Monday, December 7, 2009

Today, day of student, ... (16 Azar, December 7th)

And kids are out ...

brave
brave
brave
...

for those who don't know, today is "National Day of Daneshjoo".
55 years ago (1953) on this day, the Engineering students of Tehran University, staged a protest against the appearance of Richard Nixon in Iran (after the American assisted coup d'etat of 1953). The shah's General, Fazlollah Zahedi opened fire on students and three were killed.

Today, Iranian students vowed to defy the orders and threats, and to flood streets. They have been chanting Allah-o Akbar last night, as loud as they could, as passionately as they could; in isolated dark pockets on the not-so safe roofs of Tehran. And today, they are chanting:

Down With dictator!

...

I will add photos and videos; once I have decided on the best of them--and finished work.



First Set: Elm O San'at University. This gathering is PARTICULARLY important because Elm-O-Sanat is Ahmadinejad's stronghold. He was a professor there and most of his ministers are (faked-PhDs) from the professors mafia of Elm O San'at.





This must be Tehran U or AmirKabi U. What I like is the sign the girl in the black veil is holding:
Man be tang aamadeh-am az hameh chiz
begozaarid havaari bezanam
(I am fed up with every thing, let me scream ...)
This gives me goose bumps ...



This vide is also brilliant! Students are each holding some money, extending it towards the Basijis, suggesting that they are confronting the people because they are on Ahmadinejad's payroll. In fact, this is not an outlandish suggestion. After the post-election oppression, the basijis had received bonuses and thanks for their participation. I think the salary for joining the band of biker-beaters was around 200$ per day. (Which reminds me that the parliament has vowed to investigate (again) the 1 billion dollar that went missing from the government coffers during Ahmadinejad's first term.)



This picture is chilling. The boy in white shirt is held by two Taliban-looking Al-quaeda-attired thugs. What is fascinating is the posture of the police. The men in dark green in the foreground. They are standing passively. By and large the police has not been bruitalizing--although some of the special guards are caught on video hitting little girls in the head. But in this picture, you see the BRUTALITY of the savages who are by all means foreigner to the rest of us Iranians!




More tear Gas! Imagine Tehran is a city of > 12 million people at night, only! Unless they carpet bomb the city, they will not be able to contain it. 30 years ago, the shah couldn't win over these people.
I loved one particular slogan: Polise zedde[anti] shooresh[riot]; Ahmadi ro beshooresh[wash ahmadinejad] :))



I was the first person to click on this on You Tube! This is Ilam University. Ilam is a little impoverished province in the South West of Iran. This is defying the notion that it is only a minority of Tehrani students who are acting chaotically.



And this is Kermanshah, one of Iran's Kurdish provinces and one of the most dangerous places to have a political profile. Recently, Ehsan Fatahian was hanged for his participation in Kurdish politics.


:)) this one is hilarious: In front of Tehran U, kids sing: Nang-e maa Nange Maa, Rahbare Aldange maa [our shame , our shame, our leader (is) lame]



And these are fresh images of protest in Kerman. Kerman is the hometown of Hashemi Rafsanjani 9rafsanjan is a city in province of Kerman.) Kerman has a long history of political participation, but it is also reputed for being one of the calmest provinces of Iran--its people famous for being lazy :) At the end of the 18th century, Kerman came under siege by Agha Mohammad Khan. The city was giving refuge to Lotfalikhan, the king from Zand dynasty, perhaps one of the best and most fair dynasties of Iran. Mohammad khan punished Kermanis for their loyalty to Zandiye by balling 210 kilos of eyes!! This painful defeat is believed to have paid a significant role in Kermani's rather conservative and passive roles in the history.Nevetheless, it is one of the ancient Iranian cities, rich with culture and architecture. The students of the "lazy" city are ALSO OUT. Notice they chant a little less forcefully than Tehranis or Kurds :)



And these are my favorite Xena pictures.
A little feisty girl teaching the guy a lesson! :)

The girls holding a V are standing in front of the engineering department (I think this is Mashad U).


This is what they mean by Lebas-shakhsi (plain clothes; or Basiji). Click on the picture to see the faces up close. What is the average age, you think? What is the motivation? I have seen real Basijis; they are shy; introvert; and quiet. These are hired thugs; or pre-Talibanized psychos, who need brain-washing in the clock-work-orange style!



And this is Ghazvin protests. Ghazvin's population is famous for their "chutzpa". :) They chant: "we are children of war, fight and we will fight you back!"

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have to say, Naj, these students display a remarkable level of courage for their cause. Impressive.

I'm following the live blogging over at:
http://homylafayette.blogspot.com/

PS: Thanks for the reply on the previous thread.

-Pirouz

Anonymous said...

Judging from the videos, the demonstrations depict a total lack of leadership. There doesn't seem to be any Green leaders emerging to address the crowd. No intensive politicking. Instead, there are spasms of chanting and a lot of mulling around. Even amongst the crowd, students appear to be congealed in threes and fours, as you would expect in any type of student gathering.

I'm wondering how hard it will be for these students upon leaving the university (where they seem to be relatively unmolested- at least at AKU) and making their way home.

-Pirouz

Naj said...

Pirouz,

Judging from the videos, the demonstrations depict a total lack of leadership.

Now you are sounding clueless! I recommend you follow up Iranian links to realize how HARD the security is trying to keep people scattered!

You expect green leaders emerge on red carpet and give a speech??

Have you not read how many students are KICKED out of university for participating in any form of protest?

"total lack of leadership" ... this sounds clueless ...!

Naj said...

Students are not molested right now because they are protesting alongside the basijis who have gathered in "authorized" gatherings on the campus!

The molestation of these students will begin at the end of term, when they will be handed in their dismissal orders!

You don't seem to appreciate HOW FRIGHTENING it is to get in cross hair with the ugly bearded Basijis ... studying one term in AmirKabir might help you get in touch with your national heritage ;)

Naj said...

Pirouz, you wanted leadershi? read this
Zahra rahnavard, who is the wife of Mousavi, and a university professor, was attacked by female goons of Ahmadinejad camp and pepper-sprayed IN THE FACE, and rescued by the people ...

Anonymous said...

Naj,

I think Pirouz has a point to some extent. There is no overarching leader for the movement right now, a la Khomeini in 1978, and Václav Havel in 1989. This is not to say they can get things done, but there is no centralized planning. This is also why I live the movement. With time some of the students leaders will emerge as to be the leaders of the green movement.

These people have inspired me throughout the summer. I am not sure I will have the courage to do what they are doing.

Naj said...

Anonymous,

Of course these people have no leader; but this is a GOOD thing. They have been PUSHING and forming their leaders, they have been LEADINg mousavi and Karoubi and even Hashemi. this is how democracy is built; but PEOPLE shaping leaders into the form of their demands.

Let the other camp have a leader, and let them call hin supreme, centralized power always corrupts. These kids really know what they want; they have neiter been deterred, nor distracted. They are playing in unity and no scheme as been able to break them apart. This is a very very proud moment for Iran.

Anonymous said...

You state "The shah's General, Ardeshir Zahedi..." but surely you mean "General Fazlollah Zahedi". It's a shame to let such an error dilute the veracity of your other statements!!!

Naj said...

Anonymous,

Error duly noted. It was indeed a shameful mistake. Thanks for pointing it out; and please do make sure I won't make such slippages. I think I have heard so much about Ardeshi Zahedi's involvement in 1953 coup that it just came out automatically!