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Iran: Will State Department exploit protesters?
WW4 - 16.02.2011 20:54
Iran: Will State Department exploit protesters?
Tens of thousands of protesters battled security forces in Tehran Feb. 14, leaving at least one dead. Amid clouds of tear gas fired by police and pro-government militiamen, the protesters marched down a central boulevard shouting "Death to the dictator," "We are all together," and "Down with Taliban, in Cairo and Tehran!"
Dozens were arrested for participating in the banned rally. Similar protests and clashes are reported from Isfahan and Shiraz. (WP, Feb. 15)
The US State Department has begun sending Twitter messages to Iranians in Parsi, alluding to the "historic role" social media played in the 2009 post-election protests. On the Twitter account USAdarFarsi, the State Department said it "recognizes historic role of social media among Iranians We want to join in your conversations." Another tweet read: "#Iran has shown that the activities it praised Egyptians for it sees as illegal, illegitimate for its own people." And a third: "US calls on #Iran to allow people to enjoy same universal rights to peacefully assemble, demonstrate as in Cairo." (AFP, Feb. 14)
Submitted by WW4 Report on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 01:21
 http://ww4report.com/node/9482
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/iran-opposition-demonstrations-government-warnings?CMP=twt_gu
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/15/us-iran-protests-idUSTRE71E4ED20110215?feedType=RSS&feedName=Iran&virtualBrandChannel=10209&WT.tsrc=Social%20Media&WT.z_smid=twtr-reuters_iran&WT.z_smid_dest=Twitter
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http://twitter.com/USAdarFarsi
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/251633354.rss
#Iran #25Bahman وزارت امور خارجۀ آمریکا نقش تاریخی رسانه های اجتماعی در میان ایرانیان دنیا درک میکند. ما میخواهیم در گفتگوهای شما شرکت کنیم.
13 februari 2011 22:46:28 via web
#25Bahmanکاخ سفید:ایالات متحده میخواهد که ایران همان حقوق جهانی تجمع، تظاهرات و بیان صلح آمیزی را که درقاهره اعمال شده به ملت خود بدهد.
10:37 PM Feb 13th via web
#25Bahman با ندادن مجوز راهپیمایی به مخالفانش دولت ایران نشان داد که فعالیتهایی را که برای مصریان ستایش کرد برای مردم خود غیرقانونی میداند
10:28 PM Feb 13th via web
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http://twitter.com/GEsfandiari
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/29016548.rss
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/251633354.rss
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/119360445.rss
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/119360445.rss
http://twitter.com/PJCrowley
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DamonGolriz: U.S. State Department starts Persian Twitter account: @USAdarFarsi, aimed at #Iranians http://apne.ws/hAIL9K for 14 Feb protests
Gisteren, 00:11
http://twitter.com/DamonGolriz/statuses/36940455287463936
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Twitter / irancomite
irancomite: RT @DamonGolriz: #plz #retweet 12 ways to break-down the dictatorial cyberwall http://goo.gl/ICcI8 [@YouTube] with Persian subtitles #ir ...
Gisteren, 16:30
http://twitter.com/DamonGolriz/status/37185434169778176
http://twitter.com/DamonGolriz
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/14051328.rss
irancomite: Ondanks intimidaties gaan betogers de straat op in Iran: In Iran zijn op maandag gewelddadigheden uitgebro... http://bit.ly/eaOEQX #iran
http://twitter.com/irancomite/statuses/37179761990049792
irancomite: Nieuw hoofd van het Iraanse nucleaire programma ontkwam in november aan een moordaanslag;. http://reut.rs/gr1Nnh
irancomite: Human Rights House of #Iran, Rahana, meldt gewelddadige botsingen in de straten van Teheran. Volg live update op: http://bit.ly/dUT0nC
http://twitter.com/irancomite/statuses/37138046000308224
irancomite: Grote menigte onderweg naar het Enghelab plein in Teheran waar veel veiligheidspersoneel staat. http://bit.ly/ifDk01 #Iran #25Bahman
irancomite: Oppositieleiders onder huisarrest,oppositiewebsites gehackt, grote aanwezigheid veiligheidspersoneel in straten Teheran. http://bit.ly/ebvfHG
irancomite: Goed artikel over de mensenrechtensituatie in #Iran en hoe de EU hier iets aan moet doen. http://bit.ly/gR2qar”
http://twitter.com/irancomite/statuses/37073831738740737
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/european-union/110212/iran-human-rights-tehran-rally-sanctions
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/european-union/110212/iran-human-rights-tehran-rally-sanctions?page=0,1
By Teri Schultz - GlobalPost
Published: February 13, 2011 12:36 ET in European Union
Iran: Executions may spur EU action
US pressures Europe to impose travel sanctions on Iranian leaders.
Update: Hundreds of demonstrators marched through Tehran today, until police and security officials blocked their way. Iranian authorities put opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi under house arrest.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/14/us-iran-opposition-idUSTRE71D1RT20110214
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/14/us-iran-opposition-idUSTRE71D1RT20110214?pageNumber=2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12448627
BRUSSELS, Belgium — In a warning to the opposition planning an Egypt-inspired rally in Tehran for Monday, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Hamedani said that the activists were “nothing but a dead corpse.”
It’s far from an empty threat. According to human rights groups, at least 83 Iranians were put to death by the regime during last month alone; that’s one person every nine hours and more than in all of 2005, the year Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president. In 2010, at least 542 were killed. If his regime continues at January’s rate, this year’s total will reach almost a thousand.
Even for people who have long documented the brutal behavior of the Iranian regime, the last few weeks have been a shock, said Aaron Rhodes, Hamburg-based policy adviser for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2011/02/violence-demonstrators/
“The escalation in executions is something really quite frightening,” he said.
The European Union, the United States and international organizations have long expressed outrage and alarm at Iran’s high rate of executions and lack of due process in death-penalty convictions. The volume of these protestations duly rose in recent weeks along with the spike in deaths.
But the events of Jan. 29 in the north-central Iranian city of Semnan may finally shock the EU into doing more than fruitlessly lecturing the regime on respect for human rights. One of the victims of executions there has not only a face and a name, but a Dutch passport.
Without notifying even her family in advance, Iran hanged 45-year-old Zahra Bahrami, a citizen of both Iran and the Netherlands, for what it said was drug possession. Bahrami had been arrested in the sweeps of anti-government demonstrations following contested presidential elections in 2009. Her family vehemently denied the drugs charges. Dutch diplomats were not allowed to visit her as Iran does not recognize dual nationality.
The Dutch government was outraged, as were many Dutch citizens and lawmakers, who also questioned whether their government had done enough to try to rescue Bahrami. That remains under debate in The Hague, but post-execution actions were swift and furious. Diplomatic relations were immediately frozen. Dutch Ambassador to Iran Cees Kole was called home and the parliament has voted to try to sue Iran in the International Court of Justice for both blocking diplomatic visits and, if deemed possible, for the spree of executions.
“Each and every execution is shocking for me,” said Marietje Schaake, a Dutch member of the European Parliament (EP) who serves on the delegation for relations with Iran. But she hopes the more personal details of the Bahrami case will be the catalyst for the stronger line on human rights she has long wanted to see the EU take with Tehran.
Schaake said she believes Ahmadinejad has been able to effectively exploit the fear of his nuclear program so that world leaders tone down concerns about human rights in a thus-far futile effort to get to nuclear negotiations. It’s unacceptable for Iran not to recognize dual citizenship, she said, a stance that affects potentially hundreds of thousands of EU nationals with Iranian roots.
“Now is the moment,” Schaake said, “for a calculated clear signal where we say ‘Look, you’ve executed our citizen, you’re abusing the human rights of your citizens. We care deeply about the risks of the nuclear program but we’re elevating human rights on our political agenda. We know who’s responsible, we’ll hold you accountable and we won’t forget.'”
The EP has appealed numerous times to the European Commission and to EU foreign ministers “to impose sanctions targeting Iranian officials responsible for serious human rights abuses since the disputed presidential election of June 2009.” Schaake personally has pressed the matter with EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, responsible for guiding international nuclear talks with Iran, and says she’ll continue to do so.
The United States has been asking the EU to take the same steps. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Philo Dibble was in Brussels recently meeting with EU officials urging them to consider sanctions similar to those implemented last fall by Washington, targeting eight members of the Iranian regime.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the new measures on Sept. 29, saying “the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 permits us to impose financial sanctions and deny U.S. visas to specific Iranian officials where there is credible evidence against them. In doing so today, we declare our solidarity with their victims and with all Iranians who wish for a government that respects their human rights and their dignity and their freedom.”
http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2010/September/20100929185116su0.8393518.html
Dibble said relevant information on these cases has been shared with European officials. He said they had responded with “some receptivity.”
Rhodes, the human rights activist, said he is not surprised at the lack of enthusiasm. “Some of these lawmakers say ridiculous things like ‘we don’t want to isolate Iran,’” he said, suggesting that the nuclear sanctions already in place do that more than the proposed human rights sanctions would. “Politically speaking — and this is very obvious — it’s very difficult to get EU member states to agree on things. They all have their bilateral relationships with Iran. Most of them have trade relations with Iran.”
Nonetheless, he said, there’s a growing recognition that sanctions on key officials would be an appropriate way to deal with the government's injustices “without going down the route of collective punishment” of the Iranian people.
In the face of the explosion of attention to its human rights record, Tehran remains not only unrelenting but accusatory. In a press conference earlier this month, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast slammed his country’s critics, insisting that 80 percent of the death sentences under scrutiny are for drug-related crimes.
“If the Islamic Republic of Iran decides not to fight drugs, western and European and other countries will be directly harmed,” he asserted.
Rhodes said, however, that the United Nations has determined that according to Iran’s own laws the drug crimes are not punishable by the death penalty. He also pointed to a lack of transparency in the Iranian justice system, which makes it impossible to ascertain whether charges have any validity.
As for what kind of turnout — and backlash — will accompany Monday’s rally, Rhodes said he doesn’t know what to expect. “One thing is clear – a lot of people are talking about it,” he said. “It’s a moment of expectation and tension — and extremely dangerous.”
Schaake, who attended a solidarity rally in Amsterdam on Saturday, said she would be surprised if the regime does not launch a heavy-handed crackdown on anyone in the streets.
Under such circumstances, she said, “I’m very impressed that the Iranian people have found the energy and the courage to speak out for their rights."
Editors note: This story was updated to correct an attribution.
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MarietjeD66: EU should address human rights violations in #Iran http://bit.ly/gR2qar Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/MarietjeD66/statuses/37039112468824065
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/european-union/110212/iran-human-rights-tehran-rally-sanctions
http://twitter.com/MarietjeD66
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/19541556.rss
MarietjeD66: @Jane_doe10 Aangezien Iran veel verdragen niet tekent, is het Internationaal Strafhof een mogelijkheid die reeel kan worden bekeken Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/Jane_doe10
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/104913021.rss
http://twitter.com/Jane_doe10/statuses/37205381226840064
MarietjeD66: That is equally relevant! @MeltemArikan Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/MeltemArikan
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/36091465.rss
MarietjeD66: #Turkish President Gul calls on #Iranian authorities to listen to people's demands http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=208165 Lees meer…
MarietjeD66: Find an overview of my parliamentary work on #Iran here http://tinyurl.com/6ahzfac Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/MarietjeD66/statuses/37094956271149056
http://www.facebook.com/login.php
MarietjeD66: Indeed showing solidarity, see my parliamentary work on #Iran here for more background http://tinyurl.com/6ahzfac @DamonGolriz Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/MarietjeD66/statuses/37094781578526720
MarietjeD66: En route to Strasbourg, thinking about the courageous people in #Iran who too want freedom, justice and human rights respected Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/MarietjeD66/statuses/37057378419482624
MarietjeD66: EU should address human rights violations in #Iran http://bit.ly/gR2qar Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/MarietjeD66/statuses/37039112468824065
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/european-union/110212/iran-human-rights-tehran-rally-sanctions
MarietjeD66: RT@Superjan tja @vonIrrwegen ik stem @d66 proviciale staten. een regering die #sahar uit wil zetten, kan ik niet op stemmen. #saharblijft Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/MarietjeD66/statuses/36937480313774080
http://twitter.com/search?q=%23sahar
http://twitter.com/search?q=%23saharblijft
zondag, 23:37
MarietjeD66: Gaan de #echtejannen de zaak van #Sahar aan @ritaverdonk voorleggen? Lees meer…
@Snemyllas Ik organiseer t niet, maar zo ken ik Iranian Progressive Youth niet
12:31 PM Feb 12th via web in reply to Snemyllas
@monaeltahawy Congratulations, you were great on CNN, enjoy the celebrations!!
8:07 PM Feb 11th via web in reply to monaeltahawy
http://twitter.com/monaeltahawy
RT@persd66brussel De EU moet ook beslag leggen op Europees onroerend goed van dictators @marietjed66, http://bit.ly/hf7vjS
5:02 PM Feb 11th via web
Kom je morgen naar t Beursplein 15:00 voor een bijeenkomst uit steun voor mensen in #Egypte #Tunesie en #Iran? @jwildeboer
11 februari 2011 13:06:17 via web in reply to jwildeboer
RT@eenvandaag Meer Nederlanders vast in #Iran: http://tinyurl.com/5tmdklq
1:25 PM Feb 10th via web
http://www.eenvandaag.nl/buitenland/37222/meer_nederlanders_vast_in_iran
Interview op @BNR van vanmorgen over #Iran, #mensenrechten, #EU http://tinyurl.com/6fca9tn
8:36 AM Feb 10th via web
http://www.bnr.nl/static/jspx/play.jspx?dag=10&maand=2&jaar=2011&tijd=07%3A06&lengte=10&titel=Radio-
Fascinaling dinner discussion with Mark Thompson of BBC on the future of TV, internet, netneutrality and copyright
9:43 PM Feb 9th via Mobile Web
Ik neem t op voor Iraniers en hun rechten, see track record #Iran @Bottehund @essaid75 @ehsanjami1985
8:47 PM Feb 9th via Mobile Web in reply to Bottehund
RT@Mlsif: White House Launches "AdvisorLeaks"--Safe Drop Where Anyone Can Email Top Advisors Policy Tips http://bit.ly/hHVYZR
1:54 PM Feb 9th via web
http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/crowdsigliere-plouffe-asks-little-public-guidance
De #EU is eensgezind in het afkeuren van mensenrechten schendingen, Europarlement pleit voor sancties individuele schenders @CvvdIran @BNR
6:17 PM Feb 10th via web in reply to CvvdIran
http://twitter.com/CvvdIran
D66 Europa moet méér doen voor gevangenen in Iran. @marietjed66 in @DagbladDePers http://bit.ly/hAuX6T
10:18 AM Feb 8th via TweetDeck
Retweeted by MarietjeD66 and 8 others
http://www.depers.nl/binnenland/543759/Europa-moet-meer-doen-voor-gevangenen-in-Iran.html
RT@APechtold Over 5 min op @BNR over terugtrekken ambassadeur uit Teheran
8:58 AM Feb 7th via web
RT@ Reuters_Iran Ahmadinejad chides parliament for sacking minister http://dlvr.it/Fscb6
2:43 PM Feb 5th via Mobile Web
Had an interesting panel discussion organized by http://newdirectionfoundation.org/ , most people in the audience thought I was a lefty...
2:09 PM Feb 4th via web
http://newdirectionfoundation.org/
RT@De_Pers Google biedt Egypte toegang tot Twitter: Internetbedrijf Google heeft een dienst gelanceerd… http://goo.gl/fb/8zQZK
6:06 AM Feb 1st via web
http://www.depers.nl/buitenland/542152/Google-biedt-toegang-tot-Twitter.html
Wie kent Iraans recht? NL verleent pas fin. steun als iemand doodvonnis heeft, persbericht Iraanse amb. stelt dat doodvonnis onomkeerbaar is
11:09 PM Jan 31st via Mobile Web
I have posted the official press release I received from the Islamic Republic of #Iran about Zahra #Bahrami here http://tinyurl.com/6582jlb
9:06 PM Jan 31st via web
Smiling at translation error ´shock of civilisations´, despite seriousness of the topic: #Iran report of the European Parliament
8:57 PM Jan 31st via web
An attack on media (tv, internet, mobile) is an attacks on people and their fundamental rights to express and to access information
2:30 PM Jan 31st via Mobile Web
Actie is heel belangrijk, maar het verbreken van contact, zelfs met #Iraanse regering helpt Iraniers niet, wel de hardliners @samreza2010
12:26 PM Jan 31st via web in reply to samreza2010
http://twitter.com/samreza2010
Why Im Tweeting less? It is because live streams in the European Parliament are impossible, and Twitter is nearly impossible to use in here
1:09 PM Feb 1st via web
Press release by #Vodafone on #Egypt, priorities on the right issues? http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/press.html
10:20 AM Feb 1st via web
Indeed no time to lose regarding #Egypt and time for strong European Union action @carlbildt
9:52 AM Feb 1st via web in reply to carlbildt
Ontmoeting met Staatssecretaris Knapen
9:22 AM Feb 1st via Mobile Web
euobs #EU imposes visa ban on Belarus, threatens economic measures - http://euobs.com/9/31727
11:00 PM Jan 31st via EUobserver.com
Retweeted by MarietjeD66
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Kom je morgen naar t Beursplein 15:00 voor een bijeenkomst uit steun voor mensen in #Egypte #Tunesie en #Iran? @jwildeboer
11 februari 2011 13:06:17 via web in reply to jwildeboer
@Snemyllas Ik organiseer t niet, maar zo ken ik Iranian Progressive Youth niet
12:31 PM Feb 12th via web in reply to Snemyllas
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http://twitter.com/iranpy
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/83545672.rss
Gisteren, 18:59
IranPY: RT @Persian2English: Follow up report on death of protester and injuries of two others #iranelection #25bahman... http://fb.me/KrKgt1mV Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/search?q=%23iranelection
http://persian2english.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/follow-up-report-on-death-of-protester-and-injuries-of-two-protesters/
Gisteren, 18:00
IranPY: IRAN: Video footage shows rowdy scenes and tumult at protest rally http://t.co/xTv00US via @latimesworld Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/IranPY/statuses/37209575564255232
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/02/iran-video-footage-show-tumultous-scenes-at-protest-rally.html
Gisteren, 17:54
IranPY: Iran police arrest dozens of protesters: opposition | Reuters http://t.co/bNrRGbs via @reuters Lees meer…
Gisteren, 14:12
IranPY: Anti-government protests spread to Iran http://t.co/cq2ZeET via @washingtonpost Lees meer…
Gisteren, 11:07
IranPY: Police and security forces block metro station entrances in central Tehran,ahead of planned protests - NBC News http://t.co/jsfzyWF #iran Lees meer…
zondag, 20:09
IranPY: Iran opposition to hold demonstrations despite government warnings http://t.co/Mzqc506 via @guardian Lees meer…
woensdag, 08:51
IranPY: Tweede Kamer wil Iran voor het Internationaal Gerechtshof (via @nrc) http://t.co/ukIPN43 Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/IranPY/statuses/35259492383858688
http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2011/02/08/tweede-kamer-wil-iran-voor-het-internationaal-gerechtshof/
8 feb, 07:01
IranPY: Iraanse ambassadeur komt niet opdagen: onbereikbaar - Buitenland - VK http://t.co/7Ae602U via @AddThis Lees meer…
7 feb, 08:43
IranPY: DutchNews.nl - The Netherlands recalls ambassador from 'disrespectful' Iran http://t.co/0MjdpPx via @AddThis Lees meer…
5 feb, 12:16
IranPY: Z.O.Z. VPRO/ Lange afstandsactivisme. Interview met Shahin Nasiri van "Iranian Progressive Youth". Uitzending: vandaag NL 2, om 15.15 uur Lees meer…
4 feb, 09:37
IranPY: The Dutch-based Iranian Progressive Youth has called for the government to investigate Bahrami's death. | http://t.co/vRSrEV7 via @reuters Lees meer…
3 feb, 13:45
IranPY: 'Zahra Bahrami niet opgehangen, maar doodgemarteld' http://t.co/LOhXhtf via @telegraaf Lees meer…
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Gisteren, 14:12
IranPY: Anti-government protests spread to Iran
http://t.co/cq2ZeET via @washingtonpost Lees meer…
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/14/AR2011021400848.html?tid=nn_twitter
Anti-government protests spread to Iran
By Thomas Erdbrink
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, February 14, 2011; 12:22 PM
-----------------------------
http://www.nrc.nl/php/zoeken.php?q=Thomas+Erdbrink&sa=&ie=utf8&cx=000950122183490940160%3Afse5ljfbq2u&cof=FORID%3A9&siteurl=www.nrc.nl%2F
http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2011/01/30/waren-inspanningen-nederland-voor-bahrami-onvoldoende/
http://pauwenwitteman.vara.nl/Uitzending-detail.113.0.html?&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=19918&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1546&cHash=5e18b820901f829b618a98de159a008f
http://nos.nl/artikel/215454-rosenthal-alles-ingezet-tegen-executie-bahrami.htm
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http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/articles/thomas+erdbrink/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/27/AR2010092706229.html?nav=emailpage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009051100794.html?nav=emailpage
http://www.amnesty.nl/bibliotheek_vervolg/wv_0310_bahman_ghobadi
http://indymedia.nl/nl/2011/02/73799.shtml
4. Hubert Bals Fund International Film Festival professionals.filmfestivalrotterdam.com € 10.000
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122102253.html?nav=emailpage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120802658.html?nav=emailpage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/09/AR2009070901772.html?nav=emailpage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/22/AR2009062203041.html?nav=emailpage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/20/AR2008022002766.html?nav=emailpage
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/06/AR2010090603599.html?nav=emailpage
In an idyllic Dutch town, a new wave of Iranian activism
By Thomas Erdbrink
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
DELFT, NETHERLANDS - A dreamy university town in the Netherlands known as the birthplace of 17th-century painter Johannes Vermeer has become a major center for Iranian activists abroad.
More than 1,000 Iranian students, the majority fresh arrivals from Iran's best universities, are studying applied physics and aerospace engineering at the Delft University of Technology, and meeting during evenings in cafes that line the city's canals.
The university hosts one of the largest communities of visiting Iranian scholars in Europe, and many are involved with the Iranian opposition movement.
For many, Delft's Iranian student community represents the emergence of a new breed of Iranian opposition activists abroad that is more individual, shuns ideology and promotes debate over conflict. Many here say they want an Iran that is connected to the world, but they also support nationalist causes such as Iran's right to nuclear energy.
"This place has become a think tank on the future of Iran," said Sohrab, who is pursuing a master's degree in engineering and arrived here less than a year ago. Like many others here, he said he was rejected by U.S. universities in part because of sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program. Sohran spoke on the condition that his last name not be used.
The ongoing exodus from Iran of talented students has mushroomed after a harsh government clampdown on universities, following protests that erupted after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed election victory in June 2009. Delft was flooded with Iranian graduate students, many of whom participated in protests in Iran.
Born after the 1979 Islamic revolution, these students came with what they say are more pragmatic and realistic perspectives on the future of their country. They are calling for reforms, rather than an overthrow of the system.
"We need to change many things in our country - but we don't need another terrible revolution," Sohrab said. "We are a new generation that is looking for answers, instead of forcing solutions upon others."
Using Facebook and phone calls for daily communication with friends and family in Tehran, the Iranian students of Delft are in close contact with their former classmates in Iran and beyond. There is an active Iranian students club, which organizes meetings with exiled dissidents and politicians. Children of Iranian opposition figures study in the city; many have siblings, fiancees or friends who have been arrested in Iran.
The influx of these young activists has spurred conflict with more traditional, ideological opposition groups that have been demanding a regime change in Iran for the past 30 years. The Delft activists' more gradual approach to change has attracted many European-born Iranian youths, who have grown tired of hearing their parents speak of a revolution that never seems to come.
"I used to avoid other Iranians," said Nima Emami, a philosophy student who lives in Delft and just finished a year at the New School in New York. Emami preferred his Dutch friends over often bitter and cynical Iranians who fled the country after the 1979 revolution.
"But this new generation of students thinks, dresses and acts like me," Emami said. "We can't change Iran overnight - there is no magic solution."
For European politicians who often deal with Iran, the newly arrived students offer a different perspective on the Islamic Republic, a nation that they are rarely able to visit.
"I prefer to speak with activists, journalists and bloggers who left Iran three months ago. They are more realistic and act more as individuals than in groups compared to those who have been living here for a longer time," said Marietje Schaake, a Dutch representative to the European Parliament.
Still, others who are active in Iranian opposition movements in Europe distrust the newcomers. "Many of these kids are from wealthy North Tehran. They are close to politicians in Iran who are merely calling for reforms instead of real changes," said Shahin Nasiri, spokesman for an opposition group called Iranian Progressive Youth.
Nasiri, along with a group of likeminded friends who came to the Netherlands in the past decade, said he feels obliged to say what others in Iran can't say. "There is a lot of potential in Delft, but we think many of the students there are passive," he said. "They should not allow this regime to get any legitimacy."
Radicalism is not the solution for Iran, Sohrab and other students in Delft say. "Such people have lost touch with Iran," he said while sipping iced tea on a terrace in the center of Delft. "We don't want to overthrow the system - but we want to be heard by it. That would be a realistic start."
also:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/06/AR2010090603110.html?nav=emailpage
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http://twitter.com/aalipour
feed://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/47911757.rss
aalipour: Live report on February 14 Protests in #Iran http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=9790 Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/aalipour/statuses/37205064250703872
http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=9790
woensdag, 00:20
aalipour: Tweede Kamer wil Iran voor het Internationaal Gerechtshof (via @nrc) http://t.co/IZT9QVA Lees meer…
5 feb, 16:26
aalipour: RT @MarietjeD66: Watching the courage of the Egyptians, a reminder & token of support for the Iranians whose uphill battle for freedom i ... Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/MarietjeD66/status/33893326432247808
5 feb, 12:06
aalipour: Z.O.Z. VPRO/ Lange afstandsactivisme. Interview met Shahin Nasiri, "Iranian Progressive Youth" Uitzending: vandaag NL 2, om 15.15 Lees meer…
3 feb, 13:48
aalipour: RT @IranPY: 'Zahra Bahrami niet opgehangen, maar doodgemarteld' http://t.co/LOhXhtf via @telegraaf Lees meer…
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpguQIcQuVQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eBPmUPA6J4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5HQJbNARpI&feature=related
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/08/mohammad-reza-ali-amani-death
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahra_Bahrami
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Ashura_protests
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Assembly_of_Iran
http://www.nisnews.nl/public/020211_1.htm
http://www.rnw.nl/nederlands/search/apachesolr_search/iran?page=59
http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2011/01/zahra_bahrami_exeuted_tehran/
http://www.iranhumanrights.org/category/latest-news/
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http://ourmediaindymedia.blogspot.com/2011/02/wat-wij-kunnen-doendictators-must.html
aalipour: RT @cnni: Execution rate in Iran alarms UN http://goo.gl/fb/LYeZJ
3 feb, 13:16
aalipour: RT @cnni: Execution rate in Iran alarms UN http://goo.gl/fb/LYeZJ Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/cnni/status/33130624365629440
3 feb, 13:09
aalipour: Demonstratie tegen de executie van Zahra Bahrami in Den Haag http://www.zie.nl/video/algemeen/Iraanse-jeugd-hoopt-op-revolutie/m1fzwciff6ul Lees meer…
http://twitter.com/aalipour/statuses/33150173463056384
http://www.zie.nl/video/algemeen/Iraanse-jeugd-hoopt-op-revolutie/m1fzwciff6ul
19 aug 10, 22:29
aalipour: Life wears wings as wide as death, It leaps to the dimensions of love! Lees meer…
6 apr 10, 13:39
aalipour: The Iranian embassy in the Hague has been occupied by non-Iranian and Iranian protesters! http://iranlives.blogspot.com/ @iranelection Lees meer…
7 mrt 10, 23:52
aalipour: RT @oscarsliveupdat Watch Oscars Online http://bit.ly/aUt7yR Lees meer…
23 feb 10, 01:15
aalipour: Please Retweet and Sign this Petition 'Please wear a GREEN Wristband in the Oscar...' - http://301.to/gyq Lees meer…
1 feb 10, 13:27
aalipour: Dutch MP, supports Iranian movement for freedom among protesters of blood concert http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-d0lTp9aJI #Iran Lees meer…
5 dec 09, 03:01
aalipour: Progressive artists, International lecturers and Iranian prominant student activists in Focus Iran; Watch it live; http://iranpy.net @Iran Lees meer…
27 nov 09, 10:33
aalipour: Conference in Holland; International solidarity with Iranian students’ movement. Retweet PLZ http://b2l.me/as7g5 @Iranelection @humanrights Lees meer…
30 okt 09, 14:10
aalipour: @joomblocks dank je wel voor het delen van de link. Dit is inderdaad een goed voorbeeld van de kracht van social media! ;) Lees meer…
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vervolg op:
http://indymedia.nl/nl/2011/02/73799.shtml
http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2011/02/73666.shtml
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