As country after country has been rising against its rulers this year, Balatarin users have been keeping very close watch on the developments in the Middle East and Africa. They rooted for the people and shared videos of the protests in Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain, showing a deep interest about the unfolding developments.
One country, however, seems to be of extremely significant importance to the users on Balatarin–Syria. The reasons for this interest are multi-layered. For one thing, Syria is a close ally of the Islamic Republic of Iran, so they view its fate related with the Islamic Republic’s. The Iranian government’s support and sympathy for the Syrian government instead of the Syrian people (as opposed to the other uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, and Bahrain) is repeatedly expressed in the government’s statements and in the words of Iranian statesmen.
For another, getting news about Syria is of significance to the users inside Iran as the Iranian government continues to play down the popular uprising in Syria, calling the protests “riots,” and blaming “outside forces” for instigating the protests. To many Iranians this sounds so familiar–it is exactly as the Iranian government called and labeled the Iranian protests.
Last but not least, Balatarin users are showing extreme sensitivity to rumors about the Iranian government’s assistance to the Syrian government for suppressing the protesters. The assistance is said to be through consultation with Commander Ahmad Reza Radan, who was the Tehran Police Commander during the 2009 street protests and responsible for ordering the violence on protesters both on the streets and inside Kahrizak Detention Center, and deployment of forces to Syria to help the Syrian forces to suppress the protests. But probably one of the most compelling reasons the users seem to be keeping an eye on Syria is that the Iranian government’s support for Syria has long surpassed the state radio and television’s silence on the number of casualties amongst unarmed protesters (reported to be at least 800 so far). That support now includes the practical and spiritual support of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the crackdown on people, and some sources have gone as far as alleging that Mr. Khamenei has issued a fatwa, authorizing the killings and the violence in Syria.
With 23 hot topics dedicated to Syria developments over the past couple of months, the turmoil in Syria continues to be one of the most-watched and -discussed areas of interest to Balatarin users. Here are some of the comments Balatarin users have left on different Syria-related threads on the site:
“Nations’ support of one another and expression of solidarity is one of the best ways for gaining mutual support, something every movement needs. This is expression of human compassion which is bilateral and real. We must not build our hopes on the support of governments who always defend the interests of their own political parties and cronies.”
“A true freedom seeker must want freedom for the entire world, and to support all freedom-seeking and humanitarian act.”
“In order to maintain his power, Khamenei is willing to kill the Muslim people of Syria, too. Khamenei is the worst creature in the world.”
“The continuity of the Syrian people’s protests from one week to the next draws them closer and closer to the realization of their demands.”
“What if tomorrow even North Korea and Cuba reach democracy, and we, Iranians, are the last country in the world to remain trapped in a totalitarian government?”
Poster link published here.
