By Fang Shihan
About 30 Iranians gathered at Speakers Corner on Thursday in a worldwide coordinated opposition movement against the current Iranian government. Held in conjunction with the regime’s celebration of its own revolution against the Shah 31 years ago, the group of mostly PhD scholars from Nanyang Technological University (engineering faculty) joined like-minded Iranian communities globally to commemorate those killed by the regime.
Dressed in green to remind the Iranian government how much they have deviated from Islamic values, the group said that they were angered by the clear human rights abuses committed against opposition supporters within Iran.
Anti-regime sentiments have been intensifying since the allegedly rigged elections in June last year. A quick glance into opposition blogsite www.balatarin.com showed blog entries and videos of military brutality as well as pre-arranged pro-government rallies in Teheran.
The government is clearly worried about the power of the Internet to facilitate the growth and coordination of the oppositionmovement. Internet services within Iran were blocked to disrupt communications in anticipation of the protests.
Upon questioning, the protesters denied any notion that they wished for another violent revolution, or for the U.S. to step in to foster democracy, as they did in Iraq. Reforming the government by putting pressure through peaceful protests, would be the best, they insisted.
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Clips of Iranian protesters brutalised by the current Iranian government
Military violence
Neda, a young girl brutally killed in Iran during protests.
She has now become an international symbol of
the pro-democracy Iranian movement worldwide.
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Remember the Burmese students and professionals demonstrated at speakers’s corner for Aung Suyi? And what happened. Their PRs and Visa all taken away.
So these Iranian students how?
Good work ShiHan. Thanks for covering the story which is excellently written. I enjoy reading it.
Can u be my valentine?
Doesn’t one of the rules of the Speaker’s Corner state that only Singaporeans can use it for speaking? As for demonstrations it seems only Singaporeans can organise one and only Singaporeans or PRs can take part in one.
http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/speakers_terms_n_conditions.pdf
Did the reporter ask these people if they knew they were breaking the law, or if they had special circumstances that allowed them to bypass this condition?
At last weekend’s inaugural Tea Party Convention, there was much bloviating about “oppressed” Americans “suffering” under the Obama Administration’s “tyranny.” Judge Roy More, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, even delivered a rousing sermon comparing our President to King George III, the British ruler overthrown in the American Revolution.
Nothing better illustrates the utter absurdity of these delusions than contrasting the Tea Party with an actual, grassroots, democratic movement created to confront real, rather than imagined, tyranny: Iran’s Green Movement.
Armed with camera phones, laptops and an iron will, these courageous individuals communicate their message to the world even without the journalists imprisoned by Ahmadinejad’s repressive regime.
Moreover, while Americans generally use Facebook and Twitter to pour over the excruciating minutae of modern life, the Greens employ these social networking websites to disseminate information, plan operations and mobilize their organization.
Censorship, harassment, intimidation, coercion, mass arrests, public beatings and de-facto executions by government-sponsored death squads. These are the harsh realities of living under tyranny. If the Tea Party movement’s petulant populists want to witness its horrors first-hand, I implore them to purchase a one-way ticket to Tehran. I suspect they’ll be in for a rude awakening.
Read more @ http://armchairfirebrand.wordpress.com/
Far be it from me to criticize an American (albeit an anonymous one supposedly blogging from the comfort of a free and democratic USA) about democracy, while in opposition during the Bush years the Democrats were equally as guilty of grassroots agitation, some of it quite unfair and were not directed at President Bush. I can never forget MoveOn’s scurrilous attacks on General Petraeus (aka General “BetrayUs”) whose only sin was to be an excellent and loyal commander of his country, and achieving success within the parameters he had been given. With regards to populism, isn’t it the same force that propelled a one term senator into the Presidency, ahead of more experienced and brand-established politicians? Populism is ok; as long it belongs to your side …..
@Zi Liang: No I didn’t ask if they were breaking the law – I’m a journalist, not a mata. ;)
Was more interested in finding out what they were protesting for, given that it’s the first time I even heard of their green movement. I initially thought it was some kind of environmental protest…
There was an ISD guy there though, or at least someone who looked suspicious enough. He was sitting and watching us at the bus stop nearby for close to an hour.
Shihan, well done, great reply “not a mata”. Consistent with TOC’s stance for more open dialogue with public authorities.
Hi Shihan,
I think you misunderstood the intent of my question. I certainly didn’t mean you should confront the Iranians about their possible breach of law like a “mata”.
What I was wondering as a reader of your article was the law around the usage of the Speaker’s Corner and how the Iranians got around the rule that protestors must be Singaporean or permanent residents. Did they get a Singaporean to be the organiser or did they just brave a possible arrest? If that was the case, that would show how determined they were to spread their message of the green movement, something you were interested in finding out about.
Or were they simply clueless about regulation? All these were questions I had as a reader and I’m quite sure others who know the law on usage of the Speaker’s Corner had such questions in mind.
To have asked these questions would have made the article more complete. So yes, as you are a journalist, I think it is even more important that you had asked these questions.
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Hi Shihan,
As you yourself stated this is first come that you came across this Green Movement in Iran. But I wanna to share you that, What you have heard from the mass media is not the reality! Rather this mass media tries to cover it up and shows the Green Movement a Genuine Popular movement in Iran! that is why Singapore Gov. can think of letting these students come out and and support this movement though it breaks its laws!! while you cannot see that the Gov tolerates it in other cases!!! but to tell you what is this movement I put it as:
Green Movement is the reliance of ongoing Oligarchy inside Iran for 24 years against the will of mass of people who trusted Ahmadinejad to Bring the change and justice to Iran and fight their corruption and stealing of public wealth! :)
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