Thursday, April 3, 2008
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Published: Thursday, April 03, 2008
* Blogging politics
Amir-Qoli who calls his blog “The Red Ideal” subtitled “Until the Freedom of Incarcerated Students” writes a post entitled “For Those Who Opened Their Eyes to the World after ‘58” [1980; the dates will be translated from here on], to commemorate the Islamic Republic Day, in which he draws attention to the fact that only the minority of the society still remembers days when today’s rulers participated in a ceremony they call “elections” for the first time. Perhaps some who did not themselves witness those times and have only read the establishment’s account of the referendum conducted in the spring of 1980 in Islamic Republic’s textbooks, might accept the “sham legitimacy” that Iran’s regime appeals to for the past three decades. He continues with criticism of Ayatollah Khomeini for whom, according to Amir-Qoli, the referendum was a matter of “formality.” He says:
“[…] A month before the referendum in the spring of 1980, Ayatollah Khomeini had already announced the results. On 2 March 1980 in a speech in [the holy city of] Qom, he said: ‘That which our people want is an Islamic Republic; not just a republic; not a democratic republic; not a Islamic democratic republic, but an Islamic Republic. Don’t be afraid of the word democratic; this is a western model. We do not accept western models… When the referendum is announced, my vote will be [for a] republican government, an Islamic republican government. Whoever adheres to Islam must want Islamic Republic.’
“For Khomeini, the referendum in the spring of 1980 was nothing but a formality. He said on 5 March 1980 in a speech to the clergy: ‘… It is necessary, sirs, that those who have any power in this sense to take their honor to the provinces and neighborhoods with which they are familiar or unfamiliar, and tell them about the problems and enlighten them and invite them to vote for Islamic Republic, and [to do so], in these very words, not one letter more and not one letter less.’
“In a regime that has continuous voting, limits the possibility of people’s choice; in a country in which prisons are filled with [the so-called] otherwise-thinkers [who have dared to] criticize the system; in a country where thousands of otherwise-thinkers lie buried beneath its earth; [in such a country,] elections are from the start without legitimacy. This has been so from the very first election which laid the foundations for this sham legitimacy of the Islamic Republic.”
Thursday, April 3, 2008
http://armansorkh.blogfa.com/post-541.aspx
* Blogging social issues
Mastan, in a blog called “Daily Writings of an Accused Prisoner,” offers critical perspectives on her surroundings. In this post she observes during a trip to the Caspian Sea region of Iran for the Persian New Year the lamentable treatment of women by Iranian men. She writes:
“[…] Once again like the bitter taste of repetition, as bitter as a cup of Turkish coffee, as black as stale tea left in the kettle, […] once again like the days of loneliness, days without sky, truly! Do you know that Tehran doesn’t have a sky…? Do you know that Tehran does not have the perfume of orange blossoms? Do you know that Tehran is filled with people who can in a second sell their honor and humanity for a Rial [about ten-thousandth of a dollar]? Do you know Tehran… Tehran… Tehran…?????
“As promised I will write of the world of women and men. But this New Year on the sea shore I saw a man who quite simply was swimming in the water and when his wife wanted to put her feet in the water, the man came toward her angrily and as if she’d committed a great sin, with an irate mien threatened her: if you think to come in the water so that your cloths would stick to your body, I know what to do with you!!!!!!! (the bitter taste of abasement)
“I wish Nazli was near me. I have a world of talking to do with her. I wish we were kids and our simple and deep world would not be filled with the mud of some people’s inanity.”
Thursday, April 3, 2008
http://poolak.blogfa.com/post-72.aspx
The author of the weblog “Direction of Prayer,” turning to the words of the Islamic Republic’s leader about the country’s cultural issues, is of the opinion that against the “tide of the entry of western culture” into Iran, and how the authorities must think of a solution and cannot sit idly, while also pointing out that overdoing it might create a backlash. He writes:
“[…] One especially cannot let go of the culture of a society because of the excuse of globalization and act passively, and at the same time one must be careful not to overreact. Under any pretext all governments try to protect and safe-guard their culture. This is the same thing that the Europeans do when they limit the entrance of Hollywood films because of their detrimental effect on their culture and literature.
“In cultural endeavors, it is necessary that the culture of a country can stand up to the earthquake of cultural attacks by using the necessary standards. These days, the west uses various media tools, which they have at their disposal, to try to inject their particular culture into the whole world while elevating their own culture. Therefore, we cannot sit idly in the face of this action, more so because throughout history one of the most important duties of governments, especially those governments that have been founded based on justice, is promoting the growth of excellence and morality among their peoples […]”
Thursday, April 3, 2008
http://gheblegah-mohsen.blogfa.com/post-45.aspx
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