Posted on 12/29/2009 5:57:09 AM PST by nuconvert
In their desperate search for a way to quell the growing revolt of the Iranian people against the Islamic Republic, the regime’s storm troopers are arresting, beating and assassinating the families of the leaders of the Green Movement. Sunday, as millions of Iranians took the opportunity of the Ashura mourning day to take to the streets, a hit team gunned down the nephew of Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Seyed Ali Moussavi Habibi was witnessing a 4WD Neissan Patrol car running over a few people in front of his house before being shot and killed with the same people in the car. After running over a few people 5 people get off the car and one of them comes very close to Seyed ali Moussavi and shoots him with a gun in a way that the bullet passes through his chest and comes out from his back. Then all 5 get on the car and run away.
Seyed Ali’s corpse was taken to a hospital, where all could verify the nature of his mortal wound, and the regime ghouls decided to cover up the evidence. They carted off the body, saying they wanted to investigate the circumstances of his death. Yes, really.
The demonstrations raged over three days, including today, and you can find good videos all over the net. Here are two examples:
* Tehran, the evening of Ashura
* A wounded or dead person
The online coverage was excellent, from the New York and London Times to the Guardian, all of whom liveblogged it. And today there was plenty of reportage. I will leave you to their tender mercies. There are several key points to make, and then I will look forward.
First, in line with my basic sermon these many years, if you study the videos you will see many many women in the front ranks. They have every reason to be there, as the Islamic Republic (as so many Islamic regimes) is built on the sludge of misogyny.
Second, many of the evil Basij goons wore masks. This is new, and indicates fear that they will be identified and hunted down. The conflict is ever more violent; on several occasions crowds attacked security forces, even dragging them out of cars…and then, cursing them, letting them run away.
Third, in another ominous development for the regime, people from the southern (lower class) neighborhoods of Tehran joined in. The revolt is now very broad based. But it is not yet powerful enough for the Bazaaris to join; today the Tehran Bazaar was open for business.
Fourth, the regime has been stripped of religious legitimacy by its own panic-driven brutality. By invading mosques and hosseiniyas, by assaulting family members of leading clerics (Grand Ayatollah Sane’i is under house arrest), and by ordering murder on Ashura, the supreme leader has violated a whole series of previously sacrosanct rules. I will be surprised if we do not soon hear from Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Sistani.
Finally, there is still no national strike of the sort that paralyzed the shah’s regime 31 years ago. But this may come; there were Twitter reports yesterday saying that Mousavi was calling for a strike January 7th.
The latest is what you should have expected: a state of emergency throughout the country (although some cities are still in open revolt), and many angry calls for the arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi, which would surely provoke more massive demonstrations, and perhaps even the use of weapons by the people (even today, Molotov cocktails were thrown at security forces in central Tehran). If this were a normal regime, I’d expect a cooling down period, but it isn’t, so it’s unpredictable.
Meanwhile, the Western world clicks its collective tongue and criticizes “the violence” and the lack of respect for rights of free speech and assembly, as if that were the point. Not a single western “leader” has found the nerve and the common sense to denounce the regime and call for regime change. Indeed our guy Obama couldn’t drag himself away from the beach and the basketball court on Oahu to say anything at all. Nor could Ms Hillary.
A generation of brave freedom fighters in Iran, and the usual accomplices to evil in the West. As before. If any of them dares say “never again,” they should be publicly spanked, removed from office, and then sent off for education. Or is it reeducation?
UPDATE: Obama finally came out with the usual condemnation of violence and reiteration of human rights. Fine for academics and scribblers, not good enough for a leader.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thanks to the indispensable Instapundit. And Doctor Helen, natch. And Denis Prager and Hugh Hewitt for having me on today.
UPDATE II: The assault against the opposition is documented very well by Homylafayette here. All those young people in the clutches of monsters. ugh.
Info on some prominent people arrested here...
http://homylafayette.blogspot.com/2009/12/iran-yazdi-baghi-tabrizi-arrested.html
This is why Americans should never submit to being disarmed.
I have a friend or two who are American citizens and who travel to Iran. Both said that during the previous riots in Teheran and environs, at least 2500 people were killed. I have no way of confirming or refuting this anecdotal info.
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