Yeah, we're all over it. BTW, does your family still own any oil rights over there? Just asking.
Sincerely,
Kofi
Tehran, Iran, Aug. 06 – The head of police in the province of Isfahan, central Iran, said in a gathering on Saturday that members of the Bassij, paramilitary vigilantes loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were authorised to assist the police in cracking down on dissent.Brigadier-General Hossein Zolfaqari said, “The Bassij forces, acting as agents of the judiciary, in accordance with the law and their particular circumstances can act against apparent crimes”.
“In circumstances when the police are not present or when they require assistance or when they for whatever reason do not wish to carry out their tasks, uniformed members of the Bassij can in accordance with the law act against apparent crimes”, Zolfaqari added.
Last week, the newly appointed head of Iran’s police, or State Security Forces, also announced that members of the Bassij could take part in operations against dissent alongside the police force.
Brigadier General Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam told a police garrison in Mashad, northeast Iran, “The Bassij forces can assist agents of the State Security Forces in their activities”.
In mid-July the new police chief called on the forces under his command to deal “decisively with criminals” and use live bullets if necessary.
Khamenei’s appointment of Ahmadi Moghaddam, a veteran paramilitary commander with a reputation for ruthlessness, was widely regarded as a move to place the law enforcement forces under the control of the Revolutionary Guards.
Moghaddam was the number two in the paramilitary Bassij and commander of the force in Greater Tehran. He is among the top commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and has also been a long-time ally of President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The two worked together closely in the military crackdown on Iran’s autonomy-seeking Kurds in the 1980s, when they were both Revolutionary Guards commanders based in Hamzeh Garrison near the north-western city of Orumieh.
This article is basically an admission by the Iranian government that the unrest is so bad that their professional security forces (per se) can't handle it and they're having to enlist assistance. If the paramilitary can't squash this movement, it may signal doom for the mullahs who run that place. If the paramilitary are successful, it may signal one of the worst reigns of terror that we won't hear about in our country.
Are we ever going to hear about any of this in the MSM?
Only if they can figure a way to spin it to make Pres. Bush look bad. In the meantime, there are people there who appear to want to overthrow a theocracy who are not even getting any moral support from us...because we are hearing nothing about it!
Outstanding letter by Mr. Pahlavi! Good post nuconvert.
<< My compatriots and I are greatly concerned about the ever-increasing violation of human rights conditions in Iran. >>
Yair.
It's beginning to take on the shape and stench of life under Mr Reva's dad and his murderous Savak.
Must be making the pretender to the peakock throne and his every homy shudder in his shoes!
Crown Prince Pahlavi is a honest man and he is well-liked among Iranians.
I hope he can lead the freedom movement more effectively in the days ahead.