Neda Agh-Soltan and Sohrab Arabi, were only two of an increasing number of protesters who lost and keep losing their lives on the streets of Tehran and other towns and cities of Iran. They all had a common demand from the regime: respect for their vote and for the basic human rights. Ironically, their murderers had a common goal too: imposing their rules and values on the nation and suppressing the protests regardless of their color or creed. The basijis who pulled the trigger on Neda and Sohrab did not do their savage acts on the basis of who supported the green movement and who did not. To them, the color of Neda’s and Sohrab’s belief did not matter. But regrettably it appears that Sorab and Neda are already pigeon-holed into green and non-green by the very people who are supposed to mourn them and seek justice over their deaths.
It is a well known fact that Sohrab was a supporter of Mir Hossein Moussavi and his green movement. Mr Moussavi and his wife lost no time to rush to Shorab’s mother’s site and sympathize with her. But what about Neda’s parents? They seemed to have disappeard into the thin air and none of the protesting candidates sought to sympathize with or comfort them. More disturbing is the news that some factions of protesters, allegedly Moussavi supporters, are now publicly down grading Neda and even calling her names.Why? because, unlike Sohrab, Neda did not belong to any mainstream movement and she was not actively participating in the protests when she was shot. In other words, she was not green.
If true, this is a most shameful development and must be condemned by all freedom loving people from every belief or leaning. Sohrab and Neda’s blood was of the same color. They were both victims of the same criminal system. They both need to be respected and treated identically.
