Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Newsletter for Wednesday August 5th 2009

Student Information Center (SIC)


Wednesday August 5th, 2009

FUTURE PLANS
A. Most likely, demonstrations are going to be organized for Friday, August 7th. See future issues for relevant details.

NEWS
--BBC/Radio Farda: Reports from Tehran indicate clashes between demonstrators and security forces in different parts of the city while Ahmadinejad was being sworn in. Although the streets close to Baharestan Square---the site of the Parliament---were subject to strong security measures, some protesters gathered there to voice their objection. Iranian citizens objecting to the election results were also present in other areas such as the Tehran's Grand Bazaar, Vanak Square and Saei Park. Eye-witnesses told Agence France-Presse that the security forces used pepper gas to disperse the demonstrators.  The Parliament-News correspondent---the official news website of Parliament's Path of Imam faction---reports that the streets leading to Baharestan Square are closed and about 5,000 security forces are deployed in the area.  In addition, Baharestan subway station has been temporarily shut down due to the inauguration ceremony (Attached, you can find videos of today's demonstrations).

--BBC: Ahmadinejad went to the Parliament in a helicopter, says Parliament-News. ILNA (Iran's Labor News Agency) reports several foreign embassies sent low-ranking envoys instead of ambassadors to the inauguration ceremony, and unlike previous terms representatives of many international news services were not allowed in the oath-taking ceremony. Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi did not take part in the formalities, and there are no reports as to whether Seyyed Hassan Khomeini---Imam Khomeini's grandson---did so. The majority of Path of Imam representatives---the reformists bloc---shunned Wednesday's ceremony, and the few participants walked out on Ahmadinejad's speech.

--Ghalam: In a meeting with the youngsters on Monday, Moussavi said "Some people thought that arresting several figures from different parties and organizations---whom they claimed to be the heads of this opposition movement---would completely quell this uprising. Its survival at a national level, however, demonstrated that such arrests cannot harm the movement whatsoever."  He added "A large network of people who object to the wrongdoing and injustice committed are still alive and live their lives." You can find the full coverage of this session in the attachments.

--Radio Farda: In the inauguration day, Islamic Iran Participation Front (Jebhe-ye Mosharekat) called the government "illegitimate" and said the Islamic Republic in its fourth decade does not have any resemblance to the democratic or semi-democratic regimes, and is close to the "despotic dictatorships".

-- Ghalam: Dr. Zahra Rahnavard. in reply to the letter of Mohammad Reza JalaaiPour's wife wrote: "All of us will continue our green way with faith, courage and chivalry"

--Etemad-Melli Newspaper: Last Thursday, Alireza, 12, had gone to the Behesht Zahra cemetery of Tehran with his father to attend the fortnight ceremonies for those killed in the protests. On the way back, he gets hit on his head by a baton and dies of concussion. After four days his family could get his dead body from the legal medicine office.

--BBC: The truth finder committee of the parliament will investigate the death of Alireza, the twelve year old boy who died from the baton hit on his head in Behesht Zahra.

--BBC: The government of the United States, expressed concerns about the trial of Yahya Kian Tajbakhsh, the Iranian-American researcher arrested in Iran. The US government expressed concerns about the trial in the absence of Tajbakhsh's lawyers and asked for his release. Kian Tajbakhsh was arrested in his house in Tehran on July 9 after the election crisis began.

--Radio Farda: In an interview, Mehdi Karroubi told the Spanish newspaper "El Pais":
"Neither Mousavi, nor I have ever backed off. We continue our protests and will never collaborate with this government. We won't fight with it but we will criticize its actions."

--Radio Farda: Eight screenwriters published a manifest and expressed their concerns from the depression that is all over the nation. They called for their colleagues to honestly narrate what is going on these days. Hamid Amjad, Mohammad CharmShir and Mohammad Rahmanian have signed this letter.

--BBC: Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, asked for a do-over Wednesday after calling President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "the elected leader" of Iran. Mr. Gibbs opted to delete the word "elected" and just leave it at "leader." Mr. Gibbs made his misstatement during a briefing at the White House on Tuesday when he was trying to avoid saying anything that would seem to sanction Mr. Ahmadinejad's election. This time he said "Let me correct a little bit of what I said yesterday... I denoted that Mr. Ahmadinejad was the elected leader of Iran. I would say it's not for me to pass judgment on. He's been inaugurated. That's a fact. Whether any election was fair, obviously the Iranian people still have questions about that and we'll let them decide that. But I would simply say he's been inaugurated and we know that is simply a fact."


NEWS OF THE ARRESTED, MISSING, AND DECEASED
--Radio-Farda:
In the evening of Tuesday, the security police arrested Reza Nourbakhsh, the chief editor of the Farhikhtegan newspaper in his office. The Farhikhtegan Newspaper, confirming Nourbakhsh's arrest stated that the police has confiscated his personal stuff including his computer after his arrest.




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