Shifteh Ansari

Last week's demonstrations ended in fresh violence and lost lives. The cruel cycle of directly shooting at and killing the unarmed protesters and then kidnapping their bodies was enhanced by attempting to hijack their ideals and dignity, and turning them into "martyred Basijis, murdered by the Mojahedin-e Khalgh Organization." As a desperate Islamic Republic of Iran slips further into acts of violence, threats, and intimidation, the crowd that protests deceit and violence and injustice has found new resolve in taking to streets. With the regime officials stepping full-force into a campaign to finally arrest and prosecute Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, Iranians have started to take to streets again to claim their rights and to show the IRI rulers that not only have they not lost their spirit during the close to two years of prosecution, imprisonment, torture, and intimidation, they are ready to face it head on. The sad thing in all this is the government's turning peaceful and conciliatory protests into what could potentially become a violent street war.

As Iranians start to take to streets today, February 20, 2011, to remember the murdered protesters Sane Jaleh and Mohammad Mokhtari, and to support Mousavi and Karroubi, I urge you to turn your worries into action and to find news from wherever you can about what is happening inside Iran and to share it with others here. Let's get the voices of Iranians inside Iran out and let the world hear it. It is the least we can do. Remember, we are the media.