Social media brings her death to the world
From Mousavi's Facebook page
While not all politicians in America agree that the people should have the right to choose whether payday loans in Compton for quick cash is right for them, we do have reasonable assurance that if we disagree with their decisions, we will not be maimed or shot in public view. Unfortunately for the people of Iran, there are no such guarantees as riots continue to blaze on the streets of Tehran following the recent election farce. State controls have attempted to suppress news surrounding incidents, but they weren’t powerful enough to keep the rest of the world from finding out about Neda Soltani. She is the Iranian girl shot, and it is proving to be a shot heard ’round the world.
John Presta reports for the Chicago City Hall Examiner that Neda Soltani has, in effect, become a symbol of the brutality of Iranian leadership. The woman was murdered by Iranian security forces, and her final moments were captured on video. Click here to see, but be warned that it is graphic material. Not only has much of the world seen this video, but the incident even has its own Wikipedia page. And through the work of Mir Hossein Mousavi via Facebook (as well as others), the world will not be allowed to ignore or forget what has happened.
The movement against Ahmadinejad and his regime has not died since the election results were announced. Now it has its tragic martyr in Neda Soltani.
It’s a landslide, alright
According to UPI reports from Iranian election insiders, “ballot discrepancies were found in some cities, but the inconsistencies didn’t violate the country’s election laws. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the “landslide winner” of the June 12 election over his nearest challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is a moderate. Mousavi and other candidates have called fraud and demanded another election.
That the Ahmadinejad regime has not acknowledged the almost certain nature of the voting irregularities is not surprising. It has served to pour gasoline on the flames of revolt. Addressing the people with violence instead of through discussion and just action has drawn the attentions of the world to Iran. Is an overthrow on its way? Will the religious leaders of the country make the right political decision and overrule the power grab of this despot? Stay tuned… the fire is well full to blazing.
Following the timeline
We know about what has happened to unfortunate souls like Neda Soltani primarily because of online social media. The Iranian people have relied on audio-visual technology and spread word via services like Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia and Facebook. Not only does this introduce people to the tragic events in the broad sense, but it keeps it open as a continuing conversation. This is where technology becomes most human. Services like Twitter allow those who have seen, heard and felt the fires to engage one another in dialogue, as opposed to a static news report.
Ben Parr has compiled an excellent timeline on Mashable of social media in the Iran election crisis. Here are some of the highlights:
From the Wikipedia entry “Iranian Presidential Election, 2009″:
On Friday, June 12th, Iran held its Presidential Elections. According to the official (but now disputed) vote tally, Ahmadinejad secured 24.5 million votes, or 62.6 percent, while Mousavi garnered 13.2 million votes, or 33.7 percent.
Protests begin
From Wikipedia: “2009 Iranian election protests, June 13″:
While the results were known not long after the polls closed, it really wasn’t until June 13th and 14th that the protests picked up steam.
As it turns out, #CNNFail appeared on Twitter at this time, condemning that news network for not covering Iran protests sufficiently. And the protests were vehement. Culled from Twitter: Twitter Search, #IranElection, June 13-14June 15-18: A Week of Turmoil
In what was dubbed the worst civil unrest in Iran in over a decade, clashes broke out between police and groups protesting the election results from early Saturday morning onward. Protests were initially mostly peaceful but became increasingly violent. Demonstrators chanted phrases such as “Down with the dictator”, “Death to the dictator”, and “Give us our votes back”. Mousavi urged for calm and asked that his supporters refrain from acts of violence.
But violence could not be stopped
According to the Wikipedia page “2009 Iranian election protests, June 15 to June 18,” events on the ground became bloody. Under direction from Iran’s Supreme Ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini, a partial recount was ordered. Green arm bands of protest are everywhere. Even the Iranian national soccer team was wearing them. By request of the U.S. government, Twitter moved its downtime so that concerned individuals could follow events uninterrupted. Facebook offered a Persian translation so that Iranian citizens could more easily use the service in Farsi.
Vast rallies that some reports estimate at “over 100,000″ people voiced their opposition in the streets. It was just such a rally that led to the shooting death of Neda Soltani, at the hands of the Basij police guard. The death occurred on camera and was posted to YouTube, a cry against the Iranian government’s brutality (From Twitter: Twitter Search, #IranElection, June 15-16 and June 17-18June 19-21: Violent Escalation and Neda Soltani).
At least 10 killed, over 100 injured
Photo by Ben Curtis / STR (Associated Press)
And there appears to be no immediate end in sight until Iran’s government makes some important decisions. Thanks to social media, Iranians have been able to communicate with each other and the outside world (despite government attempts to throttle bandwidth and otherwise block the flow of information). The outside world has been able to talk back to the resistance in Iran. This is helping to redefine the role and source of journalism, for information isn’t quite so easy to control as it was when newspapers were the only game in town.
There is sympathy and sadness for Neda Soltani, her family and all the people of Iran who wish for their voices to be counted accurately. Perhaps one day there will also be hope for oppressed peoples like them worldwide. Learn a lesson from this, non-voters of America. The people of Iran are willing to place themselves in danger in order to save their country from dictatorship. Are you willing to get up off your couch and vote when called upon? Not caring is a kind of death of its own… and it is not deserving of sympathy.
The more we lose our rights in this country, the more I wonder when people will be shaken from their indifference. payday loans in Compton for quick cash is an important right that goes lock-step with other, larger financial freedoms. If you fear a socialist regime in this country, let your elected officials know what you think.
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