Civil Society Is Fleeing Iran In Record Numbers

 

Citizens Fleeing Iran In Record Numbers Since Islamic Regime Launched Brutal Crackdown On Protests Three Years Ago -- National Post 

Activists, lawyers, journalists and bloggers have been fleeing Iran in record numbers since the Islamic regime began a brutal crackdown on civil society three years ago, Human Rights Watch reported Thursday. The suppression campaign was launched in response to demonstrators who took to the streets in 2009 to protest the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad following a vote plagued by vote-rigging allegations.

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More News On The Disintegration Of Iran's Civil Society  

Iran's civil society under assault, rights group says -- Reuters
HRW: Iranian activists seeking refuge abroad -- Jerusalem Post
HRW: Iran's Civil Society Under Attack -- Radio Free Europe
‘An Uncertain Future:’ Iran Civil Society Under Attack -- Epoch Times
HRW slams crackdown on Iran's activists -- Deutsche Welle
Report: U.N. needs access to Iran refugees -- UPI
Why They Left: Stories of Iranian Activists in Exile -- Human Rights Watch

Opposition To Iran's Rulers Is Growing

The 'Green Movement', supporters of the defeated presidential election candidate Mirhossein Mousavi, is still capable of putting protesters on the street. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

Opposition to Iran's Rulers Growing: Nobel Laureate -- New York Times/Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian Nobel peace prize winner Shirin Ebadi believes Iran's rulers will one day be overthrown even though a crackdown there has prevented the kind of uprising seen in the Arab world.

Iran has crushed attempts to reignite Green movement protests that erupted after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, even as protests have swept presidents from power in Egypt and Tunisia and sparked violence in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.

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My Comment: More news on Iran's dissident movement can be found here. Unfortunately, Iran is one step ahead in stifling dissent online.

Unrest In Iran -- News Updates February 21, 2011

Iran Opposition Considers More Protests -- Wall Street Journal

BEIRUT—After two days of violent street protests in one week, Iran's opposition Green Movement said Monday it was pondering its next move and considering a continuation of street protests, according to opposition websites.

A new date hasn't been announced for antigovernment protests although supporters posted on the opposition's Facebook page that this Tuesday or Wednesday are possible.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi have been under house arrest for over a week with little communication with the outside world. Their absence, however, appears to have had little impact on the organization of the movement or its ability to mobilize.

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More News On the Unrest In Iran

Security forces quell opposition protests in Tehran -- Washington Post
Iran Squelches Protest Attempt in Capital -- New York Times
Hezbollah might attack Israeli target to help Iran -- Jerusalem Post
Iran protests: capital under lockdown -- The Telegraph
Iran ex-president's daughter freed after brief arrest -- AFP
Iran cracks down to silence media, opposition -- CBS news
IRAN: Heavy security presence as tensions run high [Update] -- L.A. Times
Security forces push back on Iranian protesters -- CNN

Dissension In Iran's Revolutionary Guards?

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Pledges To Hold Fire -- The Telegraph

Senior officers in Iran's Revolutionary Guards have written a letter to their commanding officer demanding assurances that they will not be required to open fire on anti-government demonstrators.

Following the recent violence that occurred during anti-government protests in Egypt, the officers argue that it is against the principles of Shi'ite Islamic law to use violence against their own people.

In a suggestion of a major split within the Islamic Republic's ruling hierarchy over its handling of anti-government protests, the letter has been circulated widely throughout the ranks of the Revolutionary Guards, the body responsible for defending religious system.

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My Comment: I would like to believe that Iran's Revolutionary Guards are now finding a degree of compassion towards their fellow countrymen who may disagree with the existing ruling elite. But .... I doubt it.

Unrest In Iran -- News Updates February 16, 2011

Iranian Govt. Calls For Friday Rally To Show 'Hatred' For Opposition -- Voice of America

Iran's clerical establishment has called for a major rally in Tehran on Friday, to express what it calls its "hatred" of reformists who organized a day of major anti-government protests earlier this week.

In a statement Wednesday, Iran's Islamic Propagation Coordination Council urged Tehran residents to join the rally after Friday prayers to show anger at what it calls the "crimes" of "seditionist" leaders and their rebel allies.

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More News On The Unrest In Iran

Iran regime calls for 'hatred' rally against opposition -- Yahoo News/AFP
Pro-, anti-govt supporters clash at Tehran funeral -- Yahoo News/AP
Pro-, anti-govt supporters clash at Tehran funeral -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Students in Iran Clash at Funeral -- New York Times
Iran protester's death 'hijacked by regime' -- The Guardian
Clashes at Iranian protester's funeral in Tehran -- BBC
Skirmishes break out at funeral of victim of Iranian protests -- Washington Post
Iran funeral triggers new clashes -- Al Jazeera
Iran Cracks Down on Spiraling Protests -- Voice of America
Iran's Leadership Cracks Down -- Wall Street Journal
Iran opposition leader ready to 'pay any price' -- Washington Post/AP
In Iran, Protesters Look Ahead -- CBS News

Unrest In Iran -- News Updates February 15, 2011

Iranian Lawmakers Condemn Protests; Call For Execution Of Leaders -- CNN

Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian lawmakers denounced Monday's protests in Tehran and called for the execution of two opposition leaders for inciting the demonstrations, Iran's state-run Press TV reported Tuesday.

Members of the Iranian parliament issued fiery chants against opposition leaders and former presidential candidates Mehdi Karrubi and Mir Hossein Moussavi.

Press TV aired video Tuesday of lawmakers chanting "Moussavi, Karrubi ... execute them."

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More News On The Unrest In Iran

Iranian lawmakers: Put opposition leaders on trial -- Yahoo News/AP
Iranian Lawmakers Demand Death Penalty for Opposition Leaders -- Voice of America
Iran lawmakers urge death for opposition leaders -- Reuters
Iranian MPs demand execution of opposition leaders -- USA Today

Iran MPs call for blood after rallies turn violent -- Sydney Morning Herald
Tehran Beats Back New Protests -- Wall Street Journal
Tear gas used on Iran protesters -- Al Jazeera
Iran protests see reinvigorated activists take to the streets in thousands -- The Guardian
Deaths reported in Iran protest -- Al Jazeera
Iran police fire tear gas at opposition rally in Tehran -- BBC
Thousands make their voices heard in Iran -- BBC
US backs Iran protests as government calls for executions -- Christian Science Monitor
Why Iran's Protesters Won't Quit -- Omid Memarian, Daily Beast

Is Iran Next?

Iran Opposition: Will Arab Uprisings Spread? -- BBC

As Iranian opposition groups threaten to rally in support of the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, the BBC's Mohsen Asgari in Tehran asks whether the Middle East political contagion could spread to Iran - the first non-Arab country.

Iranian opposition leaders have issued a call for a peaceful rally in support of the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings to be held later today in Azadi Square - Tehran's counterpart of Cairo's now-famous Tahrir Square.

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More News On The Unrest In Iran

Police, thousands of protesters in 'severe clashes' in Tehran -- USA Today
Police disperse Iranian protesters with tear gas -- AP
Protesters fill streets of Tehran by the thousands -- L.A. Times
Clashes reported in Iran protests -- Al Jazeera
Witnesses: Police Fire Tear Gas At Tehran Protesters -- Radio Free Europe
Thousands demonstrate in Iran despite ban -- AFP
Report: Thousands protest in Iran -- UPI
Iran arrests opposition leaders ahead of pro-Egypt rally in Tehran -- New York Daily News
Iranian Police Fire Teargas at Protesters -- Voice of America
Iran forces fire teargas to disperse protesters-witness -- Reuters
Protests Gather Steam in Tehran -- Wall Street Journal

As Events Unfold In Egypt, Iran Places It's Main Opposition Leader Under House Arrest

Opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi who has been put under house arrest. Photograph: Raheb Homavandi/Reuters

Iranian Opposition Leader Mehdi Karroubi Placed Under House Arrest -- Washington Post

TEHRAN - One of Iran's most prominent opposition leaders was placed under house arrest Thursday, with security agents posted at the entrance saying they would stay there until a possible upcoming anti-government protest has passed, the cleric's Web site reported.

"Only his wife is being allowed into the house," the Web site, Sahamnews.org, wrote. "This probably has to do with the protest scheduled for Monday, Feb. 14."

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More News On Iran's Main Opposition Leader Placed Under Arrest

Iranian opposition leader under house arrest -- Yahoo News/AP
Iran: Mehdi Karroubi 'house arrest' after protest call -- BBC
Iranian opposition leader under house arrest after protests call -- The Guardian
Iranian Opposition Leader Under House Arrest After Calling For Rally -- RTT News
Iran's opposition leader under arrest -- UPI
'Iran opposition leader under house arrest' -- Jerusalem Post

My Comment: The leadership in Iran have every reason to be concerned .... they are just as brutal and corrupt (if not more) as Egypt.

Iran On Edge As Food And Fuel Subsidies Are Ended

Headline of a Tehran daily announcing the cuts. Payvand Iran News.

Iranian Riot Police Out In Force As Food And Fuel Subsidies End -- The Guardian

Tehran predicts unrest as ILNA news agency reports price of petrol rising fourfold and electricity almost threefold.

Iranians are facing huge increases in fuel and food prices after Tehran began implementing a long-delayed plan to slash subsidies amid political controversy and fears of a fresh wave of popular unrest.

Riot police were deployed on main squares and at petrol stations in the capital and in other big cities as the new price regime came into force today.

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More News On Fears In Iran That Unrest Will result With The Ending Of Food And Fuel Subsidies

Iranian Police on Alert as Government Cutbacks Begin -- Voice of America
Subsidy Cuts Quadruple Gas Prices in Iran -- New York Times
Iran forces on alert as economic 'surgery' begins -- AP
Police patrol cities as Iran hikes prices of gas, other staples -- Washington Post
Iran moves to cut food and fuel subsidies -- Financial Times
Riot police across Tehran as regime fears unrest -- The Telegraph
Iran's cut in fuel and food aid raises protest fears -- BBC

Iran Faces Unrest As Energy And Food Subsidies Are To Be Cut

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. © REUTERS/ Ali Hashisho

Iran Tightens Security as Subsidy Cuts Loom -- Wall Street Journal

BEIRUT—Iranian authorities are taking extraordinary security measures ahead of cuts to energy and food subsidies this month, in an effort to prevent unrest by a public upset about rising expenses and inflation.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cautioned the public on Wednesday against politicizing the economic reforms and threatened to severely punish businesses that raise prices of consumer goods in reaction to subsidy cuts.

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More News On Iran

Ahmadinejad warns profiteers as Iran subsidies cut -- Reuters
Iran risks unrest as it cuts food and fuel price subsidies -- Globe And Mail
Iran's Ahmadinejad slammed over subsidy plan -- Blomberg Businessweek/AP
Ahmadinejad criticised by Iran Revolutionary Guards -- Reuters
In Unusual Move, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Slam Ahmadinejad Over Comments -- Radio Free Europe

Iran Unlikely to Accept Nuclear Deal, Envoy Says -- New York Times
No Indication of Iranian Nuclear Strategy Shift, Diplomat Asserts -- Global Security Newswire
Iran envoy dismisses tougher terms for atom fuel swap -- Reuters
Iranian diplomat rejects nuclear fuel-swap proposal -- The Telegraph
Iran Says Talks Must Include Turkey-Brazil Fuel Plan -- Bloomberg Businessweek

Ahmadinejad Condemns Russia Over Canceled Missile Deal -- Radio Free Europe
Iran: Russia 'sold' us to Americans -- Ynet News

Iran says it's ready to talk: But what about? -- RIA Novosti opinion
Will the Election Change Obama's Iran Policy? -- Time Magazine
'US polls not to affect Iran policies' -- Press TV (Iran)

Gas Shortages In Iran Threatens The Government

A gas station in Tehran (file photo by ISNA)

Gasoline Shortage in Iran Threatens Regime -- Pajamas Media

Iran faces a severe gasoline shortage that is riling up citizens, and the shortage is likely to get exponentially worse.

The problems keep piling up for the Iranian regime. It has lost its very important backers in the bazaars who went on strike to protest a massive tax increase. In the most underreported Iran-related story, workers continue to go on strikes at factories around the country. Now, the regime is facing a gasoline shortage that is causing even more angst among the populace.

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My Comment: This has always been the Iranian Government's Achilles heel .... starting with the first gas shortages in 2007.

Unrest in Iran -- News Updates July 21, 2010

The Revolt Against The Supreme Leader Begins -- Pajamas Media

First things first: so far as I know, the bazaars are still on strike. And yes, I know that the Los Angeles Times said it was over a couple of days ago, but for once I think they have it wrong. As of Sunday night, Iran time, the grand bazaar in Tehran, and those in Isfahan, and above all Tabriz, were all closed. Indeed, even many stores outside the bazaar in Tabriz were shut, and I have been receiving reports for several days claiming that a merchants’strike is spreading throughout East Azerbaijan. In the last few days, the bazaar in Mashad — a city of enormous religious importance to the regime — has also shut down, at least in part.

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More News On The Unrest In Iran

Unrest In Baluchistan Contributes To Regional Tensions -- Radio Free Europe
Reformist opposition daringly blames Ahmadinejad government for terror attacks -- L.A. Times
Iranian unrest grows over economic woes -- Asia Times
Stirrings in Iran: The Bazaar on Strike, Students Join In -- The Nation
Shutters still down at Tehran bazaar despite compromise -- AFP
Protests simmer among Iran's powerful merchants -- AP
Iran introduces new income tax rate -- Press TV
The Iranian Regime's Numbered Days -- Melik Kaylan, Forbes

Why The Iranian Regime Fears Symbols

Neda Agha-Soltan, who was shot during post-election protests in Tehran one year ago today, has become a potent symbol for the Iranian opposition all over the world. afp/getty images

For The Love Of Neda: Iran Angered By New Film -- The Independent

A year after footage of Neda Agha-Soltan's death in Tehran shocked the world, her mother tells Emily Dugan why she won't be cowed by threats.

In death, Neda Agha-Soltan is the tragic symbol of Iran's struggle for democracy. Her dying moments, after being shot in the chest a year ago in the protests that followed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed election victory, were captured by onlookers on their mobile phones. That scene in a Tehran street, as fellow protesters struggled to help her, quickly went viral, spreading via computer screens across the world.

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My Comment: The Iranian regime understands the power of symbols and martyrs .... they use symbols all the time .... hence their fear of a simple documentary and the words of a mother who has lost a loved one.

Iranians Quietly Mark Vote Anniversary

Anniversary Of Iran Vote Passes Quietly -- New York Times

TEHRAN — The first anniversary of Iran’s disputed presidential election passed largely without violence on Saturday, as protesters generally stayed off the streets amid a heavy presence of the riot police.

There were reports of sporadic clashes between the police and protesters around the city, including a large group of students at Tehran University. Demonstrators also showed up along many parts of Enghelab, or Revolution, Street, one of Tehran’s longest thoroughfares, and a small group of protesters gathered on Jomhouri Avenue near the Hafez Bridge.

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More News On The One Year Anniversary Of Riots And Unrest In Iran

Protests, clashes break out in Iran on anniversary of disputed election -- L.A. Times
Tehran protests mark election anniversary -- UPI
Iranian protesters mark year since Ahmadinejad's election win -- Washington Post
Anniversary of disputed Iran vote passes quietly -- AP
Iran marks one year since disputed presidential polls -- RIA Novosti
IRAN: Video footage shows tight security in Tehran on election anniversary [Updated] -- L.A. Times
Iranians divided a year on from disputed election -- BBC
Iranian Opposition Leader Pledges to Continue Struggle -- Voice of America
One year on, Iran’s battered opposition endures in terror -- Times Online

June 12 Is The One Year Anniversary Of Last Year's Elections In Iran And Subsequent Riots

Iranian opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi among supporters at a huge protest on the streets of Tehran on Monday, June 15, 2009. Behrouz Mehri/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A Year After Its Rise, Iranian Protest Movement Stymied And In Disarray -- Washington Post

TEHRAN -- When office clerks, housewives, students and other urban Iranians took to the streets a year ago to protest what they said was massive election fraud by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they hailed the birth of a leaderless popular movement that embodied their aspirations for a more open society.

"We are all together" became a favorite slogan of the Green Movement, which sprang to life last year after Ahmadinejad was proclaimed the landslide winner of the June 12 presidential election. Defeated opposition candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who quickly turned into figureheads, said it was not they, but ordinary Iranians, who were leading the massive anti-government demonstrations that followed the vote. There was no agenda other than a demand for new elections; no goal other than the departure of Ahmadinejad.

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More News On The First Anniversary Of The Iranian Protests

Iran opposition calls off election anniversary rally -- L.A. Times
Iran Opposition Leaders Cancel Mass Protests -- Christian Science Monitor
Iranian Opposition Leaders Call Off Protest -- New York Times

Iran a year on after the controversial election -- BBC
One year later, Iran protesters fight on -- CNN
Iran's defiant Green movement vows to fight on -- The Guardian

Former elite officers reveal tensions in Iran regime -- The Guardian
Iran protests bigger threat than Iraq war-Guard -- Reuters
Iran unrest ‘more dangerous’ than Iraq war -- Financial Times

Iran—One Year After the Disputed Election and Violent Crackdown -- Carnegie Endowment For International Peace
How the West Can Help Iran's Green Movement -- Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Wall Street Journal
The Great Revolution That Wasn’t -- Hooman Majd, Newsweek
Iran’s Green Movement: One Year Later -- Juan Cole, CBS opinion
Iran's Green Movement has been betrayed by its leaders -- Con Coughlin, The Telegraph

Iran Cannot Keep It's Secrets

Massed Protests in Iran have been met by force

Iranian Technocrats, Disillusioned With Government, Offer Wealth Of Intelligence To U.S. -- Washington Post

Iran's political turmoil has prompted a growing number of the country's officials to defect or leak information to the West, creating a new flow of intelligence about its secretive nuclear program, U.S. officials said.

The gains have complicated work on a long-awaited assessment of Iran's nuclear activities, a report that will represent the combined judgment of more than a dozen U.S. spy agencies. The National Intelligence Estimate was due last fall but has been delayed at least twice amid efforts to incorporate information from sources who are still being vetted.

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My Comment: After last year's crack down on democracy activists and opponents of a fixed Presidential election .... I suspect that many Iranians are harboring deep resentment and contempt for the regime. As to leaking out information, this does not surprise me either. All anti-government websites are filled with testimonies and information that I am sure the Iranian Government wishes was not revealed.

Iran's Army Vowed Not To Crack Down On Last Year's Election Protestors

Iranian supporters of defeated reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi demonstrate on June 17, 2009 in Tehran, Iran. Photo from Business Week

Iranian Army Officers Defied Islamic Officials, Document Says -- Washington Examiner

Top Iranian military officials vowed to defy the nation's Islamic rulers if ordered to use force against protesters in the wake of last year's disputed election, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

The Iranian military officials signed a document protesting force that was used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard during the June re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The petition, written in December, was titled, "Declaration of Support of the Iranian Army Leadership and Personnel in Support of the People."

The document suggests deep internal divisions in Tehran over the sometimes brutal suppression of Iranians who claimed that the election was tainted by corruption.

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My Comment: Iran is a very divided nation .... as a result this document leak does not surprise me. Last years protests and riots have scarred the country, and I am sure that it has impact every facet of Iranian life .... the military included.

Iranian Democracy Prisoners Are Forging A Bond That Is Unbreakable

Iran's Democracy Protests. July 2009

Imprisoned Iranian Protesters Share A Bond Forged In Hell -- L.A. Times

Former inmates describe the horrors they endured during five days in Kahrizak prison in Tehran after their arrests during postelection unrest.

Reporting from Tehran and Beirut - "What is this place?" the guard shouted.

"The end of the world!" the prisoners replied.

"Are you happy with the food?" he demanded.

"Yes, sir!" they answered.

"Have you been tamed?" he asked.

"Yes, sir!"

As ordered, they answered as one. And over the next five hellish days, they forged a bond that would remain even when they were freed. Cut off from the world, the 147 Iranian protesters rounded up during a July 9 demonstration in Tehran and stuffed into the notorious Kahrizak prison found they could rely only on themselves.

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My Comment: When this theocratic regime is finally overthrown and/or it finally decides to abdicate power, i can guarantee that it will be these prisoners who will play the most influential role in any future Iranian Government.

In any revolution its success is dependent on possessing the moral high ground .... for these Iranian prisoners it appears that they have earned this position in spades.

Iran's Day Of Unrest -- News Roundup And Analysis

People gathered in Tehran to mark the 31st anniversary of the
Islamic revolution on February 11. Photo from Radio Free Europe

Regime On The Brink: Iran's Celebrations A Bust -- Amir Taheri, New York Post

Thursday's events in Iran dealt a serious political blow to a beleaguered regime unable to either accommodate its opponents or crush them by force.

It was billed as the biggest show in the history of the Islamic Republic, and the celebrations marking the 31st anniversary of the seizure of power by the mullahs were planned like a military operation with the code name Simorgh (a mythical Persian bird) under the direct control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

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More News On Iran

Iran Crackdown Quashes Protests -- Wall Street Journal
Iran opposition reassess options after crackdown -- AP
Iran anniversary rallies used to quell opposition -- The Age
IRAN: A day after 22 Bahman rally, a conservative Ahmadinejad rival opens fire -- L.A. Times
The protest that wasn't -- San Francisco Chronicle
In Iran, A Government Show Of Force And An Opposition Display Of Courage -- Who Won And Who Lost? -- Radio Free Europe
'Special Report' Panel on Protests in Iran and the Country's Nuclear Announcement -- FOX News
Iran's Opposition Must Take Back The Initiative -- Mardo Soghom, Radio Free Europe
No respite for Ahmadinejad -- Meir Javedanfar, The Guardian
Regime is feeling cornered -- Frida Ghitis, Miami Herald
Not all Iranians hate their regime -- Matthew Cassel, The Guardian
The Struggle for Iran: The Islamic Republic is alive but not well -- Reuel Marc Gerecht, Weekly Standard
Only one force can stop Iran now: its people -- Richard Haass, Times Online

Anticipating Unrest, Iran Disrupts Internet Communications

Anticipating Protests, Iran Disrupts Internet Communications -- New York Times

In an effort to disrupt communications and head off huge opposition demonstrations planned for Thursday, the Iranian authorities on Wednesday drastically slowed Internet service in Iran and shut down text messaging services, and an official said that Gmail, the Google e-mail service, would be blocked.

It was not immediately clear if Gmail would be blocked permanently, but users inside Iran said that because of the extremely slow speed of Internet service, they had been unable to open Gmail or the Yahoo e-mail service for the last week.

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Update: Iran to Suspend Google's Email -- Wall Street Journal

My Comment:The message, videos, and the news will still get out.