Quds Day Subverted

The annual Quds Day in Iran, something I'm quite against since it is the government-mandated anti-Israel day, was different this year. On Friday Holocaust-denying election-stealer Ahmadinajad gave his usual hateful speech, but the people used the traditional rallies as a means to protest the regime, which was responded to by state violence:

Supporters of the Green Movement gathered at 7 Tir square (a major intersection) and began moving toward Tehran University, where the Friday prayers and Ahmadinejad’s speech were to be held. Mehdi Karroubi joined the demonstrators and walked with them all the way to the vicinity of Tehran University.

To prevent the Green Movement’s supporters from penetrating Tehran University, public buses had been used to block all the streets around the campus. Security forces, the Basij militia, and plainclothes agents used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the demonstrators.

Former president Mohammad Khatami joined the demonstrators close to Palestine square, a short distance from the campus of the University of Tehran. He was then attacked by a mob led by Abolfazl Shariatmadari, son of Hossein Shariatmadari, the hard-line managing editor of Kayhan, the mouthpiece of the hardliners and security forces. Khatami was rescued by the people, and sustained minor injuries. He was then taken away.

The protesters, seeking as fairly elected representation -- something that some Americans take for granted -- don't appear to have been cowed by the horrific violence, both on the streets and in the prisons, dealt by the Basra:

In some cases, protesters stood their ground, hurling stones at security forces and chasing them to engage in bare-fisted sparring, witnesses said. “People seemed less fearful compared to previous demonstrations,” one participant said. ”This time, they were fighting back.”

Throughout the day, regular police officers reportedly stayed on the sidelines for the most part.

Police officers even protected the demonstrators in one instance cited by an eyewitness. ”Plainclothes forces attempted to attack a group of protesters carrying a long green banner, but the police intervened and prevented physical confrontation.”

Take a look -- green protest:



The thugs and regime-lovers they're up against:



More pix here. It's amazing the difference in the two sides. The opposition is completely male, segregated, and looks like the sorry past, while the so many of the protesters are women, always there.

Here's opposition leader (and likely the real election winner) Mousavi's supporters and aides repelling the thugs:



Ditto the supporters of protesting ex-President Khatami, where Basra tried to pull off his turban to humiliate him, and failed.

It's tougher than ever for a fascist regime to keep the lid on over the long haul, not with 2009's social media capabilities.

Still bad in Burma, though, and getting worse.



Death to tyrants and the thug class they license.