Death in the Streets and Universities of Iran

The situation in Iran continues to move extremely fast, and it seems that there is a level of misreporting facts and figures. Some media outlets are downplaying the size of the protest. In fact it could be said that comments on some blog sites are attempting to downplay the seriousness of this protest. Sources on the ground, that is those who are getting out Twitter reports had estimated that close to 2 million people marched in protest over the election of Ahmadinejad. There are plenty of videos on Youtube showing that literally thousands upon thousands, and more like 2 million marched in support of Mousavi – and that was only in Tehran. You can view one picture of the size of the protest here.

At the same time something more sinister is emerging, with the deaths of at least 7 people in yesterday’s protest. These people were shot by the Basij, standing on rooftops and taking aim at the protestors. Yes there is carnage on the streets in Iran. At least 6 young students were murdered inside the dormitory of one of the universities. The Basij ransacked the university dormitories, bashing down doors, wrecking computers and monitors, as well as bashing the students that got in their way. What has also emerged is that the Basij includes members of Hezbollah from Syria and Lebanon.

It is disturbing to know that the lame-stream media is in fact downplaying the situation. It seems that they want the status quo even though Ahmadinejad is extremely dangerous. What is more disturbing is that it seems that Iran has given an answer to Washington.

There are some online journalists who are doing a wonderful job keeping up with developments. One of them is Nico Pitney from Huffington Post. He has posted a letter and a video that I believe should be viewed and understood by as many of the world population as possible. This is a commentary in English and it is a plea for support, not with military action but by requesting that Western governments do not recognize the illegal Ahmadinejad regime. You can view the video here.  Although I am not a regular reader of the Huffington Post (like normally never) I am finding that Nico Pitney is achieving an excellence in journalism on this story that I have not seen in the lame-stream media reports that I have viewed. I have viewed many videos from you-tube that have been posted on various sites, and I have seen some very graphic pictures of people killed by the Basij during the protests. If the lame-stream media continues to downplay the gravity of the situation then I fear for the human rights of Iranians because their plight could end up being ignored by governments in the western world.

The violence is very real. The Basij have been going on a beating and killing spree. It has been rumoured that they have arrested various people, with the intention of keeping them hostage or to kill them, since some have been taken to Evin prison. The hostage taking is just like the siege of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. What people do not understand is that Ahmadinjad was in fact one of the students who participated in that siege. Why on earth is the USA trying to connect with this particular thug? He is a threat to world peace. This is not the will of the Iranian people and they do not want him as their leader. That is why they are so willing to give Mousavi a go, even with his brutal past.