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POPSAppeal for a worldwide reading for Democracy and Freedom in Iran But the men of God had hardly seized power when they began liquidating a large section of the opposition, executing thousands of dissenters and destroying the indigenous culture in favour of so-called Islamisation, downgrading women as second-class citizens and subjecting art and literature to strict censorship. With the exception of brief uprisings by individuals or small groups, the population remained patient for a long time – for thirty years. But now the scandalous manipulation of the Presidential elections of June 12th has proved too much to bear.
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POPSThe Green Brief #25 by Josh Shahryar
5.Ayatollah Montazeri has released a Fatwa that is very supportive of protesters and their cause. In the Fatwa, Montazeri "condemned violence against protesters as un-Islamic." He's pleaded with the government to not play with the name of Shi'ism and Islam with their actions. He hinted that Khamenei's leadership is standing against Islam, human rationale and National interests " and that he was clearly in the wrong. Reports of Ayatollah Ustadi - Qom's temporary Friday Prayer's Imam - resigning his position and calling a strike could not be confirmed. 6.In an open letter released to the media, the women's wing of Mousavi's Participation Front have said that Iranian mothers were awaiting the release of their loved ones with teary eyes and aching hearts. Government / International 7.Iranian Foreign Minister, Manuchehr Motaki, has stated that Iran is willing to discuss issues with the West, but claimed that the government was going to present a package of issues for discussion "
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POPSClerics Join Iran's Anti-Government Protests Iranian opposition at the leadership level and in the streets now has new faces, made up of those who had opposing ideologies before the election. One symbol of that has become a nightly tradition in Iran. Secular or religious, Iranians go to their rooftops every night.. and shout out "Allahu Akbar" -- God is great -- and "down with the dictator."
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POPSStudent Uprising Open Thread June 22, 2009 Between Mousavi's statement yesterday - "If they arrest me, go on strike" - the students calling for a strike on Tuesday, the Ayatollah Montazeri calling for "three days of mourning (read: general strike that uses another name) for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday," and the Bus Workers Union calling for a day of national education on Friday, the various tendencies in the resistance - electoral, student, religious and labor - are circling around the same idea. My guess is that before the week is out they'll synchronize their watches and all strike at once, quite plausibly when one of the labor sectors suddenly calls out a Wildcat Strike that electrifies the nation, bringing the other sectors into quick mobilization to seize upon the moment.
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POPSIran Elections and "Green Revolution", US Involvement Paul Craig Roberts, former Reagan Treasury official, goes on to unmask a neocon source about the election controversy: For example, neoconservative Kenneth Timmerman wrote the day before the election that “there’s talk of a ‘green revolution’ in Tehran.” How would Timmerman know that unless it was an orchestrated plan? Why would there be a ‘green revolution’ prepared prior to the vote, especially if Mousavi and his supporters were as confident of victory as they claim? This looks like definite evidence that the US is involved in the election protests.