Balatarin

Introduction: The popular Farsi website, Balatarin, continues to play an important role in bringing news and information to Iranians worldwide, and to be a meeting place for Iranians inside Iran who use the social networking website to brainstorm and debate about the latest development in the country. As we stand witness to their struggles, some of the discussions on Balatarin are highlighted and posted in English on Voice of Balatarin, the site's English weblog. We will be cross-posting some of those entries here, inviting you to join the discussions on Balatarin.  This is the entry's direct link.

Another idea for civil disobedience has been brewing on Balatarin for some time. As you may know, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad implemented a plan to cut government subsidies from services and main food staples of Iran, in order to cut government costs. According to the plan, instead of subsidizing anything, the government will be paying a monthly financial assistance amount directly to families. Cutting subsidies from staples such as bread and gasoline have already sent shock waves through the Iranian economy, but as monthly bills for utilities such as gas and electricity reach Iranian households, sometimes quadrupling the amount families are used to paying, the "shock" has found new meaning.

About a month ago, Balatarin users first discussed not paying those bills when people started complaining. The issue came up again this week. Whereas originally it was anticipated that the household energy costs would go up gradually over a five-year period, it appears that utilities bills are showing astronomical jumps in some cases. One man in Kermanshah said that his gas bill which never exceeded 25,000 tooman (about $25), has now jumped to 664,000 tooman (about $664), according to Deutsche Welle Persian.

The gas bills likely herald the astronomical rise in other prices in Iran, or at least they have created a panic to this effect. Balatarin users have been active for the past month, proposing protest gatherings (not too popular in this case), tampering with usage meters (somewhat popular, though some also objected to the idea of breaking the law), and non-payment of the monthly bills (possibly the most popular and already implemented by many citizens). For their part, the government has issued ultimatums and warnings that non-payment of bills will lead to disruption in service. As Iranians put winter months behind, and disruption in residential gas supply becomes less of an obstacle, it seems Iranians are getting ready to flex their consumer muscles to object to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's economic policies which have increasingly seemed not-well-planned and ineffective. One thing is certain--whatever is decided seems to be unfolding before our very eyes on Balatarin. So stay tuned!

Until next time, stay with us and let the dialogue grow!

Visit us at en.balatarin.com 

Also see previous blogs, Attack on Camp Ashraf, Lights, Camera, Action! BalaMusic Goes Live!, The Oxford Conection, A Funeral.