“Not Gaza, not Lebanon — our life is for Iran,” chanted the demonstrators, as they turned the Iranian regime’s annual Quds Day march into a protest against the tyrannical mullahs who show the same zeal in repressing the Iranian people as they do in supporting Hamas and Hezbollah.
As Basij militia thugs laid into the protesters, Ahmadinejad stated - again - that the Holocaust is “a lie” based upon a “mythical claim.” This latest bout of foulness came just a few hours after he declared that “we do not see any need” for nuclear weapons. I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I’m reluctant to accept any assurances from a Holocaust denier.
Selma the blogger from Tehran put up a new post today, saying more or less the same thing:
“This year, the gathering and protests were no longer about a conflict somewhere in the world I’d never been to, and hardly knew the story of both sides… This year, the protests had nothing to do with the strangers who could have found a way to solve their conflict by now, if it weren’t for others meddling in the process.
This year, we went to the rally to protest against a domestic oppressor…the tyrant who got hold of our future, by means of coup (or whatever you like to call it…)”
http://antiutopia.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/green-friday/
So proud to be Iranian and watch these “bravehearts,” as fellow blogger Azarmehr calls them, take such huge risks to speak out for their fundamental rights.
Notice how the vision of the Middle East represented by these Iranians is so close to the one held by average Israelis: a place where young people can go to school, play by the rules, start businesses, party (or not) according to their wishes.
These people don’t wake up thinking, “Inshallah we’re going to annihilate the Zionist entity today.” They want jobs, educational opportunities, freedom of expression, the freedom to be themselves and not have to bear brutal floggings for it.
Enough of the dreadful, apocalyptic culture of martyrdom, they’re saying. Think how amazing a place the Middle East would be - with all of its natural resources, beauty, talent, history, and cultural diversity - if only people like these, instead of messianic megalomaniacs like Ahmadinejad, held political power!
Yes, I feel exactly the same way.
Noga, ganselmi — indeed, a ray of hope for all of us! Just by coincidence, it came right on time for the Jewish New Year; so let’s all hope that the traditional wishes for a good and sweet new year will come true.