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Anti-Empire
The Saker Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Public InquiryInterested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
Human Rights in IrelandIndymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
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The Fight for Iran's Democratic Ideals national |
miscellaneous |
news report
 Tuesday December 10, 2002 13:43 by Saeed Razavi-Faqih and Ian Urbina - Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP)
 the weekend thousands of Iranian students continued their protests to demand political reform. Their voices were raised in support of Hashem Aghajari, the college professor who has been sentenced to death for blasphemy. But the student movement is broader than dissent over one injustice. The Fight for Iran’s Democratic Ideals By Saeed Razavi-Faqih and Ian Urbina TEHRAN, Iran -- Over the weekend thousands of Iranian students continued their protests to demand political reform. Their voices were raised in support of Hashem Aghajari, the college professor who has been sentenced to death for blasphemy. But the student movement is broader than dissent over one injustice. What is it that the protesters are saying? The original ideals of the 1979 Iranian Revolution were democracy and social justice, coupled with a respect for the nation's distinct cultural identity. At the time, even the clergy emphasized the necessity of democratic rights and tolerance. These ideals were codified in the country's constitution. Article 56 explicitly states that God made man "master of his own social destiny," and that "no one can deprive man of this divine right, nor subordinate it to the vested interests of a particular individual or group." Unfortunately, these founding ideals have been violated repeatedly. The proud traditions and norms of Iran are what the students seek to revitalize. Theirs is not a counterrevolution but a completion of the present one. The issue of free and critical expression is, of course, crucial for students and professors. In the past two years, 83 reformist publications have been shut down by the conservative judiciary. Internet cafes are monitored; television is censored. These trends are not new. It was student protests against the closure of a reformist newspaper in 1999 that caused religious conservatives in the government to unleash paramilitary units on our campuses, killing one and injuring countless others. The death sentence recently placed on Mr. Aghajari shows the danger posed to universities as sanctuaries for open debate. But there is far more at stake than the academy. At issue is the status of accountability and democracy for society as a whole. A minority of unelected religious conservatives claim to speak for public opinion, yet they arrest the very pollsters who dare to demonstrate otherwise. The issue facing the Iranian people is whether they have the right to discuss religious reform and the question of "Islamic Protestantism" or any other politically sensitive matter without the slander of apostasy and the threat of death or imprisonment. It is telling that the student protesters are as diverse as they are committed. Many are secular, but just as many are highly devout Muslims. They all share the same desire for political and civil rights. Students are suppressed by a governing system that has made everything political, from hem lines to hijabs, from the Koran to the curriculum. Many have grown frustrated that reformist promises from President Mohammad Khatami remain out of reach even as reformism is now discussed at kitchen tables everywhere. Still, time is on the protesters' side. With 65 percent of the national population under the age of 30, the question of reform is not whether it will come, but how soon. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's posture toward Iran has not been helpful. President Bush's harsh comment that Iran is part of the "axis of evil" has allowed Iran's conservatives to claim they are defenders of the republic while they tighten the reins on the reformist majority. Now with the threat of war against Iraq coming to our borders, the conservatives have been conveniently handed another excuse to crack down on dissent and democratization.
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Comments (8 of 8)
Jump To Comment: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Should say IMC Iran. Force of habit :(
Read this bit over again.
"Unfortunately, the Bush administration's posture toward Iran has not been helpful. President Bush's harsh comment that Iran is part of the "axis of evil" has allowed Iran's conservatives to claim they are defenders of the republic while they tighten the reins on the reformist majority. Now with the threat of war against Iraq coming to our borders, the conservatives have been conveniently handed another excuse to crack down on dissent and democratization."
Doesn't say much for the 'war for democracy' they're planning in Iraq does it?
Also check out IMC Iraqn below (under development, but worth a look).
spot on.
If the story is of interest, post a link to it, and write a summary and/or analysis.
Hi everyone I'm Ray the indy-idiot, I can only critisise postins, apart from scratching my balls all day....
Check my comment out
http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=20980
My comment was:
"Why is a New Zealand organisation posting on indymedia Ireland?"
Who cares abut East-timor?
http://ireland.indymedia.org/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=21108
My comment was:
"If something is widely publicised in the corporate media there's no point in rehashing it here."
Why do I do it...because I'm Ray, the indy-idiot....
Have you ever seen Ray?
Let his progeny have the heads of monkeys.
If we want to read the New York Times we can go to their web site.