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Don't the Basij have parents?
The mothers and children of Narmak the lower-middle class district where Ahmadinejad famously has his residence have so far been spared violence, but theyve also not seen the victory celebrations that pro-Ahmadinejad newspapers and state broadcasters have claimed are taking place.The Hosseinis, like many in their area, voted for Ahmadinejad after days of discussing their thoughts about the country and the candidates. They belong neither to the segment of the presidents voting bloc that was instructed to cast their votes for him, nor the underclass portion of the populace overjoyed by the presidents coarsest displays of populism. However many ballots were coerced or falsified, there are a significant number of Iranians who cast their ballots for Ahmadinejad voluntarily and with a clear conscience. And they are now beginning to question their own judgment. "Dont cause a scene," the bearded man in plain clothes firmly told the rest of the passengers in a subway car late on Monday evening. Those within earshot, including your correspondent, knew he was an intelligence officer and that he was discouraging us all from mentioning the murders at Azadi Square that had just happened. We were very quick to comply, everyone directing their eyes to a corner, or the floor or a wall. Ever more Iranians are responding to their own government in a mood of fear and exhaustion. But, one young man on the subway decided neither to cower, nor obey. You were there, he said gravely, looking at the intelligence officer. You were there; I saw you. The officer stared back. We all have our opinions. The young man boldly replied: It is a fact. You were there. I saw you. It is clear that the young man had seen more than he wanted to. His were the eyes of someone who has lost a friend, a comrade: His pain gave him the strength to utter words that the entire country would probably share, a claim to self-respect that Iranians would like to make a steadfast reality. In the streets of Tehran, there is a desire to name simple facts and to call them such: facts like election ballots, facts like gun shots fired at innocent bystanders. The demonstrators are bound together by their desire for truth. Your correspondent, too, wanted to say what he had just seen: A young man staggering in the darkness several blocks away from Freedom Square, his eyes wide, as though he'd seen a ghost. He raised his two bloody hands before me as testimony. Ten people, he intoned. They killed 10 people. Iranian society has increasingly found a common enemy in the form of the Basij, the paramilitary group indiscriminate in the punishment it's meted out since the election, whether by baton, or as of Monday, by gun. The conflict between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi supporters is less grave than the one between the demonstrators and their torturers. When Mousavi demonstrators now enter someones car or building in order to escape a baton, no one asks how the other voted. Posted by: Frozen Al 2009-06-19 |
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