Council for a Community of Democracies

Tensions Escalate in Iran as Both Sides Take to the Streets
December 30, 2009
By: Matt Levy

Iran’s brutal suppression of the reform movement continued on Sunday, December 27 as many Iranians marked the death of Iman Hosein during Ashoura, a solemn Shiite holiday. According to the New York Times, at least eight were killed, including the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, in the country’s greatest unrest since the aftermath of the contested presidential elections in June.

As Robin Wright, a senior fellow at the US Institute of Peace, has described in her piece in Times Online, civil disobedience is starting to reach a fever pitch in Iran with protestors continuing to call for an end to Iran’s dictatorship and for greater respect for human rights despite the government’s best efforts to quell any and all public dissent. She goes on to describe the protest as “the most vibrant and imaginative civil disobedience campaign in the world,” due to the stamping of Iran’s currency with green Vs for victory in addition to other anti-government slogans and pictures, the boycotting of all goods advertised on Iran’s state-controlled television and the pervasiveness of graffiti berating the regime.

The crackdowns on opposition protests have received international condemnation, including a statement from President Obama, in which he said:

“For months the Iranian people have sought nothing more than to exercise their universal rights. Each time they have done so they have been met with the iron fist of brutality, even on solemn occasions and holy days. And each time that has happened the world has watched with deep admiration for the courage and the conviction of the Iranian people, who are a part of Iran's great and enduring civilization.

“What's taking place within Iran is not about the United States or any other country -- it's about the Iranian people and their aspirations for justice and a better life for themselves. And the decision of Iran's leaders to govern through fear and tyranny will not succeed in making those aspirations go away. As I said in Oslo, it's telling when governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation.”

In a passionate statement, a member of CCD's board and co-chair of Canadian Friends for a Democratic Iran, David Kilgour wrote, "Iranians spoke loudly and clearly again when they poured into the streets in Tehran and all major cities across the country in recent days to show the world that they are ready to risk their lives to bring about democratic change in Iran. We Canadians must not close our eyes to their plight and their determination to have their voices heard."

On December 29, in response to opposition protests, the Iranian government organized its own protests across the country granting the day off to all government employees in order to attend these events. The New York Times reported that tens of thousands of government supporters filled the streets in support of Iran’s clerical rulers, and some were even chanting for the deaths of opposition leaders.

The Washington Post has reported that Iran’s government has arrested at least 10 opposition protestors including the sister of Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. In response to this and growing tensions within Iran, the United States and others have renewed threats of imposing sanctions against Iran.

Sources:
The Washington Post – Iranian security forces intensify crackdown
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/29/AR2009122900327.html

The New York Times - Iran Hardliners Call for Killing Rivals at Rallies
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/30/world/AP-ML-Iran.html?_r=1

Times Online - Is this Iran’s Berlin Wall moment?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6969094.ece

Note:

In an article by the Christian Science Monitor, they draw attention to Professor Gene Sharp's publication,"From Dictatorship to Democracy," and the role it has played in supporting Iran's opposition since the June elections, while being singled out by Iran's government as a principle instigator of the unrest. The article can be found here:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2009/1229/Iran-protesters-the-Harvard-professor-behind-their-tactics

Professor Sharp's seminal work may be found here:
http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations/org/FDTD.pdf