Ganji: Basij and Revolutionary Guards

Akbar Ganji interviewed on VOA

16-Jul-2009
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Ashofteh

Some little known info.

by Ashofteh on

Creation of Sepah was not after thought. During the time that was obvious the monarchy system is not going to last much longer, a small booklet was widely distributed by “Anjeman Eslami” of Iranian students in US and Europe which Jalal Aldin Farsi(1) outlined the rule of “Artesh” and how to control it effectively to prevent a Coup. In that essay he  proposed something parallel with Artesh, as controlling mechanism. This Sepah is much more than he imagined, but is engineered based on his proposal.

 

Why Ganji should be chastised for things he already condemned. Who made “us” the owners of next revolution to call Ganji and Karobi as tools? There should be no “us” vs “them”. All Iranians should be part of the action even current members of Sepah and Basij (Not all of them are Janbaze Rahbar). What are “we” planning to do with all who are serving this government? I am not saying to lose our conviction and for the sake of country unite. We better recognize that we are all love this country and can have difference of opinion. Then we can have political parties and go to battle with voting at ballot box. (Yes even these current officials have to be given fair chance of access to lawyers and guaranteed immune from torture even most of them denied same to most of the citizens.)

 

1. Jalal Aldin Farsi is the questionable character which still is with the current power center in Iran. He was the “Hezbe Jomhoori Eslami”’s candidate for first presidential election in Iran. But Mr. Bani Sader’s camp revealed that he is actually not Iranian national, so is not eligible to run for presidency(He was (is) Afghani National). Beheshti and his group in Hezbe Jomhoori Eslami heavily banked on Farsi and with his withdrawal; they lost the presidency to Bani Sader.

 


Ari Siletz

Benyamin

by Ari Siletz on

Once we have freedom of expression in Iran, your voice regarding what "Iranian" means and why Islam stands against it will have the opportunity to be heard. If your kind of words, your art, your films, your music, your contribution to Iran's culture and thought chip away at Islam hard enough and long enough you may even burst the dam. So if it seems we are not directly going after the big dams that are blocking Iran's progress--separation of church and state, as another example--its just that we are busy collecting the tools. Using what little freedom of expression became available during the Khatami era, Ganji's investigative journalism  wreaked havoc with the regime's intelligence apparatus to the point where they started murdering each other (see Saeed Emami).  A little free speech went a long way.

I think of Mousavi, Karoubi, Ganji etc as tools (I am sure they think of us the same way, but that's just politics)

Sure we can do it again, as you say. And this is how we're doing it. One step at a time. We don't have wings.

 


Benyamin

Ari

by Benyamin on

I think we have more than fuel. What we have is a leadership that isnot trusted(none the less it is a leadership) in another word this "new" leadership is "tested" and "they" all have been for the Islamic regime and not against it.

To be honest with you it is a bit disappointing to see it, I mean to see Mousavi visiting Sohrab`s mother and all those "salavats" I don`t know I watched it and I asked myself is this why he died? for another form of "salavat"? another form of implimenting islam? another way to keep religion on top of everything?

We need to reject Islam as a nation and whatever it stands against us "Iranians", I know that seems a bit extreme and I have never said this before but we really need to do this. 1400 years ago Islam was enforced upon us and 500 years ago we all became Shiiates and left sunnism all because a king decided we should be and because he wascarasmatic we accepted his decree.

WHY CAN~T WE DO IT AGAIN? when we "need" it the most! I heard in the news that two Iranian women are facing death penalty for changing their religion from Islam to Christianity(not that it is a choice of mine nor I believe in any religion) but it could be a good political move.

Think about it


Red Wine

...

by Red Wine on

یکی‌ ایشان دگر اندیش است و یکی‌ دگر احمدی‌نژاد !

این حضرت آقا کی وقت کرد بره دانشگاه که بشه روزنامه نگار !؟ یا به ایشان از همان دیپلم کیلوی‌ها کادو دادند ؟

این هم از اخرت و عاقبت ما ایرانی‌‌ها ! کارمان به کجا‌ها که نکشید ! کی‌ بودیم و چی‌ شدیم ... عجب موجوداتی از سیاست ایران سر رشته دارند حالا !

ماه همیشه پشت ابر پنهان نمیماند ... دنیا همیشه اینجور نمیماند ...

گذر پوست به زودی به دباغ خانه خواهد افتاد ... باشد که نبخشیم و فراموش نکنیم و خون را با خون بشوریم .

 


Ari Siletz

David ET

by Ari Siletz on

As far as "so what?" goes. Nothing in terms of direction or strategy yet. But its still good to see potential fall-back options in terms of leadership. What is his/her understanding of the situation, and how well this grasp of the current situation predicts future events. Ganji is knowledgeable and charismatic in person (though not in the above interview). He has some credentials as an opposition voice because his death defying fight against the regime.   But, you're right; we're still waiting for a map and a vehicle. So far all we have is fuel.

David ET

So what? Now what?

by David ET on

reciting the obvious? 

Filling the airwaves?

So what? Now what?


Iranj

yesterday's

by Iranj on

terrorist steel defending the islamic system! giving the people lessen to defend there right the ones how supported and worked with this barbaric terrorist occupayer rejime-Iranian don't want the rejime islamic Time is UP-do you get it master ganji?


Benyamin

Interesting perspective!

by Benyamin on

As long as Position persona is valued more than position of law we are going to have this problem in Iran. The problem isnot Sepah or Artesh or two of them together or seperate, the problem is the ones that are in charge or so called "commanding" these instotutions or any other institution in Iran.

We have a culture that nurish and flurishes certain "personalities" to a point that they in turn become bigger than the "god" itself!!!

We do it with Shah, we do it with Khomeini, we do it with our poets or long gone polititians, what we don`t have is the culture of identifying defficiencies in our society or famous people that run it or live it for our own good. We have a culture that is what I would like to call "bear godessism" in its belly. Everytime we are bored, we create a person that becomes bigger than god itself that is how it seems anyway.

We need to get rid of this mentality we need to free ourselves of that kind of culture and try to see bad and good in people that we choose, we need to reserve the right to judge and protest as soon as we find something that is not in line with our belives and ideas.

No man is an island.