Thursday, June 25, 2009

What will happen to the Iranian revolt?


An Iranian Revolution That's Not Over Yet -Ramin Ahmadi

The divisions that are now appearing within Revolutionary Guard units are arguably most troubling for the regime. There are reports that the chief of the Tehran unit, Ali Fazli, is now under arrest.

Other reports point to a rebellion brewing within Revolutionary Guards forces. At least one report claimed that 16 leading Guard members were arrested for refusing to shoot protesters.
(Forbes)


Iran's Opposition Vows to Go on

Iran's reformist opposition leaders vowed to press on with legal challenges to an election they say was rigged, although the hardline government appeared to have largely crushed mass protests, with police and militia flooding Tehran's streets.
(Reuters-Washington Post)


Bet on Neda's Side -David Ignatius

On one side you have all the instruments of repression in Iran, gathering their forces for a crackdown. On the other you have unarmed protesters symbolized by the image of Neda Agha Soltan, a martyred woman dying helplessly on the street.

Who's going to win?

In the short run, the victors may be the thugs who claim to rule in the name of God: the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Basij militia and the other tools of an Islamic revolution that has decayed and hardened into mere authoritarianism.

But over the coming months and years, my money is on the followers of the martyred Neda. They have exposed the weakness of the clerical regime in a way that Iran's foreign adversaries never could. They have opened a fundamental split in the regime.
(Washington Post)


Neda Soltan's Family Forced Out of Their Home by Authorities

The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of Neda Agha Soltan out of their Tehran home after shocking images of her death were circulated around the world.

Neighbours said that her family no longer lives in the four-floor apartment building on Meshkini Street, in eastern Tehran, having been forced to move since she was killed. The police did not hand the body back to her family, her funeral was cancelled, she was buried without letting her family know and the government banned mourning ceremonies at mosques, the neighbours said.

The government is also accusing protesters of killing Soltan. [A] pro-government newspaper, has gone so far as to blame the recently expelled BBC correspondent, Jon Leyne, of hiring "thugs" to shoot her so he could make a documentary film.
(Guardian-UK)
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