Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Iran: We Support Your Democracy
Iran's Reformist Party to Boycott Elections: "Iran's main reformist party will boycott the country's parliamentary elections this month, the head of the party, Mohammad Reza Khatami, said today.
The statement by Mr. Khatami to reporters, which was carried by the Islamic Republic News Agency, was the latest development in what appears to be a deepening political crisis in Iran after more than one-third of the members of Parliament resigned on Sunday over a sweeping exclusion of candidates by religious conservatives.
...
The number of members who resigned had reached 123 by Sunday afternoon. The move, which is likely to intensify the fight between reformers and their hard-line opponents, was unprecedented in the country's parliamentary history."
As I wrote yesterday before most others, Iran is on the brink of major political change or open civil war; I asked that people wake up and notice. I continued a request for this story to be more widely covered in both the mainstream press and in the blogosphere in another update on this struggle for democracy in Iran. It seems that the call has been heard by my fellows at Oxblog (much thanks), and they are assisting me in my efforts to get the word out by enlisting their wider readership in spreading the word.
David Adesnik writes in support of my call to news sources to cover this historic and important conflict by writing "dammit, flood the zone! (That means you, too, George W.)" I couldn't have put it any better.
Major media and the federal government, wake up, the earth is shaking under your feet; look around before you get struck in the head by a realignment you didn't expect. The Iranians have a chance to bring democracy to themselves; they are standing up against the theocracy and demanding that they have the right to choose the government that represents them. We should aid them in any way possible.
More important that cry for more coverage is the call to support the democrats of Iran.
If anyone in Iran is reading this: we support you and your efforts to create a democracy. The USA is behind you.
UPDATE:
Oxblog has scooped me and has lots of good stuff on this, including links to several articles by the BBC, Economist, and other publications. Once I finish a midterm on Spartan history (hey, Greece was invaded by Persians), I'll see if I can't beat them to the punch again. Good work, guys;)
The statement by Mr. Khatami to reporters, which was carried by the Islamic Republic News Agency, was the latest development in what appears to be a deepening political crisis in Iran after more than one-third of the members of Parliament resigned on Sunday over a sweeping exclusion of candidates by religious conservatives.
...
The number of members who resigned had reached 123 by Sunday afternoon. The move, which is likely to intensify the fight between reformers and their hard-line opponents, was unprecedented in the country's parliamentary history."
As I wrote yesterday before most others, Iran is on the brink of major political change or open civil war; I asked that people wake up and notice. I continued a request for this story to be more widely covered in both the mainstream press and in the blogosphere in another update on this struggle for democracy in Iran. It seems that the call has been heard by my fellows at Oxblog (much thanks), and they are assisting me in my efforts to get the word out by enlisting their wider readership in spreading the word.
David Adesnik writes in support of my call to news sources to cover this historic and important conflict by writing "dammit, flood the zone! (That means you, too, George W.)" I couldn't have put it any better.
Major media and the federal government, wake up, the earth is shaking under your feet; look around before you get struck in the head by a realignment you didn't expect. The Iranians have a chance to bring democracy to themselves; they are standing up against the theocracy and demanding that they have the right to choose the government that represents them. We should aid them in any way possible.
More important that cry for more coverage is the call to support the democrats of Iran.
If anyone in Iran is reading this: we support you and your efforts to create a democracy. The USA is behind you.
UPDATE:
Oxblog has scooped me and has lots of good stuff on this, including links to several articles by the BBC, Economist, and other publications. Once I finish a midterm on Spartan history (hey, Greece was invaded by Persians), I'll see if I can't beat them to the punch again. Good work, guys;)
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