Fissures over goals test strength of Iran's opposition
Washington Post
15-Nov-2009 (5 comments)

Mousavi, 67, and Karroubi, 72, charge that Ahmadinejad's reelection amounts to an electoral coup d'etat by the government, the Revolutionary Guard Corps and hard-line clerics, and they have called on demonstrators to save the Islamic republic from becoming a dictatorship.

But many protesters have gone beyond questioning the election outcome, more than a dozen opposition supporters said in interviews. Fearing retribution, all insisted on being identified only by their first names.

"I don't want to save the Islamic republic," said Reza, a 28-year-old engineer. "I want a total change, something close to a revolution." Other interviewees made similar comments, saying that extreme violence unleashed by the government against protesters has hardened their views about Iran's leaders.

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Ali9 Akbar

there has to be UNITY of the opposition

by Ali9 Akbar on

if there is going to be ANY HOPE of overthrowing the current system...

 

Already the variation goes from tweaking the present system to a complete armed overthrow of the system...

 

If there is any armed overthrow you must remember that the Government still controls the ARMY and the Basij militia and there would be a BLOODY CIVIL WAR that could ignite the entire region there has to be some sort of compromise if there is to be a peacful TRANSITION of government power to the people....

 

But the people in power Have REFUSED TO SURRENDER POWER... and to paraphrase  Shakespeare  "  that is the rub"   ....

 

Therefore there must be MORE INTERNATIONAL Pressure on the government   the next few months will be VERY INTERESTING .... 


default

delete

by sag koochooloo on

delete


Fred

Allium's guideline

by Fred on

Irate Allium says and the grandpa Islamist wedding photogropher seconds:

“typical Fred. Pick and choosing which parts to quote...”

Perhaps the duo would issue guideline on what parts are and are not allowed to be chosen? Are the ones chosen by the Irate Allium to be the guideline?


Q

Thanks Moosir

by Q on

Fred, like most of the shameless fossilized "opposition" in the West is just looking for his own angle.


MOOSIRvaPIAZ

typical Fred. pick and choosing which parts to quote...

by MOOSIRvaPIAZ on

There is also:

 


"We should take this step by step," said Ali, 29, an architect who
recently married. "If we become extreme, we will alienate many of our
supporters."

 

And:

"We are united against the government, but we have different
thoughts on how far we should go," said Mehdi, a blogger who attended
the Nov. 4 demonstrations. "Tearing down pictures of the leader goes
too far in this society; the Islamic system has many good points. . . .
Our opponents hope that we act extreme so that they can label us as
anti-revolution."

 

And:

"We need to show that we are not afraid of anybody and continue to
inform people of what is happening in this society," said Paria, 28, a
linguist who has participated in all the opposition demonstrations. 

 

And:


"Our movement is like a body without a head," Paria said. "Real leaders
need to emerge from it. Otherwise, we can go to hell or to heaven in
the future."

And

Ali, the newlywed architect, said he also fears for Iran's future.
During the Nov. 4 demonstrations, he and his wife became separated when
a squad of "gladiators," as he called the riot police, started chasing
them down the tree-lined Vali-e Asr Avenue, he said. Desperately
looking for her amid the chaos of tear gas, baton-wielding security
forces and running people, he eventually found her cornered by police,
who let her go. But the ordeal led him to make a sad conclusion.


"That made me realize that I am hesitant to give my wife's or my own life for a movement with undefined aims," Ali said.

"Nobody knows what will happen," he said. "We all are the leaders of
this movement, but we don't have a clue where we are taking it."