Silent Iran Protests
- February 22nd, 2011
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Iran recently has been subject to quiet protests following last week’s large organized protest. According to sources, this week’s protest was equally large and the unique quality about this one was the fact that the protesters, for the most part, were silent in their showcase of defiance. Much of this silence was rooted in the fear of violence between security forces and protesters. Slogans were few in number and the threat of retaliation for vocal dissent was on the minds of the protesters present. There were again reports of beatings and the releasing of tear gas on the more vocal of protesters. State media in Iran has also played an enormous part in trying to ease the protests and to dissuade citizens from partaking in them.
The Iranian government has been extremely forceful in its crackdown of opposition to the government. Protests are been quashed swiftly and scare tactics are being employed by the government to stop the large gatherings of opponents. How large the actual dissenting population is cannot be known with the severe lack of reliable information flowing in and out of Iran. The main source for the protests and other occurrences in the country are perpetuated by social networking websites. With recent events in the Middle East, including protests in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia, it is a wonder how far the protests in Iran will be taken. An interesting thing to take of note of is related to what a new government would mean in terms of the Iranian nuclear program. Political opposition leaders have stated before their willingness to hold talks with President Obama. This possibility for diplomacy in the midst of a government change could be a pivotal factor in the issue of stopping Iran’s enrichment of uranium.
-Patrick
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011220125132363934.html