by anderson
When I saw a picture of an Iranian polling station in the IHT this morning, I thought, uh oh.
For there, front and center, was pictured a computer screen on the registration desk. Women were crammed into the building, apparently agitated. A "glitch," or multiple "glitches," in the system were bunging things up. That, and a very high turnout -- usually spelling doom for any incumbent -- was causing long lines and extended voting hours.
Yes, we know that story here, too.
There, the similarity with the US presidential election of 2004 ends. Iranians have erupted in protest at the apparent theft of the presidential election.
As incredulous as 63% might be, western media have been bent on playing up the resistance to Ahmadinejad. I'm never really sure if we are seeing only a small demographic in western media. But Iranians, like any nominal population of people -- are reasonable human beings. They have had it with the extremism of Ahmadinejad. Some view the result with such disgust, they're willing to take a police beating for protesting it.Thousands of opposition supporters have clashed with police after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Iran's presidential poll.
Secret police have been attacked, while riot police used batons and tear gas against backers of Mir Hossein Mousavi, who called the results a "charade".
The official results gave Mr Ahmadinejad 63% of the vote and 34% for Mr Mousavi. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the high turnout of 85%, described the count as a "real celebration" and called for calm.
And they are taking a beating. Many, actually.
My, it's just like the Shah and SAVAK, all over again. But for the Islamic Revolution.
I can scarcely imagine how Iranians wouldn't be sick of that shit.
No it is never going to be like the 70's. What is reported here is often a fraction of the population. It disturbs me that Ahmadinejad's share has surpassed my prediction 60%, but to say it is a fraud or a coup is just unrealistic.
ReplyDeleteObviously the WESTERN media try to help the drumbeat of douchebaggery. I am neither surprised nor disturbed by the report of an imaginary fraud.
What I hate is the urban bias with which the iranian society is looked down on as if the part of my family in Esfahan who voted for Ahmadinejad are less reasonable than us in Texas who did not vote for him.
One more thought. There are secular people who supported ahmadinejad. Do you think you are ever going to hear from them in what BBC reports? for them it was a vote against oligarchy.
Yes, I always suspect western sources. As Steve said earlier, western media types will tend toward the cities, if not remain in Tehran alone, talk to English-speaking urbanites, and think they have a handle on the national mood.
ReplyDeleteThere seems some obvious discontent, but just how widespread it is or is not is never conveyed over here. Further suspicions fall upon the State Dept., NED, etc., and their continual efforts in velvet revolutions, pumping millions into various student groups, parties, etc., that are generally designed for pre-election, media friendly rallies and post-election protest.
As far as the urban/rural rift goes, well, we see US media playing up that apparent divide for all it is worth here as well. You only need to go back to the 2004 election here to see the media's simple mindedness about "red states" and "blue states."
Reports in today suggest that there are protests occurring in 130 cities across Iran. If A'madi Nejad really won by that margin, these protests ought to wind down soon. Unlike the blatant ripoff in Mexico in 2006, where millions protested (and were mostly ignored by the US media), if these urban-based protest are unsupported by anything other than State Department funding, well, they won't last long.
Thanks for the comments and your perspective.
Ken
As a point of information, Juan Cole (someone I do trust to try to bring us the real story in Middle East) has a run-down of election theft "evidence." Ok, it is not so much evidence as it is reasoning about some of the bizarre results.
ReplyDeleteStealing the Iranian Election
Worth a look. Note, that even with the generally understood urban discontent with A'medi Nejad, the electoral results have him winning many unlikely urban areas, including Tehran.
Here is a good piece by Abbas Barzegar in The Guardian, basically affirming that the Mousavi movement was blown out of proportion by western media and officials.
ReplyDeleteWishful Thinking from Tehran.
One small problem with your argument, Behrooz. Those are not people from the Western media rioting in the streets of Tehran. They are Iranians.
ReplyDeleteYou blame the West if it rains too hard, or if it doesn't rain at all. This is a problem for the Muslim clerics who rule Iran. It is not a problem caused by the West.
"Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country�s religious leadership."
ReplyDeletePreparing the Battlefield, The New Yorker, July 7, 2008
Won't if be fun Pug, when China and Russia get to spend millions, buying the elections they want, in the West?