Blurred Vision, a Canadian band comprised of two brothers originally from Iran, just released a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall, part II” with a slight lyrical twist that changes the song’s antagonist from controlling teachers to the repressive Iranian regime. The new chorus supports the many young people who protested Ahmadinejad’s reelection by demanding, “Hey Ayatollah, leave those kids alone.”
The music video goes a little further with its message, showing a fictional young Iranian woman on the run from what appears to be the Basij militia as she tries to upload footage from a protest on her iPhone. The video is inter cut with actual footage taken by Iranian protesters, depicting protesters getting beaten by government forces.
While it’s hard to criticize artists who clearly mean well and care more about their political message than their commercial appeal, there are a couple popular misconceptions being forwarded by this song and video. As we’ve written about before, the role of social media has been greatly overstated—not only does it provide questionable information from a small segment of the Iranian population (wealthy, educated city dwellers who dislike Ahmadinejad’s social welfare programs) but it’s also not a reliable way to organize protests given the government’s penchant for internet crackdown.
Like everyone else trying to follow Iran from afar, the members of Blurred Vision may be (pardon the pun) blinded by their desire to see Iranians win greater freedom and civil liberties to the point where they are overlooking and distorting key facts. In a CNN interview they refer to the June elections as “rigged”—something even the mainstream magazine Foreign Policy says is untrue, citing a recent report from the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland.
It’s important to point out these misconceptions because if furthered they could lead to several undesirable consequeences, such as the justification for a US intervention or the installation of a new president without the fundamental changes to Iran’s political structure necessary for real change. As discussed in previous posts, the only way the Green Movement can hope to be successful is to support radical reform that incorporates not just the social reform everyone in Iranian society desires but economic reform that meets the needs of the poor.
Residents of cities in southern Yemen on Sunday staged a general strike to protest what they termed government oppression as well as action taken against a daily newspaper, activists and witnesses said. The strike was almost total in the southern provinces of Dhale, Lahaj, Shabwa and Abyan as all shops were shut and transportation ground to a halt,
In Iran, more than 100 police and plainclothes officers broke up a gathering of the Mourning Mothers in Laleh Park Saturday afternoon. The group — formed by women whose children have been killed in recent anti-government protests — gathers every weekend at the park to call attention to the deaths.
Hundreds in Hong Kong ringed the city’s legislature on Friday as public frustration mounted over government attempts to bulldoze through a high speed railway, an issue that has also catalyzed a fresh push for full democracy.
Unionized workers of South Korea’s third-largest carmaker Kia Motors Crop. will hold a partial strike for four hours a day this week in a protest against wages.
About 300 Egyptian workers at the fishing boats of Nea Michaniona (a village near Thessaloniki, Northern Greece) continue their strike, which began on Christmas, after blockading the small port of the village last week to protest a severe decrease in their income over recent months.
The mainstream media has started referring to the recent surge of protests in Iran as “the tipping point” for the opposition movement. While this assumption isn’t totally baseless—as evidenced by the spread of protests from Tehran to the heartland—there’s still a sense of wishful thinking that pervades the coverage.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is not a radical reformer, which means he’s not interested in doing away with the Islamic system. This should be a sign that the greater social freedoms sought by the protesters do not go hand in hand with his assumption of power. By resting their so-called revolution on the shoulders of a politician like Mousavi, Iranians may end up with little more than a kinder gentler oppressive regime.
Perhaps that’s something we Americans can relate to. The movement that helped usher President Obama into office was motivated by his message of hope and promise of change. But after almost a year in office, he has shown himself to be scarily similar to his predecessor. Even the harsh treatment of activists has continued—something the much-maligned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently called to attention in his own defense:
When asked about the “awful scenes of violence on the streets” of Iran during the crackdown on demonstrators who claimed that his election victory was a fraud, Mr. Ahmadinejad said, “the American police beat people in Pittsburgh, they arrest people and use batons and tear gas against people.”
Given this sad reality, we should all realize how little change actually occurs when a movement only seeks to replace a leader. For real revolutionary change to occur, the entire system of government needs to be overhauled as well. It’s not clear if that is a demand of the Iranian opposition movement. Right now it seems to be more about election fraud. Perhaps the movement will evolve to incorporate radical reform, as well as address the interests of the poor and marginalized—a characteristic of a strong nonviolent movement. When that happens, there will be no question that a tipping point has been reached.
The streets of Qom, Iran’s holy city and the center of its religious life, filled with tens of thousands of mourners on Sunday. They came both to honor a founding father of modern Iran, Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, and to protest the government he had come to oppose.
In New York City, students left school early on Monday in a walk-out to protest the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan to stop giving students free Metrocards. The youngsters left school at 2 pm and gathered in front of the MTA’s headquarters to demand that the agency find a way to fill its $400 million budget shortfall that won’t force students to pay to commute to city schools.
Some 300 municipal staff began a sit-in at the Town Hall in Alcoy, Spain on Monday against the local government’s decision to sack nine workers, saying they will remain there until this afternoon.
Over 5,000 indigenous, Afro-Colombian and farming community members are occupying the community center of Piñuña Negro in the department of Putumayo, Colombia. A crowd of all ages has gathered at the highest government office in the area—the Police Inspector’s office—to demand negotiations with local and national government representatives and an end to military and paramilitary harassment and coca eradication programs that are causing thousands of residents to be displaced.
The Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) on Saturday protested near Sihala police training college in Islamabad to urge the government to expel the US private security company Blackwater, which lawyers said was operating inside Sihala college.
Greenpeace activists posed as the Four Horsement of the Apocalypse and rode through downtown Copenhagen yesterday to remind world leaders of the consequences of inaction on climate change. Each represented one of the potential impacts of climate change: death, pestilence, war and famine.
Saharawi non-violent activist Aminatou Haidar, known by many as the “Saharan Gandhi” entered the 29th day of her hunger strike yesterday. Doctors say she may be hours away from death, a risk she is willing to accept unless her single demand—to be allowed to return to her country—is met.
Iranian men are posting pictures of themselves on the Internet wearing women’s head scarves in an effort to protest the recent arrest of a male anti-government protester, who was shown in a press photo wearing a female garment. Bloggers believe the photo was manipulated to embarass the man. So they are showing that there is nothing wrong with women or veiling.
Native Hawaiians staged a protest yesterday morning near the Hawaii State Capitol over alleged attempts by Hawaii’s U.S. senators to sneak the Native Hawaiian Recognition Act onto one of the large federal appropriations bills. They say it reduces Native Hawaiians to a tribal status and does not address the true issue of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Dozens of children from a Jewish Sunday school marched from Boston Common to the Hyatt Hotel in center city, chanting denouncements of Hyatt’s firing of 98 housekeepers in August. Upon reaching the hotel, the leaders of the march read a statement to hotel workers before handing over a petition.
Gay rights activists marched in front of New York State Sen. Carl Kruger Brooklyn home Sunday to protest his decision to vote against gay marriage. Organizers of the event say they intend to protest at the homes and offices of many of the 38 senators who voted against the bill.
Over 300 coalfield residents and their allies rallied at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection yesterday to protest the blasting of Coal River Mountain and support a transition to a clean energy future.
More than 200 people were arrested in Tehran on Monday during protests by tens of thousands at universities nationwide, marking the biggest anti-government demonstrations in months. Thousands continued protesting for a second day yesterday, as Iran threatened a tougher crackdown on the opposition.
The Iranian opposition movement resumed mass street protests on Wednesday and faced a violent crackdown by the security forces, as official rallies mark the 30th anniversary of the storming of the US embassy in Tehran.
A daylight hour protest fast involving about 800 women in Tonga is continuing. Tongan Women’s National Congress members have been fasting for about three weeks between six am and six pm to protest against what they describe as poor governance of the prime minister, Feleti Sevele, and to call for his and his deputy’s resignation or removal.
A one-day rail strike across Belgium caused widespread disruption for commuters Thursday, forcing many people to stay home and leaving some highways jammed.
Strike action by the sugar workers represented by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) continued this week even as both the union and the sugar corporation await the start of the arbitration process.
Palestinian hunger strikers at Israel’s Nafha prison have faced “repressive” action and been denied family visits since the start of their protest on Monday against constant bunk raids and maltreatment by Israeli prison guards.
Several hundred Transit Workers Union members and their supporters in New York marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall Wednesday to protest the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s refusal to implement a new contract established by arbitrators earlier this year.
A general strike paralyzed Royal Mail on Thursday, with unions launching a phased walkout involving up to 120,000 workers in a protest against job cuts. The Communication Workers Union said the walk off would last until Saturday.
In the UK, Iraqi refugees locked up in Brook House and Colnbrook detention centres have been on hunger strike since October 19, to protest against their inhumane treatment and demand their immediate release.
In India, members of various trade unions in the state of Manipur, employees and workers staged a sit-in-protest on Wednesday against the price hike of commodities, downsizing of employees and irregular release of salaries to employees and workers.
Some 10,000 high school students here formed a human peace symbol during a mammoth rally held Wednesday in support of the call for world peace and non-violence. Meanwhile,more than 2,000 students, soldiers from the Philippine military, government officials and NGO workers joined the colorful World March for Peace and Nonviolence in Manila’s Malate district.
1,700 employees of Iran’s Pars Wagon Company, maker of freight wagons and passenger coaches, went on hunger strike yesterday to protest delays in salary payment.
The Iranian opposition staged its first major protest in six weeks, with tens of thousands gathering in Tehran on Saturday, upstaging Ahmadinejad's planned annual pro-Palestinian rally.
About 140 SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union members in Johannesburg, South Africa were arrested while peacefully picketing for a wage increase in front of textile companies on Thursday.
Thousands gathered in the northern Spanish town of Zaragoza on Saturday to protest the possible closure of a local Opel car factory that could mean the loss of thousands of jobs.
About 100 people, including Buddhists, activists and local residents, took to the streets in Makung, Taiwan on Saturday to protest the passage of a law that would allow casinos to enter the region. The protesters fear such a move will bring the sex trade with it and would prefer to see the region develop environmentally friendly tourism.
A couple of interesting political graphic novels drew attention in the New York Times this week. One is a reworked online version of the 2003 award-winning graphic novel Persepolis, while the other is an updated reincarnation of the old DC Comics superhero Unknown Soldier. Both raise some serious questions in regards to nonviolence.
Persepolis 2.0, as it’s called, reshuffles the black and white drawings of the original book (which is about the 1979 Iranian Revolution) to tell the story of the mass protests that took place in Iran this year, following the disputed presidential elections. It’s an interesting concept given that the new authors (who have taken on pseudonyms) were able take images meant to depict events from 30 years ago and apply them to current events.
While it seems that much of the storyline focuses on the very legitimate protests against the repressive Ahmadinejad regime, there is also a major focus on the elections being rigged, despite there being no concrete evidence of this. Futhermore, Persepolis 2.0, does a good deal of propagandizing to make Moussavi out as the hero, when, as discussed on this blog, his corporate/upper class interests need to be challenged as well. Finally, Twitter and Facebook are referred to as providers of the “real info,” when in fact, though undeniably valuable, they have led to a great deal of misreporting and confusion.
All of this is not surprising, considering the authors, like most of us, “experienced the election and its aftermath from afar.” Much like Western media coverage of these events, which lacked on the ground reporting, their authority is rather suspect. While we all sympathize with and commend the bravery of the protesters fighting repression, there are still many questions about this so-called “Green Revolution” that need to be answered. Read the rest of this article »
Postal services in Birmingham was disrupted by another strike yesterday as a bitter row continues between the Royal Mail and its drivers. Around 80 drivers based at the Mail Centre and 100 at Coventry will join the protest by 1,500 of their co-workers as well.
Scores of employees at the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), deputies and activists on Wednesday staged a one-hour sit-in before the agency’s head office in Amman, Jordan to protest a cutback in the UN body’s services to about 1.9 million Palestinian refugees living in the country.
Over 1,000 sacked Mongla Port workers in Bangladesh ended a sit-in Wednesday evening, after three days of protest, on the condition that their demands would be met.
In Iran, a large number of detainees of the nationwide uprising who have been under severe physical and psychological tortures have gone on hunger strike since Saturday of Evin prison, and other detainees joined the strike on Monday. Also, some 40 members of the families of detainees have gone on hunger strike in their support outside the prison.
A strike by employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) affected telecommunication services across the India on Wednesday. And the All India Graduate Telecom Officers Association (AIGETOA), with over 10,000 engineers as its members, has called for an indefinite strike.
Over 500,000 Catholics took to the streets in Vietnam last weekend, to protest over police attempts to stop a parish holding services in the grounds of a church bombed during the Vietnam war and recently confiscated by the government.
Chants of “US imperialist, No. 1 terrorist!” and “Death to imperialism!” reverberated through the streets as over a hundred activists marched toward the US embassy in Manila yesterday to protest the meeting between US President Barack Obama and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Six weeks after millions took to the streets to protest Iran’s presidential election, their uprising has morphed into a feistier, more imaginative and potentially enduring campaign.
The definitive tone of this proclamation is very interesting. For starters, the article doesn’t exactly explain why “Phase 2 ” has begun at this particular moment. Other mainstream media outlets have made similar claims over the past few weeks. And much like the others, Time seems to be relying on wishful editorializing more than concrete reporting.
Tactics may be evolving to deal with the crackdown on mass street protests—such as the boycott of goods advertized on state-controlled television, attempts to overload the electrical grid and “blitz” street demonstrations—but there is little sign of them having any kind of effect on the Iranian regime. And, therefore, it’s hard to imagine a “potentially enduring campaign” emerging.
Furthermore, the situation seems to have changed very little from when it started over a month ago. Back then, Middle East expert and foreign policy analyst Stephen Zunes described the protests as “scattered” and “lacking in discipline.” Time calls “Phase 2 ” as “unorganized” and “largely leaderless.” The only difference between these two descriptions is the conclusion that follows. For Zunes, a scattered and disorganized protest movement is “easily suppressed,” whereas for Time it’s “only just beginning.” Except that it’s not. How can it be the beginning if it’s Phase 2? Read the rest of this article »
The mainstream media has started referring to the recent surge of protests in Iran as “
Persepolis 2.0
According to Time magazine
