Posted on 09/03/2006 1:59:54 PM PDT by humint
Reuters, July 10 - 2000
BERLIN - Thousands of Iranians demonstrated in Berlin on Monday against a visit by President Mohammad Khatami despite tight security and incessant rain. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCR) said over 20,000 people had attended the rally, while 10,000 had been prevented from getting there. The protesters beat drums, waved Iranian flags without the central Islamic symbol and carried banners with slogans such as "Trade with the mullahs hurts human rights." Paintings portrayed Khatami with vampire teeth and breathing fire.
Huge screens showed satirical political videos, while men dressed as imams led others wearing mock prison garb with nooses around their necks. Many demonstrators held up pictures of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, leaders of the Mojahedin. Police said about 4,000 officers were on duty for Khatami's visit. The German authorities have introduced special measures in recent days to stop any disruption to the sensitive visit. Police said they had detained around 50 people in Berlin and searched dozens of homes of opponents of the Tehran government. Border guards had stopped Iranians entering Germany, while others were ordered to report to police.
"I would have expected more from German democracy," said Mitra Bagheri, an NCR activist in Germany since 1994. Hussein Abedini, an NCR spokesman based in London, agreed. "The German government did dirty deals with the mullahs. They did all they could to stop the demonstration." Exiles said Khatami's image as a reformer was a front. "Why is the world and the German government so excited about supporting someone who has been responsible for the executions of political prisoners?" asked Dowlat Nowrovzi. "Khatami is a mullah who wants the system to remain. Khatami is no Gorbachev."
This certainly has to be on ABC, NBC, and CBS? I must turn on the TV to see it. If not it should be in the NYT? (sarc.)
And we're letting him come here and speak... it's akin to England letting Hess go on the BBC after landing his plane in 1941.
These things rarely get the kind of coverage that a decapitation of suicide truck bomb gets. That's why it is very hard to develop any sort of context for it. The only way I've figured it can be done is by building archives of little reported events that I think are extremely important for a peaceful and stable future. I should've put the date in the title to prevent any misunderstandings. This demo happened 6 years ago, pre 9-11-01. We had other things on our mind back then. You've got to admit, Khatami sounded [emphasis added] good back then... Some brilliant minds thought things were going in the right direction for Iran. Too bad they ignored the street. Ignoring the street seems to be a theme among Iran X-purts. Hmmm --- Too bad for us and our allies…
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.