| 23 Jun 2009 |
|
Are Iran's protests manufactured?
- Text size
Tuesday, Jun 23, 2009
Recent events in Iran are being generally perceived through an emotive or subjective lens, while the protests are invariably being coloured by the Western media in line with the foreign policy leanings of their respective countries.
Most individuals, including myself, will automatically align with people they believe are oppressed. Most of us side with revolutionary forces, especially when we don't approve of the regime.
Most of us are viscerally in sympathy with demonstrators prepared to risk their lives in the name of justice or freedom. And as human beings it is in our nature to champion the underdog.
Who, but those with the hardest of hearts, wouldn't flinch after viewing the shocking killing of a young woman called Neda, whose death has been captured on video by a citizen journalist?
I suspect that most on the outside looking in genuinely believe that the recent Iranian elections were rigged - after all, more than a million ordinary Iranians on the street are saying just that, so it must be true. But is it really? And even if it isn't, do most observers even care?
In reality, whoever nominally leads Iran takes his marching orders from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Even if opposition leader Mir Hussain Mousavi were elected president he would merely represent a softer face on an existing hard-line system.
We shouldn't forget too that Mousavi was formerly considered a staunch conservative. This is no longer about which would-be president received the most votes. This is a potential anti-government revolution.
From a personal perspective, I have no interest in defending the Iranian government, especially since it has taken to shooting down its own people and stifling reporting.
Moreover, I do believe that there is a groundswell of young people in Iran who are yearning for a more open and liberal way of life for which opposition leader Mousavi has become a symbol.
But while interpreting what's happening in Iran, it's worthwhile momentarily setting aside emotion in order to take a fresh look at facts and other possible scenarios.
Yes, up to a one-and-a-half million protesters flooded the squares of Tehran but they represent a mere drop in the ocean out of a population of 66.5 million. Secondly, so far there has been no proof of vote-rigging.
Thirdly, it isn't inconceivable that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gained 63.5 per cent of the ballot. Not only does he have a strong following among the poor, with 33 per cent of Iranians living below the poverty line, but in 2005 he received 62 per cent of votes while running against reformist candidate Mohammad Khatami.
As noted in a Financial Times editorial earlier this month, "Change for the poor means food and jobs, not a relaxed dress code or mixed recreation & Politics in Iran is a lot more about class war than religion".
You may get the impression from Twitter that young Iranians are overwhelmingly in support of the protesters, but only a comparatively wealthy or educated third enjoy computer access.
Moreover, Mousavi began his campaign at a very late stage. In truth, though, we are unlikely ever to know the truth one way or the other.
While the suspicion of opposition supporters is understandable, could there be anything in the government's claims of meddling by the US and Britain? Although US President Barack Obama has taken a verbal back seat throughout, there are certainly numerous precedents.
A few examples of such US interference are Ukraine's Orange Revolution, Georgia's Rose Revolution and, of course, the CIA-backed overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian president in 1953.
The CIA's record of attempting to change Latin American regimes is also well documented. Furthermore, in this particular case, the US has a very strong motive for fomenting turbulence in Tehran.
He says that while there is no evidence that the election was stolen, there are "credible reports that the CIA has been working for two years to destabilise the Iranian government".
To support this assertion, he cites a document signed by George W. Bush "endorsing CIA plans for a propaganda and disinformation campaign intended to destabilise, and eventually topple, the theocratic rule of the mullahs".
Roberts further quotes "Bush administration neocon warmonger John Bolton" as saying an attack on Iran would be "a last option after economic sanctions and attempts to foment a popular revolution had failed".
Lastly, he recalls a June 2008 article by Seymour Hersh that highlighted Congressional approval of Bush's request "to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran & designed to destabilise the country's religious leadership". Bush may be long gone but this doesn't mean his anti-Iranian programmes aren't still up-and-running.
It is a possibility that those out to bring down the government are using genuine protest as a vehicle for their own agendas. On the other hand, it could be that the Iranian people are ripe for real change. In any event, understanding some semblance of the truth requires an open mind.
By Linda S. Heard, Special to Gulf News
© Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Loading ...
Post a Comment
Community Comments (3)
Over an area of 1,648,195 sq km of Iran, 14 million or 21% of 65 million+ people are reported living below poverty line – how many of these wretched souls eligible to vote must have voted against incumbent president?
Internet is used by 34% of its 65 million+ population as of Mar 2008 - http://www.internetworldstats.com/middle.htm#ir. How many from this fortunate are eligible voters?
Imminent Americans are convinced that Iran’s post-election09 turmoil are consequences of USA plan being implemented through “National Endowment for Democracy” - Paul Craig Roberts writes in “Are the Iranian Election Protests Another U.S. Orchestrated "Color Revolution?”:
“The protests in Tehran no doubt have many sincere participants. The protests also have the hallmarks of the CIA orchestrated protests in Georgia and Ukraine. It requires total blindness not to see this.” - http://www.creators.com/opinion/paul-craig-roberts/are-the-iranian-election-protests-another-u-s-orchestrated-color-revolution.html
But
How about giving full rights to American people for knowing as to how their tax dollars are spend on playing great games in the world outcome of which never go to the benefit of majority Americans.
If 'green' revolution is overdue in Iran, how about those Americans who need to commit robery - http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/02/new.york.robber.mercy/index.html
The author of this article doesn't have her facts straight, in 1953 it was the Prime Minister's position in dispute as there was no President at the time. Also, she can't comment on behalf of the Iranian people as she is not Iranian. Iran wants change, and that is a fact. There has been 30 years of lies, deception, corruption and abuse against the people of Iran. The poor who can't buy bread would be much better off if the economy of Iran was open for business with the rest of the world. And of course the educated top one-third of the population is leading these protests as they can and have always seen beyond the false reality and lies of the Iranian government. Furthermore, if foreign powers are promoting these riots their actions are well justified as this current repressive regime is doing everything in their power to supress any discontent from the people. The people of Iran need international support to help throw out Ahmadinejad and this un-Islamic system they call a republic.
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.