The dogged courage of pro-democracy protesters in Iran was on full display Thursday, the latest in a string of demonstrations against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since last June’s rigged presidential elections.
Thousands
took to the streets despite organized pro-government rallies and the
many tactics of fear used by a regime that is ever more isolated by its
acts of violence – in the name of God – against peaceful democrats.
The
latest fear tactics include executions of demonstrators, arrests of top
intellectuals and rights activists, detention of a group called Mothers
in Mourning (mothers of political prisoners), and torture of detained
protesters. Such atrocities simply remind Iranians that this regime,
whose leaders helped overthrow the shah 31 years ago, has now reverted
to the shah’s brutal methods to keep power and quell dissent.
That irony is fuel for more protests. It also compels many leading Muslim clerics to call on Mr. Khamenei to compromise.
The
other critical aspect about the demonstrations is that they remain
largely le… >>>
