IRAN NEWS
I am dedicating this page to the courageous resistance of my friends and fellow Iranians against the tyrannical regime of Iran. Freedom is a fundamental right of every human being but alas at this stage of human development, it does not come cheaply or easily. Iran has proven to operate as a fascitst country garbed in the robes of religion.
The communications I post on this page are with an accomplished poet and activist residing in Iran. For his safely, I will not divulge his name. For now, let's call him Mr. E.
--Sholeh Wolpe
(On June 20th, 2009, Neda Agha-Soltan, a 26 year old Iranian woman and a student of philosophy who was attending a demonstration in Tehran protesting the vote-count fraud in the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was aimed at and shot in the heart by a Basiji hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. This poem is dedicated to her and to all the Iranians fighting for freedom and democracy in Iran.)
I Am Neda
Leave the Basiji bullet in my heart,
fall to prayer in my blood,
and hush, father
--I am not dead.More light than mass,
I flood through you,
breathe with your eyes,
stand in your shoes, on the rooftops,
in the streets, march with you
in the cities and villages of our country
shouting through you, with you.
I am Neda—thunder on your tongue.-- Sholeh Wolpe
Emails from Mr. E, poet and acitivist in Iran
Friday 7-10-09
Yesterday was great, a mixture of cars and people. Thousands of people were there. There were even many wild animals. Car protests restrict the movements of wild animals, and the human protests were everywhere. They confused. It was a great success. They showed all of their wildness and people showed their presence, anger and peace.
Many of us have been arrested.
I am safe. Writing and preparing a Media-Art presentation of Poetry and Protest for the exhibition in August.
Thursday 7-9-09
Today will be a memorial silent demonstration for student movement in 1999. we will be there. the government tried to force people leave Tehran due to bad weather. Today will be bloody.They keep on arresting. 3 days ago they arrested a group of student from rooftop of a house in Tehran where they crying "Allah-o Akbar", "God is greatest". One of them was a girl, a friend of mine.
Monday 6-29-09
I am still alive. Yesterday there was a green chain program, and they beat people in the streets. they have disconnected all the mobile networks in Tehran, turned off all the electericty lights in the region from Vali-asr to Shari'ati. we were in dark, inside their gas.
breathless...Sunday 6-28-09
Today afternoon they have arrested one of my close friends who works with me in... organization. I am not sure I will not be arrested.
Thursday 6-25-09
Yesterday, they killed a 19 years old girl in demonstration. Each day, at least one dead, one young girl or boy. Yesterday they also arrested 70 university professors. they want to frighten people. They have a list of 5000 political activists and students to arrest them in next week. More cruel than the dictatorship of Shah they go on. Shah at least did not believe that God commands come out from their mouth.
They believe they are God himself. They are going in a no-return way, they want to keep people in despair. Of course we Iranian live in a historical despair for freedom. Remember our resistance and protest from more than 100 years ago, from Mashrouteh up to now...they want us without pride and glory, without hope. They kill and they ask the martyr's parents to pay them the price of the execution. You know, you have a lost child and moreover you have to pay the murderer for killing your child too; it is their way of destroying hope.Monday 6-22-09
Ttoday we do not go to offices. yesterday they arrested so many that gathered together in memory of those who had been killed these days. some of my friends also have been arrested. they tried to kill a poet by knife, he is in hospital at now.
Sunday, 6-21-09
- The number of killing in yesterday increased by official reports to
19 and in non-official reports 150.
- the movement will go underground soon. it is clear that they have no mercy and no pity even for children, women and olds. anyway, this government has now legitimation and validity for Iranian inside even for religious. so, the even religious in far villages damn Khameneyi.
Iran will change soon. Today there is some gathering in ValiAsr street that will be bloody, and in front of UN. Tomorrow in 7 Tir street.but they gon on their killing, they have started to arrest almost all activist in first round, the journalist, and political activist.Saturday 6-20-09
Thousands of people came for demonstration today to Enghelab-Azadi Street. They were there with almost 100 of Basji and their guard with their guns, their shocking tools and tear-maker gas. As I know 5 have been killed, an old woman that they throw her into a street and her head has break down and then she had died. 4 with gun shoot.
I don't know the exaxt number of dead. Many have been injured in Enghelab street. they banned all the street leading to Enghelab-Azadi.
But people were there, for their resistance. I have been backed now, with an injured friend in my house.
The resistance must goes to underground way as it exist in street.
they have no mercy to women to childs to old people.Friday 6-19-09
Sholeh jan, thanks for your presence and sympathy.After Khameneyi's speech, we all have decided to participate in tomorrow's demonstration. It will be too dangerous. They may shoot all. I hope we could stay together.
Thursday 6-18-09
Sholeh jan, Here is a message from Mr. A:Today (18, June), in Iran’s parliament, Tehran’s police force has been praised for letting the captivated students out in a very short period of time. Such praise bitterly contradicts what the captivated students themselves have said regarding their hellish 24-hour long imprisonment in a secret area under the main construction of Ministry of State (in Fatehmi Square, Tehran).
Of course, due to the unprecedented blockage of every single means of communication in Iran (including facebook.com, sms’s, and cell-phones), there’s practically no reliable means for enlightening people about what these captivated students have got to say. These students were all captivated after a well-organized attack - lead by non-official fundamentalist militia - against the residential area of Tehran University located in Amir-Abad St.
Shooting the unarmed students and attacking them with axes and daggers and consequently causing the death of 7 students and serious injuries of more than 25 others apart, a number of students (some injured and unable to walk or move) were taken to a secret place within the main construction of the Ministry of State where, according to a letter by a released student published underground, they have been exposed to a series of tortures including sexual harassments, constant swearing and unbearable sexual verbal assault, being forced to use an entirely open bathroom (without any cover or wall around it), not being allowed to use this very bathroom more than 30 seconds (in a case, a student whose deadline had been finished was violently dragged out of the bathroom), being beaten up by sticks and other torturing devices, etc.
After 24 hours, the students were taken to the other police centers and prisons, and, finally, some were released. One cannot help asking why this Iranian version of Abu-Qurayb has been entirely ignored by all legal authorities, national media, and the present members of Iran’s state. It seems that elimination of any evidence that shows how Iran’s regime violates the human rights has reached an unbelievably alarming level.
Thursday 6-18-09
Dear Sholeh,
They are monitoring almost everything. Yahoo messenger, MSN messenger, facebook, twitter and all the communication softwares and websites have being filtered. Mobile networks, SMS are down. They are trying to make terror by closing weblogs and arresting bloggers. anyway, people seems fearless. they are in the street all days, full of calms and resistance. I am a computer-man so I know how can I keep my connection safe. You can ask anything and I write you back.
This is their strategy:
1- removing all the communication.
2- using their own news in order to wonder people about the places of demonstrations.Almost every day we hear about at least two places of public gathering, they are trying to remove satellites too.
3- It is a Russian movement. Russia is there with AhmadiNejad. It was their way of keeping Iran in their front against USA. I think a good work Iranian can do is to gather against russian Embassy and have their protest there all over the world.
4- Before the election it was my analysis that they will choose Ahmadi Nejad. They need to spend about 3 years in order to have Nuclear bomb.
Their models comes from China and Russia. Almost all the Sepah commanders who are the most powerful army in Iran have studied or traveled to Russia and China.
5- Besides removing the communication networks, They are trying to make a distance between intellectuals, Radical people and the rest of the people. their method is using our symbols to come in our protest and then destroying buildings, killing the others. They kill, they destory and then they say that there is some people between you that do these. You know..
6- Making a break between Karroobi and Musavi is their strategy, it is like Kashani and Mosaddegh. I am afraid about it.
7-They killed almost 28 person, arrested too many.At last they will come with their guns open fires to all the poeple. If people could stay in the streets, If Karroobi and Musavi stay together, this movement will have a good end.Wednesday 6-17-09
We are in resistance and in danger of arresting, being shoot and etc.
