Turbulent Iranian universities & student protests

Authorities which anticipated to face new wave of protests with the new school year, called on suspected students who have had history of involving in student movements and protests in universities across Iran and threatened them about consequence of their actions with harsh words weeks before starting of school year but seems it had little effect on what students were about to do.

As you might know, Iranian students have seized any opportunity to protests against regime atrocities since 1979 Islamic revolution. In the beginning they were mostly leftist students but with Ayatollah Khomeini’s command, Islamic regime managed to purge most of them, mostly in mass execution/hanging style. Due to Iran-Iraq war, political terrors among rivals over power and extreme oppression state, universities were quite calm or better to say it was like fire under ashes, cold on the outside and ready to blaze deep down inside.

Until July 1999 that students fed up with ruling system, came out to protest against theocratic regime in streets of Tehran and then other major cities in Iran. This time Ayatollah khamenei commanded armed Basij militia to attack dormitories of Tehran University and set an example out of them. Students were killed, thrown out of balconies and beaten to death but it was far from over and they couldn’t shutdown the angry voices anymore than what they thought was the best course of action. Well, as all totalitarian regimes do.

Ayatollahs tighten the grip once again and new wave repression imposed on society and specially students which have been outspoken fraction of Iranian society (Not necessarily correct but outspoken). Now here we are after presidential election crisis and in the beginning of new school year, so far students managed to protest in two universities in Tehran, Tehran and Sharif University.

Tehran University, 28 September 2009. Take a look at photos!

Sharif University, 29 September 2009. Also check out these photos!

There have been rumors that regime might shutdown universities in order to stop student protests. We are not at that stage yet and it is hard to say, this was regime’s plan or green movement propaganda, I am not sure yet. I’ll fill you in when I get it all.

A summary of New York protests against Ahmadinejad

If you happened to miss out what Iranian protesters were doing in New York, let me share these videos with you.

This is a good report from NYPost about protests in New York on September 23 that shows different Iranian fractions protesting Ahmadinejad and it is not all green supporting Mousavi & Karroubi. Well mostly green, I guess.

Iranian protesters angry at Ahmadinejad and his atrocities didn’t want him to enjoy a good night sleep in New York. They took the protest behind his window in front of InterContinental The Barclay New York at night of September 23.

Protests continued on second night on September 24 in NYC:

It gets interesting when Iranian delegation in hotel were recording video from protesters. You might ask what do they want to do with this video?! It is should note that the green protest in New York organized by people who are families of reformist party members and dissident mullahs (ayatollahs) which in fact were part of establishment until recent pro-conservative purge within Islamic republic of Iran. So any evidence that proves dissident reformists and ayatollahs’ relatives involved in protests outside of Iranian border (which brought shame to Islamic government) could be used against their relatives inside of Iran.

There were other Iranian parties which green organizers (mullahs and reformist relatives) don’t get along with them, they don’t like their anti-regime slogans and so on so asked them not to be on their way. They call it green democracy.

Iranians protesting Ahmadinejad in New York

Even before Ahmadinejad reach to New York Iranians gathered to protest against his presidency, poor human rights records, wild and threatening rhetorics on national and international scene, presidential election fiasco and last but not least his presence in UN.

First Iranians presented NYC with moving posters about poor human rights situation in following of fraudulent election protests on day and evening of September 22, 2009.

At the same evening, Iranians preformed Human Screen protest against Ahmadinejad. Here is a photo from that event but you can watch the video in here.

Then on September 23, 2009, the day that Ahmadinejad was about to give rambling hypocritical speech people came on New York streets to protest. Here are some videos:

Protest in front of the United Nations (UN):

Photos courtesy of onlymehdi

Ahmadinejad speech in UN General Assembly

I just watch and listen to Ahmadinejad speech in UN general assembly and the only two words that come to my mind is hypocrite and disgrace. In fact I couldn’t expect anything else from him. He is a total failure!

It gets worse when he refers to Jews as

"small minority would dominate the politics, economy and culture of major parts of the world by its complicated networks, and establish a new form of slavery, and harm the reputation of other nations, even European nations and the US, to attain its racist ambitions."

What did he accomplish? Except disgrace that many diplomats and countries’ delegates walked out while he was speaking and more than half of seats were empty, probably his hypocritical speech would attract some Islamic radicals in Arab countries and Pakistan.

If you didn’t get to watch it, you didn’t loose anything, indeed you saved some of your worthy time. Anyway you can read the transcript here.

Ahmadinejad in New York

Well, not exactly himself but someone paid a truck to carry a poster calling to hold him accountable for murder, torture and rape during election crisis in Iran.

Doesn’t look like a nice welcome, does it?! I just have problem to point fingers only at him while we know Iran supreme leader Khamenei has to be far more responsible for crimes than only Ahmadinejad. In fact I go further and I hold whole establishment accountable, all of these ayatollahs and clergies, now reformists and conservatives!

Anyway today Ahmadinejad is in New York and Iranians are just welcome him with protest in front of UN headquarters.


Photo courtesy of Daylife

Deepening political fraction in Eid Fitr in Iran

The end of Ramadan in Muslims marked by an Islamic holiday called Eid Fitr, in Iran it called Eyde Fetr. It supposed to be at the end of Ramadan and beginning of a new Islamic month called Shawwal but Different Muslim sects announce different days end of Ramadan and celebrate different days.

Above video shows, supreme leader’s chief of intelligence officer Mr. Vahidi is trying to place Rafsanjani next to Ahmadienjad in Eid Fitr prayer, while Khamenei leading the prayer but Rafsanjani refuses to stand up next to Ahmadienjad who is responsible for rigged also he called Rafsanjani and his family corrupt on state-own TV.

Due to differences of interests among Iranian Shia clerics and neighboring Sunni clerics (except that majority of population in Iraq, Bahrain and Azerbaijan are Shia), Pakistan and Afghanistan; Iranian Shia clerics usually used to announce one day later than Sunni clerics as Eid Fitr. Also you need to take into account that there has been a historical hostility among Arab countries and Iran that in fact played major role in development of Shia sect and of course different Islamic ceremonies and traditions. (map of Sunni and Shia Islam)

But this year was a little different. As a result of fraction in Islamic republic establishment in aftermath of presidential election crisis Ayatollah Khamenei’s position as supreme leader is threatened by reformist clerics and some clerics threatened to remove him from the position backed by Hashemi Rafsanjani. So in a tit for tat move, Khamenei indirectly threatened dissident Grand Ayatollahs’ authority (I would prefer) by declaring Eid Fitr on Sunday September 20, 2009 the very same day that Sunni clerics declared Eid and it celebrated among majority of Sunni Muslims in neighboring countries and Shia Muslim followers of Khamenei.

But Iranian dissident ayatollahs didn’t follow and approve Khamenei’s choice of Eid holiday and they declared the day after as Eid Fitr so their Shia followers, mostly Iranians celebrated Islamic holiday (Eid Fitr) one day later on Monday September 21, 2009. It is not really hard to observe the moon and find out when Ramadan finished but it is all about clerical politics and differences among them. This last move proves that fraction is deepening among ayatollahs.

Khamenei who’s “Grand Ayatollah” title has been in question and doubt by major Shia clerics since 1989 and nowadays he faces widespread protests, and criticism for threatening protesters over presidential election dispute and afterwards for killing, torture, rape and show trials of reformists and protesters, either has to accept defiance and cut a deal with reformist clerics to rule the country and crush the rest of people who naturally doesn’t subscribe to ayatollahs, reformist ayatollahs or any kind of mullahs at all. Or he has to deal with reformist ayatollahs asap and the crushing noise calm down the public for a while.

Taking down Hezbollah poster in Iran

We, people never liked Hezbollah or any other terrorist organization specially when Islamic regime feeds them with Iran's petrol dollars.

At 0:22 young protesters chant “set it on fire, set it on fire”. Irony is all of this happened on the Quds day, the day that the Ayatollah wanted to see people supporting Palestine and of course naturally Hezbollah as an ally for Islamic Iran in their cause.