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New York Times Op-Ed columnist Roger Cohen eye-witness account
Update | 4:54 p.m. New York Times Op-Ed columnist Roger Cohen was out on Tehran's streets on Saturday and has filed this account of what he witnessed. Here is some of what he reports: I don't know where this uprising is leading. I do know some police units are wavering. That commander talking about his family was not alone. There were other policemen complaining about the unruly Basij. Some security forces just stood and watched. "All together, all together, don't be scared," the crowd shouted.I also know that Iran's women stand in the vanguard. For days now, I've seen them urging less courageous men on. I've seen them get beaten and return to the fray. "Why are you sitting there?" one shouted at a couple of men perched on the sidewalk on Saturday. "Get up! Get up!" Another green-eyed woman, Mahin, aged 52, staggered into an alley clutching her face and in tears. Then, against the urging of those around her, she limped back into the crowd moving west toward Freedom Square. Cries of "Death to the dictator!" and "We want liberty!" accompanied her. There were people of all ages. I saw an old man on crutches, middle-aged office workers and bands of teenagers. Unlike the student revolts of 2003 and 1999, this movement is broad. [...] Later, we moved north, tentatively, watching police lash out from time to time, reaching Victory Square where a pitched battle was in progress. Young men were breaking bricks and stones to the right size for hurling. Crowds gathered on overpasses, filming and cheering the protesters. A car burst into flames. Back and forth the crowd surged, confronted by less-than-convincing police units. I looked up through the smoke and saw a poster of the stern visage of Khomeini above the words, "Islam is the religion of freedom." Later, as night fell over the tumultuous capital, from rooftops across the city, the defiant sound of "Allah-u-Akbar" -- "God is Great" -- went up yet again, as it has every night since the fraudulent election, but on Saturday it seemed stronger. Posted by: 2009-06-21 |
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