Image via Wikipedia
News From Iran
Josh, aka NiteOwl has been producing The Green Brief, the best source of gathered sources which are verified as well as they can be, under the circumstances. Nearly all of this information is gathered via twitter sources from inside Iran. Some of these things he reports I can somewhat verify, in that I have seen the same reports from very trusted sources. An extremely small set of sources. Josh is more connected to the #iranelection than I am. I trust him to be as accurate as is possible.
I can’t stress how much I appreciate Josh and his small team for the work they’re putting into all this. As an American, it might seem strange that I would care at all. I can only stress that we are all brothers, sisters, and cousins on this world.
I don’t really care about “spreading democracy” to the world. What I do care about is that each nation of us is able to choose the government we want, to choose our lives as we see fit. The revolution was supposed to guarantee that right to my Iranian friends, but as we see now, that revolution was co-opted by some assholes.
Those assholes are not Muslim, any more than assholes here are Christian. They are Assholes, and would be such in any land, any language, any nation, any religion. Assholes must not be allowed to rule.
The following is from trusted reports from inside Iran and describes events of August 3rd and 4th, 2009 .
The Green Brief #48 (August 3,4 – Mordad 12,13)
I’m NiteOwl AKA Josh Shahryar – twitter.com/iran_translator on twitter. I’m a journalist and a human rights activist and NOT Iranian. This is a compilation of news from Iran that I’ve gathered through twitter and Iranian sites that were advertised on twitter. Remember, this is all from tweets. (My work is released under Creative Commons (CC).)
These are the important happenings that I can positively confirm from Monday, August 3 – Mordad 12. (Some reports are from August 4 as well)In German: http://bit.ly/45wbw3
Protests / Unrest
1. Protests were held in Tehran and at least one other city today. They were in retaliation to the official endorsement ceremony of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by Ayatollah Khamenei on August 2.
2. In Tehran, people gathered at Valiasr Square and Vanak Square at 6 PM Tehran time. People also protested in other parts of the city, Keshavarz Blvd, Kargar Street, Azadi Square, Takhte Tavoos, Mirdamad, Enghelab Square and 7 Tir Square, as well as other areas. Protests also took place in front of IRIB’s main office and the Ministry of Interior.
3. People marched peacefully on the sidewalks towards Fatemi Square and Sa’aie park. The number of security forces was in the hundreds.
4. Clashes broke out between protesters and security forces, yet again. Police used tear gas and fired guns in the air. Protesters were, yet again, harshly beaten injuring at least seven women. People retaliated in some areas by setting garbage dumpsters on fire to disperse the tear gas.
5. Clashes were mainly concentrated on Vanak, but were also reported from Fatemi Square and other parts of Tehran – albeit with less intensity. The protestors were joined by a very large number of cars on the streets, honking their horns in support. For the first time today protesters also gathered in South Tehran in Naziabad.
6. Protests continued late into the night with people walking on the streets until past midnight. To disperse protesters, lights were cut off in some parts of Tehran, to force people to go home. Sharif and Tarasht Metro Stations were closed to disrupt the flow of people in and out of Central Tehran. People opened their doors to protesters who were being chased by Basijis on motorbikes.
7. No reformist leaders were present during the protests in Tehran. Initial reports, on various MSM and Iranian websites, claimed that Mahdi Karroubi had passed through a protest in his car – if not outright joined one – but that claim was later denied by Karroubi’s office.
8. Numbers were hard to corroborate. From pictures and from at least one reputed source, it seems that somewhere between 2,000-5,000 people gathered at Vanak, although overall, across the city the number would be closer to 10,000.
9. Outside Tehran, there was a protest in Shiraz. Protesters were fired at by security forces resulting in 15 injuries and 3 deaths. This has been confirmed.
Upcoming International Protests
10. A flash demonstration is being organized in Toronto at Dundas Square on Saturday – August 8 at 12 PM for about 2 minutes. For more information:
Login | Facebook
or
Toronto – Saturday Aug.8 Flashmob freeze11. A protest is being held today in Atlanta, USA on Lenox Square at the corner of Lenox and Peachtree between 6 and 9 PM. More information: People4Iran | Raising Awareness About The People of Iran
12. August 5 protest against Ahmadinejad’s inauguration, London, in front of the Iranian Embassy from 18:00 to 21:00.
13. More protests being held in Germany. For time, place and information:
Julia’s Blog: Protests and rallies in Germany (subject to change w/o notice)(If you, your friends or your organization are holding events, protests or doing something else related to the Iranian elections internationally, please send me an email with details and I will give you coverage. (Will only cost you 10 million dollars!) My email is: dbosca@gmail.com – I am also curious if anyone is doing something for the day of Ahmadinejad’s inauguration OUTSIDE Iran.)
Opposition
14. The reformist Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization today released a statement warning that Iran was on the brink of chaos. Their statement was mainly directed at the trial of reformists on August 1. The organization called the trial a ‘show’ and illegal on all counts.
15. The Assembly of Qom Seminary Scholars and Researchers also released a statement today calling the trial a ‘show’. The statement called the trial illegal and another mistake by the government. It called upon the government, once again, to pay heed to people’s demands and stop oppressing peaceful protesters and their supporters.
16. Ayatollah Mohaghegh-Damad has sent an open letter to Shahroudi and harshly criticized the legality of the trial of the reformists. He called the trial “an infamous blot on Islamic Jurisprudence”. He called it outright illegal.
17. 86 faculty members of Tehran University sent a letter to Shahroudi today asking for the release of Eng. Khodayari.
18. The Association of Combatant Clerics also released a statement today calling the trial of reformists a staged act. The statement added that the government was trying to distract people’s attention from the government’s inhumane treatment of its citizens.
Government / International
19. Mohsen Rezaie’s spokesperson today told Al-Alam TV that Rezaie’s attendance was merely a show of respect for the leader. He indicated that Rezaie reserved the right to protest the election and criticize it.
20. Ahmad Khatami today criticized the use of Allah o Akbar by protesters.
21. The King of Oman is on a state visit to Iran. He was one of the first heads of a state that congratulated Ahmadinejad on his ‘historic’ selection as Iran’s president.
22. According to reports, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is not going to congratulate Ahmadinejad on his selection as Iran’s president.
Arrested / Released / Killed
23. Partially confirmed reports indicate that the director of Tehran’s main oil refinery has been arrested. He is considered to be close to Mousavi.
24. IRIB has reported that three detained American hikers, accused of working for the CIA were being questioned. The location of their detention was not disclosed.
25. Saeed Hajjarian’s confession will be shown soon on IRIB.
26. The spokesperson for the parliamentary commission reporting on the condition of the detainees from the recent protests, Kazem Jalali, said today that their report had been handed over to the government. He also added that he was resigning from his position.
27. The deputy prosecutor of Tehran said today that the reformists currently on trial, will be allowed to have attorneys present in the next session of the court on Thursday.
28. A group of families of the reformists, who were put on trial on August 1, have released a statement calling the trial a sham. The statement added that the trial was an indicator of the complete prostration of those who staged it. They further questioned the legality of the trial calling it “devoid of the most basic legal articles”.
Media
29. Etemaade Melli, a newspaper belonging to Mahdi Karroubi’s party of the same name, has been warned by the government to tone down its criticism of the government. The government has also warned Etemaade Melli to stop questioning the legitimacy of the election via its interviews. Etemaade Melli has not been published for several days in the past few weeks because the government did not deem the material suitable for publishing.
To Helpers
– Anonymous – the collective that organizes and runs this forum – needs donations to keep the servers running. They only need about 22,500
Cents a month to make this possible. If you do want to make a donation, please chip in your pennies here for the month of August: General Expense – Why We Protest– Info on republishing the Green Brief: For Bloggers, News Sites and Forum who want to republish the Green Brief Plesae Read! – Why We Protest – IRAN
– Information on Tor: Tor Browser Bundle
– Discuss/Annotate: http://aic.openmsl.net/wiki/index.php/Green_Brief_48 ; Create it if it doesn’t exist.
– (A list of all the Green Briefs: http://ded1.hybrid-optix.com/greenbriefs.html
– A hearty thanks to Sahar joon and S joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.
Original Greenbrief at WhyWeProtest
