Corrie Street

By Paul Iddon

The naming of a street in Tehran after the American political activist killed in Gaza has both highly positive and highly negative aspects to it.


Rachel Corrie Street, Ramallah

A street in Tehran has been named posthumously after Rachel Corrie, the American activist who was killed while protesting the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip in 2003 during the latter stages of the Second Intifada. The decision to name the street after her was just earlier this week.

I wrote a column shortly beforehand entitled 'Neda & Rachel' where I pointed out that apologists for the present Iranian regime have often cited Rachel Corrie as a way to try and divert arguments away from the brutality that the Iranian regime has exercised against its own people and furthermore argued along the lines that, a regime that oppresses its own people and ignores their heartfelt grievances whilst at the same time backing the most fanatical, fascistic and violent forms of Palestinian militancy has therefore relinquished any form of credibility when it states that it cares about the ordinary people of Palestine.

I wrote this article to reiterate that very point as I think it is an important one. However I also want to add I don't disapprove of a street being named after Rachel Corrie. As an activist she did go the extra mile in trying to show the world what it was like to live day by day in a dangerous place such as Gaza, and she done this by meeting the normal Palestinian people and listening to them and trying to understand the grievances they were burdened with. This in itself was an incredible feat for such a young woman who is well deserving of a tribute such as that of having a street or location named in her honour.

The more reactionary opponents and critics of the present regime in Tehran will probably jump on this story and demand to know why there hasn't been a street named after Neda Soltan, the innocent woman who was callously murdered by one of the many Basij thugs rampantly harassing peaceful demonstrators on the streets of Tehran after the June 2009 elections. I think this is a cheap and inflammatory question, and the answer is very obvious when you look at it from the present leaderships perspective.
Think about it, if you were part of a decaying senile fanatical dictatorial regime like that of Khameini's I sincerely doubt you'd prohibit a street being named after the woman your brutal and suppressive paramilitary forces murdered, who in death went on to symbolize the oppressed (her name, the Persian for 'voice' has been a symbolic and unifying outcome of her death for many Iranians) and also those forced on pain of imprisonment (where official policies include rape and torture) to continually remain passive and deferential to this regime in the face of mounting oppression.

The day when we will have a Neda Street is the day the present regime will be where it belongs, the history books, I for one am looking forward to that day, and I know it is bound to come sooner or later, and when it does those who knew and admired Rachel Corrie for her courage and wish to further her cause can be genuinely proud of having a street named in honour of her in a country steeped in over 3,000 years of culture, civilization and literature.

Rachel Corrie certainly can't be ventriloquised by me, but I can and will say this;
From her standpoint as someone who took a decisive stand for the human rights of Palestinians that were neglected at the hands of the Israelis I would wager a person from an identical or similar objective standpoint wouldn't accept the blatant abolition, destruction and disregard of human rights in Iran simply because the present regime there also denounces the policies (as well as the mere existence) of the State of Israel.

But that's just my two cents...

Editor’s Note: Paul Iddon is one of the authors of Uskowi on Iran. His weekly columns appear here on Wednesdays.

Neda & Rachel

By Paul Iddon

Debunking a shallow political argument used by the shameless defenders of the Iranian regime in their attempt to belittle the brutality and oppression it afflicts upon its own people.

Rachel Corrie & Neda Agha Soltan

A tendency I find amongst many who defend the present Iranian regime is to divert attention away from the brutality the regime has exercised against its own people by instead pointing the finger at how harshly the Palestinians have been treated at the hand of the Israelis. On a personal level I've seen someone trying to belittle the murder of Neda Soltan by instead opting to point an accusing finger at Israel over the death of Rachel Corrie, who was an American political student activist who was killed when she was crushed to death by an Israeli Army bulldozer in Gaza.

While their deaths were similarly tragic there is a clear differentiation, in the sense that Rachel Corrie was an American citizen who after becoming enthralled in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict found herself highly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, this sympathy coupled with her political activism took her to the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada, (a very dangerous time to say the least) where she was killed when she attempted to stop the bulldozer that ran over her from demolishing Palestinian houses by stepping in its path.

She was by all means a political activist who was killed while putting herself in harms way thousands of miles from her home, Neda Soltan on the other hand was generally considered to be for the most part apolitical, however she was like most of her compatriots was infuriated at the injustice the regime was presenting them with. Furthermore during the height of the political turmoil following the June 2009 elections in Tehran she was brutally murdered, when driving to participate in a protest in Tehran and upon discovering her car air conditioner had a fault she subsequently proceeded to step out onto the street a few feet away from a large conglomeration of protesters to escape the blistering heat when she was suddenly shot in the chest by a Basij gunman. The rest is history.

My central point is the difference between being as politically orientated as to go out of your way to protest the actions of another countries policy (Corrie's protesting of Israel's treatment of Palestinians) and getting killed while putting yourself in harms way doing so is in stark contrast to being apolitical and getting killed on a public street in the capital city of your own country for the simple act of taking a breath of fresh air. This to me is clearly a night and day difference.

Another underlining point this argument flat out presumes is that the Iranian regime is fit to represent the plight of the Palestinians, while at the same time suppressing its own people from publicly voicing their discontentment with their states foreign and domestic policies. A good example of this took place during the 2009 Al Quds Day ceremony where those in attendance as per tradition all came together in solidarity and chanted slogans stating in effect that they will give their blood and their lives for Palestine and bring an end to the 'Zionist entity' in Jerusalem, demonstrators who showed up at this parade solemnly chanted; “no to Gaza and Lebanon, I will give my life for Iran.”

This in effect clearly showed they were sick of the regime trying to subvert the discontent felt by them by fomenting hate for Israel and staunchly supporting the most extreme examples of Palestinian militancy and terrorism all while ignoring their genuine and heartfelt grievances with how the state in which they live is run.

I'm not going to insinuate or attempt to pretend that in death Neda hasn't been romanticized and used as a tool for the gains of the various democratic and anti-regime groups prevalently attempting to bring about an end to the present regime. But in death she has become symbolic of the cynical cruelty the regime has shown itself capable of inflicting upon innocent citizens.

The First Intifada in the Palestinian territories that begun back in 1987 put an abrupt end to the popular conception of Israel metaphorically being David battling Goliath (Goliath in this case being the millions of neighbouring Arabs hell bent on destroying Israel), this widely held perception was brought to an end by images and video clips of angry discontent Palestinians as young as 8-years-old throwing stones at heavily armoured Israeli tanks and bulldozers in their defiance against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Neda Soltan in death has similarly stopped cold the present Iranian regimes capability of making any credible or believable claims to be neither legitimate, sane, or even merely humane.

Editor’s Note: Paul Iddon is one of the authors of Uskowi on Iran. His weekly columns appear here on Wednesdays.

Person of the Year

The Times of London has chosen Neda Soltan as Times Person of the Year.

The manner of her death, and the regime’s response, has shredded what little legitimacy it had left. She helped to inspire an opposition movement that is now led by her generation, which a systematic campaign of arrests, show trials, beatings, torture and security force violence has failed to crush, and whose courage and defiance has won the admiration of the world.

Questions and Ramifications Over Neda's Shooting

Frontline's latest documentary A Death in Tehran and its related web site revisit the tragic shooting of Neda Agha-Soltan, which took place during a protest last June following Iran's disputed presidential election. Readers are encouraged to view the documentary, made in association with Tehran Bureau, here.

From a law enforcement perspective, the PBS documentary provides intriguing details on Neda's shooting by an eyewitness, Arash Hejazi, a trained medical doctor who was at Neda's side when she perished.

Hejazi states that he heard a single shot coming from "in front", but did not see the shooter. He then states that a crowd had put a suspect under citizens arrest, and that the suspect admitted to the killing but stated it was not his intent to do so. The suspect is frisked and his Basij ID discovered. At this point the crowd deliberates on what to do. According to the eyewitness account, the crowd has no confidence in the police and feels itself threatened by turning him in to the authorities, so they release the suspect.

Basij ID card of shooting suspect

Hejazi's account raises questions. When the suspect was apprehended, what happened to the firearm? A single shot was heard fired in the incident. Did the crowd that apprehended him risk their lives to disarm him? Why didn't the suspect fire at those attempting to subdue him? Had the suspect actually run out of ammunition? Presumably it may have been a handgun fired at not too far a distance, but an approximation of relative distance would be helpful. Again, what happened to the firearm?

Another question is why a Basidji would be operating as such alone in a crowd. Usually you see Basidji operating in small teams. Where were the suspect's team members? Had he become separated, or had his team members abandoned him? Perhaps, as the suspect is reputed to have stated, it's possible this was an accidental discharge.

Taken at face value, that the shooter was indeed this identified Basidji, the incident really exposes the unprofessional nature of the Basij as an instrument of urban riot control, as well as the detrimental effect this can have on the reputation of the Iranian government. Severely undertrained and ill disciplined Basidjis operating alone in a high risk environment is a sure fire recipe for disaster. It would be interesting to confirm that changes have been made by the IRGC and IRIPF, as well as policy related to the distribution of lethal rounds, for subsequent Iranian law enforcement efforts at anti-riot control since the June demonstrations.

Note: I've queried Arash Hejazi by email for additional info on his eyewitness account, and will be updating this post with any forthcoming response.

Mousavi Joins the Mourners

Iran's opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has just joined the mourners gathered in Tehran’s Behesht Zahra Memorial Park to commemorate the 40th Day anniversary of the death of Neda Soltan and other protesters slain during the post-election demonstrations.

Eyewitnesses are estimating the size of crowd gathered so far at the cemetery at 10,000. Heavy anti-riot police presence has also been reported. There are reports of mourners being arrested, including the arrest of Jafar Panahi, Iran’s renowned filmmaker.

UPDATE: Mousavi managed to visit and pay respect at Neda's grave upon arrival at Behesht Zahra. The riot police have now surrounded his vehicle forcing it to drive off cemetery.

UPDATE (4:30 pm Tehran): Some 3,000 mourners remain at Neda's grave. Police is charging the crowd to disperse them. Reports of injury.

UPDATE (4:50 pm Tehran): Mehdi Karrubi has joined the opposition supporters in Behesht Zahra. Karrubi visited Neda's grave.

UPDATE (5:00 pm Tehran): Police and Basij have cordoned off Neda's burial place, preventing people to go there.


Today at Behesht Zahra


Today at Behesht Zahra

Iran Opposition Defying Police – Memorial Services for Slain Protestors

Hundreds of anti-riot police have surrounded Behesht Zahra Memorial Park in Tehran today to prevent a visit by opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karrubi and their supporters to the graves of protesters slain in post-election demonstrations in Iran.

The memorial service was to start at 4:00 pm Tehran time. Reports from Tehran indicate that the police are trying to disperse mourners who have begun to arrive at the cemetery and are arresting a number of them. Thousands are expected to attend.

Today is the 40th Day anniversary of the death of Neda Soltan and a number of other protesters. Neda's mother is also expected to attend the memorial service today. 40th Day anniversaries are important mourning occasions in Shia religion.

Neda Soltan

The Iranian government is claiming that the death of Neda Soltan was staged. The new president-not-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also asked the police to find the killer. Since O. J. Simpson offered a bounty for finding his wife’s killer, we have not seen such amateurish misinformation campaign.

7th Day Anniversary

Sunday is the seventh day anniversary of the bloodshed on the streets of Tehran which left Neda Soltan and other protestors dead.

A memorial service for the fallen had been announced via Twitter and other social networks for 6:00 pm on Sunday local time at Tehran’s Qoba Mosque. Observers were concerned of a heavy-handed response by the security forces and another day of bloodshed.

The reports indicate that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Ayatollah Karrubi will attend the service.

UPDATE (700 pm Tehran time): the memorial service started at 6:00 pm. Social networks report huge crowds in and outside the mosque. No reports of clashes with security forces.

Neda Soltan

Millions across the world viewed the last moments of Neda Soltan in Amirabad at the age of 26. The killing of Neda and the bloodshed on the streets of Tehran brought anger and disgust at the Iranian government inside Iran and across the world. Neda is becoming a symbol of Iranian nation’s aspirations for freedom and progress.