Despite every effort by the authorities, opposition supporters
in Iran are making their voices heard using nontraditional
methods. |
(RFE/RL) -- It's been more than a week since
protesters last took to the streets of Tehran in their tens of thousands.
The protesters have been driven away by the violence (at least 20 people have
been killed in the protests) and by the frequent appearance of baton-wielding
police and militiamen. Meanwhile, hundreds -- some say thousands -- of
opposition supporters and reformist figures have been arrested.
Adding to the atmosphere of intimidation are the published
"confessions" of skullduggery by some of those detained,
including, most recently, that of "Newsweek" correspondent Maziar Bahari.
It's all limited the options of those who believe the June 12 vote was rigged in
favor of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
His victory now has the official stamp of approval after the country's top
legislative body, the Guardians Council, confirmed the result on June 29.
But that does not mean the protest movement is over. Instead, it has turned more
subtle, with people finding creative ways to express their dissent and continued
protest.
Rooftop Calls
One now familiar expression is the cries of "God is great" from Tehran's
rooftops at night, in an echo of one of the slogans of the Islamic Revolution 30
years ago.
|
Protesters are getting around the authorities' clampdown on the
Internet and social-networking sites by having information compiled
and posted by colleagues abroad. |
These days, "Death to the dictator," is often added, too.
Protesters are finding other ways to air their views, even amid a clampdown on
the media. They include turning on car headlights or honking horns. Or releasing
homemade green balloons from rooftops.
And there are new underground newspapers being passed among protesters and
cropping up on the Internet.
"Simply, there is no space for independent journalism," Iranian journalist
Hossein Bastani, who's based outside the country, tells RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
"If you put the previous pressures and the new pressures and censorship
together, you see that they have made independent journalism impossible."
Among this new crop of underground papers are:
-- "Sabz" (Green)
-- "Kalameh Sabz" (Green Word, apparently unrelated to
its Musavi-owned namesake, which was shut down last month)
--
"Khiyaban" (Street)
They appear to be getting round a tightening
media clampdown at home by having news and information sent from Iran
compiled and posted by journalists abroad.
Inside The Establishment
And there's continued resistance, too, from those inside the establishment.
A growing number of clerics have been critical of the elections results and the
ensuing crackdown, including, most recently, Ayatollah Jalaledin Taheri, the
former Friday Prayers leader of Isfahan.
One pro-reform senior cleric, Mohammad Ali Ayazi, told RFE/RL's Golnaz
Esfandiari that a number of clerics share his concerns.
"[A number of clerics] in Qom believe that the way the election was conducted
was not correct and healthy," said Ayazi, a senior member of the Qom Seminary
Society of Theologians. "Therefore, they had called for an investigation by an
independent group, many believed, because of the evidence, that there had been
massive manipulation in the June 12 vote.
"Therefore, the statement by Ayatollah Taheri, who is one of the Isfahan's most
prominent clerics, is also in the same line, and I think it was natural for the
clerics to defend people's rights."
Support From Outside
There's also continued support from outside Iran.
On June 30, human rights groups in the United States
called on the international community to keep up criticism
of Iranian authorities in a bid to end the crackdown on protesters.
An
online petition drawn up by human rights lawyers urges the
prosecutor at the International Criminal Court to "strongly consider speaking
out publicly regarding the ongoing situation in Iran."
And a number of groups are keeping tabs on the number of people arrested or
killed.
One is the New York- and Vienna-based International Campaign for Human Rights in
Iran,
It names more
than 200 people who have been arrested since June 12 and says the
total number could be up to 2,000, double the figure given by Iran's police
chief.
Radio Farda reports that those who've been detained fall into four main groups –
well-known figures associated with the opposition campaigns; other well-known
figures; people arrested on the streets; and foreign correspondents.
Copyright (c) 2009 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
... Payvand News - 07/02/09 ... --
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