal measures are essential to save the country from a foreign threat (“Blacks were perfectly happy until the these commie agitators stirred them up.”) Weeks later Walter Cronkite, Mother Theresa and other “traitors” appear on national TV to confess to their crimes.
The following questions refer to the above scenario but apply equally to Khamenei‘s Iran. In both cases, the answers will be self-evident: 1. What are the chances that most people would believe such accusations? 2. Would oppression soothe or radicalize larger numbers of people? 3. Would people have been better off years later if the leader had opted for reform instead?
In her book, The March of Folly, historian Barbara Tuchman finds a common trait shared by bad leaders. Incapable of compromise and despite growing signs of trouble, they persist in unworkable courses and ignore viable alternatives. The more they rely on force and intimidation to silence critics, the more they widen the gap between rulers and ruled. Whatever consequences follow are self-inflicted.
What Khamenei did in rigging elections and forcing a show trial cannot be undone. “Clemency” will not restore respect. The regime had no business submitting thousands of Iranians to such horrors in the first place. People now see that similar brutality was Khamenei’s trademark long before Ahmadinejad appeared. Since 2004 he has simply dropped all pretense to constitutional behavior. His gift to the people increasingly resembles George Orwell’s definition of totalitarianism: “A boot in your face forever.”
People living under oppressive governments do not require foreigners to convince them they should be unhappy. Popular governments don’t panic over the internet, free elections, free media and peaceful demonstrations. If the once popular Iranian regime and its Supreme Leader are mistrusted and scorned today who is to blame? When people shout “Death to Khamenei” we know the truth has dawned.
The Supreme Tyrant allegedly seeks to supplant the Pahlavis with his own dynasty. His chosen heir led the Basilj against the people. Perhaps Khamenei will pass along the deathbed advice of emperor Septimus Severus to his successor?: “Just take care of the army and forget about the rest.”
When the mass "trial" of a hundred people isn't enough...
The sickly smell of desperation:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=102224§ionid=351020101" rel="nofollow">Chemical attack planned during Iran unrest
[...] the rest here: The Latest from Iran (1 August): The Regime Gets Tough | Enduring … Share and [...]
[...] house, is the foremost consideration that is taken into account when determining the house value.The Latest from Iran (1 August): The Regime Gets Toughenduringamerica.com says: NEW Iran: Interpreting Ayatollah Jannati’s Challenge at Friday Prayers [...]
I've published a full translation of the indictment with a few comments--I'll add more tomorrow ان شا الله.
http://www.qlineorientalist.com/IranRises/the-indictment
Evan,
Thank you very much for the translation.
S.