Egypt's crackdown on protesters evokes Iran's heavy hand in 2009 unrest
Christian Science Monitor / Scott Peterson
30-Jan-2011 (2 comments)

But while many dozen have so far been killed in Egypt and more than 1,000 injured, the violence in Iran was marked by its brutality. Scores, if not hundreds, were killed in Iran, 4,000 were arrested in the first stage, and detainees were raped and tortured.

Differences with Iran crackdown

“The Iranians created real fear through using extreme force in streets and detention centers – they much preferred personal combat to water cannon and tear gas,” says Sir Richard Dalton, the former British ambassador to Tehran now at the Chatham House think tank.

The Iranians “made no concessions – to project strength," notes Sir Richard. Just after midnight Friday, as his ruling party's headquarters burned in Cairo, Mubarak ended four days of silence by giving some concessions: He promised to sack the government, but gave no indication that he was responsible for Egypt’s problems – or would step aside.

The Iranian leadership couched its street fight in very different terms. They “created an ideological wall around the protests using religion, false accusations, the ‘foreign enemies,’ [and] claims of sedition,” says Sir Richard.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, opposition figure, and former chief of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog agency, returned to Egypt Thursday, warning Mubarak that a “barrier of fear” had been broken. Mr. ElBaradei was put under house arrest Friday but planned to join protests on Sa... >>>

Fair

IRI master of brutality- envy of dictators

by Fair on Sun Jan 30, 2011 04:15 PM PST

Mubarak and other dictators can only wish they had an apparatus as brutal and willing to kill their enemies without blinking as the IRI has with its basij and IRGC and other terrorist organizations it has created for this purpose.

That is why in Egypt if people want change they don't have to beat around the bush and settle for half assed reforms from regime insiders.  They can just show up in the streets in large numbers, trusting in the decency of the security forces and armed forces to ultimately succumb to their will.  Iranian people have no such luck, we will have to pay a higher price and settle for less, our oppressors are much more brutal than those of the Egyptian people.



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vildemose

Excellent article. thank

by vildemose on Mon Jan 31, 2011 08:55 AM PST

Excellent article. thank you.


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