I hope this report is wrong. The US media is silent on the events in Iran...
ANALYSIS-Iranian protesters intimidated and leaderless
By Paul Hughes
10 Jul 2003 14:36:54 GMT
TEHRAN, July 10 (Reuters) - Intimidated, leaderless and few in number, Iran's pro-democracy protesters face an uncertain future with little to show for several nights of sporadic unrest against the country's Islamic clerical rulers.
Hundreds of people converged on the streets around Tehran University on Wednesday night in defiance of an official ban on gatherings for the anniversary of violent 1999 student unrest.
Apart from scuffles between police, youths and hardline Islamic vigilantes, the protest passed off with little incident. There was none of the chanting of virulent slogans against the clerical elite that could be heard during 10 nights of protests in Tehran and other cities last month.
"You couldn't even call it a protest really," said a foreign diplomat who went to see events for himself. "Most people were just sitting in their cars, too scared even to honk their horns. I hardly think the government is quaking in its boots."
Unlike in June's protests, which mushroomed unexpectedly out of a small student rally against privatisation and spread to more than half a dozen cities, authorities were well prepared for trouble on Wednesday.
Police, riot police and Islamic vigilantes fiercely loyal to conservative clerics were out in force.
"Intimidation is a key factor. Not many people are prepared to risk being beaten up or arrested," a European diplomat said.
SATELLITE CHANNELS BLOCKED
Communication is another weak point for the protesters. Mobile telephone networks across Tehran appeared to be blocked for much of Wednesday night.
Local and foreign media were instructed not to cover the demonstrations and the signals of U.S.-based Iranian exile satellite channels, which played a key role in promoting June's protests, were jammed.
Many expect the current wave of protests to enter a period of dormancy, although they could flare up again at short notice.
"The pent-up anger is still there, beneath the surface. But for it to seriously take off you need a catalyst, you need a cause, you need organisation and leadership. It's a big task," one European diplomat said.
Most analysts agree the protests reflect widespread frustration among Iranians, the vast majority of whom were born after the 1979 Islamic revolution. But an effective channel for that frustration remains elusive.
"People have a wide range of complaints. Some want more democracy, some want more social freedom and some just want jobs and lower prices," said political analyst Hossein Rassam.
"They need a common cause, a vehicle to express their anger," he said.
Just a few years ago millions of Iranians felt pro-reform President Mohammad Khatami would serve as the vehicle to deliver their hopes for a more prosperous, open and democratic society. Now, many have lost hope in Khatami's ability to overcome resistance to change from powerful hardline clerics.
PEOPLE LOOK TO STUDENTS
"Khatami has just prolonged the status quo," said one frustrated housewife. "I voted for him but now I wish I hadn't. Maybe without him things would have changed by now."
With political disillusionment on the rise, many Iranians look to university students to take the lead in the protests.
But students have paid a heavy price for playing that role in recent years.
Some 800 students were among the 4,000 people arrested during and after June's demonstrations. Dozens of others were seriously injured when hardline Islamic vigilantes burst into dormitories to attack students with chains, knives and clubs.
Plainclothes men arrested three student leaders on Wednesday just after they held a news conference to announce the cancellation of events to mark the 1999 student unrest.
"The student movement has effectively been emasculated," said one European diplomat. "Every time one of their leaders stands up and says something he's grabbed off the streets and isn't heard from for weeks."
Most students are too scared to talk openly to the foreign media for fear of arrest. A few still dare to speak out.
"Everyone in our country, be they a worker, teacher, businessman or whatever wants freedom, democracy and respect for human rights and in the future people will become more and more critical," Mehdi Habibi, a senior member of Iran's largest pro-reform student organisation, told Reuters on Thursday.
"Today's world is too small for dictators and dictatorships," he said.
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>>>> I hope this report is wrong. The US media is silent on the events in Iran...
>>>> Intimidated, leaderless and few in number, Iran's pro-democracy protesters face an uncertain future with little to show for several nights of sporadic unrest against the country's Islamic clerical rulers.
This is what I feared. Peaceful protests are useless against tyrants who believe what they're doing is right for ideological reasons. Nothing will change without violence or economic destruction of the mullarchy.
It's always the anonymous European diplomats who get quoted.
Looks like they're going to have to go underground DoctorZIn. They are going to have to form small groups and come up with some kind of communication system that the mad mullahs can't figure out. The real problem will be finding out who might be infiltrators.
They have to start shunning the militants, make their lives miserable. Get to the point where they can't buy anything, they can't go anywhere without people turning their backs on them. The Amish used to shun people, they wouldn't even speak to them, they pretended they weren't there, walked right past them or turned their back. If someone is about to be arrested, EVERYONE must step forward to stop it.
Personally, if I were there, I would form a group, start pulling these guys off the street one at a time, strip them naked, shave a stripe down the middle of their heads, shave big chunks out of their beards, and leave them tied to a tree in the public square so people could laugh at them.
BTW, when I say they can't buy anything, I mean passive/aggressive. You can smile at them and say, "sorry, we're out", or "my brother has reserved that" or "it's broken" or "I'm closed for the day".