Message de Téhéran 2

(suite)

A short list of today's news: Moussavi is still under house arrest; his wife gave a talk today at Tehran University announcing that tomorrow there will be a massive demonstration (for which they will have asked for a permit, which is not sure to be granted); a large number of reformist leaders were arrested, threatened not to make any radical moves or declarations, and then released; SMS services are still deactivated, as are any wave using internet services; Ayatollah Sanei (a reformist, elderly cleric) took to the streets of Qom in protest, wearing a shroud that Muslims are wrapped in when they die; weblogs called for people to stay in the streets and to walk calmly; Tehran and Isfahan Universities were attacked by Bassij militia who severely beat students.

As night fell on Tehran, we went up on the rooftop and along with hundreds of other people began yelling Death to Dictatorship.  You could hear the voices in the dark across the city.  Friends who live in other parts of the city reported that in their parts the same was happening.  People were also yelling, Allah Akbar (which I personally have an extremely hard time saying, but it is a tactical move for people: they need to keep the support of figures like Moussavi, Rafsanjani, Ayatollah Sanei, and others important within the political sphere if their movement is to build and go forward with force).  During the 1979 revolution, the movements were leftist, but what is happening today is first and foremost a fight for social and political freedom.

Officially it is illegal to gather, meaning that groups of 3 or 4 people standing together in the street are threatened and hit with batons if they don't move.  So the quiet walking continues tonight.

In our street, Bassiji militants have attacked people and beaten their wooden batons onto our doors, insulting us and telling us to get back in the house.  They are trying to create fear and hysteria, but people continue to go outside, to walk in the streets, to drive their cars and honk.  This will only grow.

But the situation is severe, and the police have been given orders to kill.  That said, we are all seeing a clip today of a number of protesters protecting a policeman after he was beaten by a group of protesters, pleading with each other that we are all the same people, that we are all in this country together.  Today, I witnessed a few occasions where people were discussing with young policemen in riot gear.  At one point a few friends and I conversed with a policeman in his twenties.  He was ashamed, and told us that they have been told to shoot to kill, but that they are «trying hard to keep the situation calm».  He said that he considers us like his brothers and sisters; we told him to drop his weapons and join our ranks.  This is hopefully happen soon.