S'CAN-IRANIC

What does the IRI Stand For?

A new pattern of persecution that is unfolding in Iran during the past six months is undiscriminating in its taste. The security-intelligence apparatus of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is invoking/using/misusing/abusing the US government “democratization” schemes to justify its recent multi-level crackdown of the Iranian society.

Hence, my argument is that the present crackdown is nothing but the revival of a pattern of suppression that showed itself in "parallel intelligence" forms during the Khatami era, and in the form of the "Ettelaat" of Mr. Said Emami, Mr. Fallahian, and their colleagues in much of the 1990s. I would see the present negotiations with the US concerning Iraq remotely related to some of the arrests. In fact, I do not believe the recent arrests of the Iranian-Americans by the IRI has anything to do with the arrest of the Iranian diplomatic "Staff" in Iraq.

The arrests of the past year, overall, represent nothing but a coordinated and systematic pattern of suppression similar to some of the tactics adopted during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Besides the arrest of Professor Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh and Ali Shakeri, one has to add the French Iranian Mehrnoosh Solooki and the American Iranian Parnaz Azima. All these arrests are occurring within a year, more or less, from Ramin Jahanbegloo's.

Malakut's Criticism and My Response

Alas! We Iranians tend to weigh any comment based upon our most beloved political position. It is a malaise that we are all plagued by, myself included. Other peoples are perhaps like that, but we tend to go out of our way to assassinate the character of whosoever that we believe is a threat to our philosophical or political position (perhaps, to ensure that that person is somehow shut-up). Character assassination can be very rough, though unintentional, and it can be soft, and yet quite damning. I think I experienced a character assassination of some sort, but of the latter type, lately.

After my presentation to BBC World Twenty-Four as to how I perceived the reaction of the Iranian weblogosphere towards the captured British navy personnel by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps gunboats, I received two equally interesting and yet contrasting feedbacks. One of them was by a very interesting webloger based in Isfahan, who approached me directly, and I am grateful for that.

The other one was by Mr. Dariush Mohammad-pour of Malakut weblog.

Alienation and Identity III

In this part, I would like to carry on with the task of depicting how a new pattern in the persecution of secular intellectuals and liberal dissidents appears to be reaching the last stages of its completion in the form of reinforcing a culture of demonisation and scapegoating amongst Iranians inside and outside of Iran. This renewed persecution of the seculars has employed the same rhetoric of the Hoviat TV series of the mid-1990s, as mentioned in the previous.

Here, I wish to elaborate as to what kind of attitude, by the regime or individual Iranians, is fascist. In the next post, I will try to arrive at some type of conclusion.

Alienation and Identity II

Here, I am going to write more about the ensuing harassments that plagued the IR in the aftermath of the broadcasting of the "Hoviat" series on the Islamic Republic of Iran's Television between 1995 and 1997. I mentioned that a new "Hoviat" type of attack is emerging. However, this one appears to be synchronised with a second cultural revolution similar to the one that happened in the early 1980s- because of which universities were closed down for four years. In my view, there are ominous signs that indicate the present situation is going to be as brutal as the earlier Hoviat and Cultural Revolution incidents of the 1980s and 1990s.

I see the emergence of a new, yet very familiar pattern, of the persecution of westernized secular intellectuals under the present regime, which is tantamount to fascist and totalitarian behaviour. Here I would like to compare and contrast the tactics used then, in the 1980s and 1990s, and now. I also will point out how I think some of the Diaspora-based Iranians appear to be gladly, yet unwittingly, assisting the Islamic Republic's propaganda machine in achieving its goals to contain and suppress all and any opposition. In so observing, I should hasten to add that I think those diaspora-based Iranians have every right to say whatever they want, and I am sure those who hold views completely contrary to them can and do respond to them. Here, I am just observing and reporting what I am witnessing and I will not name "names".

Ramin Jahanbegloo Released On Bail!

With much joy, and a great deal of reservation, I would like to report to all my readers that Ramin Jahanbegloo has been freed on "bail".  I was just, also, informed through sources in Tehran, that Ramin, as I am writing these lines, is on his way from the Evin Prison to his home.

I would like to thank all those who have helped with the campaign for Ramin's release. Especially, those who, with no equivocation, kept the banner  or banners that called for Ramin's release on their web sites and weblogs. To those who removed the banner after a while and/or never bothered to put it on their websites and weblogs, despite the fact that they knew Ramin Jahanbegloo personally, I have nothing to say but: "Shame on you!"

Also, I would like to report to my readers that according to sources from ISNA:

"Ramin Jahanbegloo visited their office[ISNA's office] immidiately after he was released. The source said he looked much thinner than the last time he had seen him. The source also has said that Ramin said the  prison was a bit hard, interrogators were nice and polite and prison situation has not been very bad. It seems that Ramin has been released on bail until his court date [is set]."

For Associate Press Report look at Here, and for Reuters' Report look at Here. For BBC Persian Report look at Here. Fars News Report look at Here and for ISNA'S Report look at Here.

Re the Response to Winston

Edited on 31 July 2006 at Pearson International Airport, Toronto

I am glad that my post, which was admitted was written in haste and could be better organized, got the response it deserved.

It is great that mostly the conservative-minded readers wanted to respond. I must say that I got a response from another middle-of-the-way reader, who is liberal, but I still do not have her permission to post the response. I think she is giving it some thought. I understand that I have caused some misunderstanding and I have to clarify. My response to those responses:

Toronto Iranians Launch Hunger Strike in Support of Political Prisoners

Toronto Iranians are launching a concurrent strike in response to Ganji's decision to go on a hunger strike for the release of political prisoners in Iran. They have my support and best wishes.

The link is:

http://www.freedomisnotfree.ca/:

Ganji Calls for 3-day Hunger Strike

July 14 - 16, 2006
To view time and location, click here.

The human rights situation in Iran continues to deteriorate.  Petitions and protests to end the abuses have gone unanswered.  During the past year, Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s government has continued the Islamic Republic's policy of monopolising power in Iran by silencing all independent and dissenting voices.  The suppression of demonstrators in Azerbaijan, Khuzestan, and Kurdistan, the silencing of labor, women, and student movements and the vicious attacks on demonstrators throughout the past year, are all evidence of the ongoing and abhorrent human rights violations by the Islamic Republic of Iran.  By arresting and imprisoning intellectuals, lawyers, political activists, and labour leaders and by forcing the early retirement of dozens of University professors, Ahmadinejad’s government is pursing polices that are reminiscent of some of the darkest days of the Islamic Republic.

In such an atmosphere, Iran’s democracy movement calls for the unity and support of people of conscience from around the world.  Without such unity, there is little hope of stemming the appalling human rights violations in Iran and the growing authoritarianism of regime.

In response to this deteriorating situation, we the undersigned lend our support and welcome the suggestion of Akbar Ganji – Iran’s leading dissent intellectual who was recently freed after 2222 days of imprisonment – for a global hunger strike that demands the release of three prominent political prisoners namely: Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoeni, a student leader and former member of parliament, Dr Ramin Jahanbegloo, a philosopher, professor and public intellectual and Mansour Osanloo, a prominent labor leader and  executive director of the Worker’s Syndicated Union.

Additionally, we demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political detainees from the Islamic Republic’s jails but we specifically demand the release of the above mentioned persons who represent various groups of prisoners of conscience in Iran. Should their release not be secured, we, the undersigned, will begin a co-ordinated global hunger strike from July 14 through July 16, 2006 to draw attention to our demands.  We ask for the support and solidarity of people from around the world who share our goals for a democratic Iran and an immediate end to all violations of human rights.

To participate in or support Toronto's concurrent hunger strike, please contact Binesh Hassanpour (b.hassanpour@utoronto.ca). To view time and location, click here. 

1. Nader Hashemi, Northwestern University
2. Monireh Mohammadi, York University
3. Mehrdad Ariannejad, University of Toronto
4. Victoria Tahmasebi, York University
5. Niaz Salimi, Centre for Thought, Dialogue and Human Rights in Iran
6. Dr Reza Baraheni, University of Toronto
7. Binesh Hassanpour, University of Toronto
8. Sasan Ghahreman, Sepidar Publications
9. Levon Haftvan, Theatre Director
10. Mehrdad Hariri, University of Toronto
11. Hassan Zerehi, Shahrvand Publications
12. Morteza Abdolalian, Iran Watch Canada
13. Nazli Kamvari, University of Toronto
14. Arsham Parsi, Persian Gay & Lesbian Organization
15. Bahar Aminvaziri, University of Toronto
16. Eddie Nemati, Political Activist
17. Roza Roozbehan, Political Activist
18. Saghi Ghahreman, Poet and Writer
19. Saeed Soultanpor, Centre for Thought, Dialogue and Human Rights in Iran
20. Golbarg Rekabtalaei, University of Toronto
21. Davood Armani, Political Activist
22. Payam Shirazi, Political Activist
23. Farzaneh Safarpour, Political Activist
24. Ana Ghoreishian, Political Activist
25. Farhad Vali, Political Activist
26. Tarek Fatah, Muslim Canadian Congress
27. Rizwana Jafari, Muslim Canadian Congress
28. Abdol Madjid Madjidi, Political Activist
29. Elyas Burney, Political Activist
30. Mehrdokht Hadi, Human Rights Activist
31. Farhad Bokaee, Political Activist
32. Behzad Amiri, Political Activist

Free-Political-Prisoners.net
Dedicated to Ganji’s campaign to release Iranian political prisoners.

To Winston: on Iran, Neo-Cons, the Left, Civil Society and Fanaticism, ... and a reference to Rumi

Winston has just responded to my post. I am not surprised by his response, but I am hopeful that in good time he will realise there are many points in this post with which he may very well agree. Indeed, one needs to enjoy a great deal of tolerance to read a long piece that was specifically written to respond to him. (4 PM EST, 21 June 2006) 

--------------------------------

Winston, in his comment on my previous post, branded Shirin Ebadi as "Ayatollah Ebadi", because in his views she has spoken favourably of the Islamic Republic, or has been somehow co-opted by it.

Though I often avoid responding to diatribe, there are exceptions, and as a matter of record I feel obliged to respond:

Lend Your Unequivocal Support to Human Rights Activists in Iran and a Note on Ebadi

In this post, I just want to acknowledge the activism of Students Movement leaders, recently arrested and sent to the Evin Prison's ward 209, where Professor Jahanbegloo is being currently held. As well, I wanted to commend the Iranian Women's courageous standoff with the Police in the Hafteh Tir Square of Tehran.

Finally, I wanted to use yet another opportunity to remind everyone how the leftist activists can become, out of misguided feelings, the apologists of the Islamic Republic's cruelties; especially, when they are trying to silence and/or waterwash criticism against the Islamic Republic simply by blaming Americans; or whenever they try to shut us up by saying that our criticism of the Islamic Republic's Human Rights record just would inevitably charge the atmosphere to the point that it would facilitate the US preparations to stage an attack on Iran- what a fanatic arugment!!

Indeed, it is funny how these lefties and the neo-cons  are unequivocally condemned by Shirin Ebadi for their proto-typically fascist "with-us-or-against-us" tendencies, and here I commend Ebadi for drawing the line in the sand and ensuring that nothing is "left" unclear! Please read on:

Baseeji Islamofascists Turn Tehran's Faculty of Law into a Garrison

In response to student protesters' slogan "this is a university not a garrison", the Baseeji Vigilantes have posted the pictures of the Student Movement activists "as wanted" in the corridors of the Faculty of Law of the Tehran University.