Tehran’s Freedom Square Will Be “the Palpitating Heart of the World”

By Al Giordano

Tension is building inside and outside of Iran. Zero hour will be four p.m. Tehran time (7:30 a.m. ET Saturday) when hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of citizens will converge on Enghelab Square – and similar plazas in cities and towns throughout the Republic - and march to Freedom Square to peacefully defy the Supreme Leader’s threatening call against demonstrations.

It’s clear from monitoring Iranian activity across the Internet that Supreme Leader Khamenei’s speech today, with its veiled threats of “bloodshed,” has not scared off the resistance. If anything, it has emboldened the people’s resolve. Testimonies multiply of friends calling friends to say “goodbye” in the event they are massacred tomorrow.

Khamenei’s choices will be to, A. follow through on his threats and have his militias and revolutionary guardsmen attack the peaceful protesters (starting a new cycle of martyrdom and funerals as protest marches of the very kind that fueled the 1979 revolution), or, B. blink and let the protest pass without incident. Either option will weaken his hold on power. A third possibility could reveal divisions in the security apparatus: If marches in some places are attacked, and others are not, that would spark the worst outcome for the rulers, for it would reveal that they are losing control over their own enforcers.

Adding to the tension was a column posted to the Guardian of London this afternoon by Mousavi spokesman Mohsen Makhmalbaf, disclosing that Mousavi’s offices had been destroyed, his closest collaborators arrested, and authorities had placed a gag order on the presidential candidate.

The spokesman urged supporters to attend the rally tomorrow whether or not Mousavi can make it.

Meanwhile, the National Front – the political force overthrown by the 1953 US-backed coup d’etat in Iran, and which view Mousavi as a former member of the theo cratic regime skeptically – has issued this statement (translated for The Field by Iraj Omidvar):

Fellow Citizen:

Tomorrow will be a day that will determine the destiny of our people and our country’s history. After the speeches by the leaders of darkness, deceit, and destruction in today’s Friday prayer ceremonies that were held around the country at the expense of the Iranian people and through the transportation of thousands of paid attendees, the people of Iran will demonstrate who is the true owner of this country.

The blood of the martyrs of Khordad 28 is the support of freedom and the signed ownership document for Iran, which should not be allowed to be trampled on.

Tomorrow people will see whether Mir Hossein Mousavi is a man of freedom or not.

Tomorrow people will see whether the Guard and the Basij will work to protect their fellow citizens or not.

Tomorrow the world will see whether a group of thieves and pillagers will continue their rule over a freedom-loving people or whether the legs of the regime will weaken so that peace and friendship can be spread around the world.

Tomorrow will be one of the most difficult crossings in the history of Iran, even if its leaders prefer the shop of religiosity to freedom.

Tomorrow, Saturday, 31 Khordad 1388, at 4 in the afternoon, Freedom Square will be the palpitating heart of the world.

Bijan Mehr

The News Network of the Iranian National Front

Here’s an excerpt from another letter to the Iranian people today, this one from Dr. Ahmad Sadr Haaj Seyed Javadi, Mohandes Ezzatollah Sahabi, and Dr. Ebrahim Yazdi, three of the well known members of the nationalist-religious Freedom Movement of Iran (Nehzat Azadi), also translated for The Field by Iraj Omidvar:

“But unfortunately this hope was betrayed.  Those responsible in the Interior Ministry, who according to the law are the people's guardians and the Guardian Council which is responsible for protecting the people's vote, have appeared as the very agents who who have stolen the people's vote.  They have presented election results that do not meet any acceptable standards and are unworthy of being taken seriously.  The result of this betrayal of public trust is that not only the government has lost its credibility but the security and stability of the country is exposed to danger, and the chasm between the people and the government has become deeper than ever.  The leader's repeated support of this government and his rash approval of the inaccurate numbers announced by the Interior Ministry, before any candidate had a chance to object and the Guardian Council to examine has added a new dimension to the current crisis.  According to the Constitution, justice is one of the necessary conditions for the position of the leader.  The position of the leader, especially in relation to this election has been been tarnished in this regard. . . . .

 

We, the signatories, who have spent most of our lives fighting against monarchical despotism and rule of foreign powers and for achieving freedom and prosperity in our dear Iran, and who were the members of the Revolutionary Council and the first government after the victory of the revolution in the government of the late mohandes Bazargan, while protesting the conduct of the government, the Guardian Council, and the Leadership, in order to pass through the current crisis and the coming crises, which threaten the heart of our country, want:

(1) The Cancellation of the election results, repetition of the elections using standards and norms that are acceptable to the public opinion and the protesting candidates

(2) The removal and prosecution of all involved in this betrayal.

(3) The identification and prosecution of government agents who shot in the direction of the people and caused injuries and deaths.

 

The key words there are “justice is one of the necessary conditions for the position of the leader.” What that means, in Iranian Constitution-speak, is that the Supreme Leader Khamenei no longer has a legitimate hold on authority.

Those words will be considered seditious blasphemy by the ruling authorities because they question the very legitimacy of the regime. That letter could provoke the jailing of the authors. Oh, wait. The authors were already arrested last week and Yadzi just obtained his release to his own hospital bed. They’re clearly not afraid to go through the same all over again.

Nobody’s afraid. Or, more accurately, the people are afraid but they are controlling their fear, which is the definition of heroism. That’s the result of Khamenei’s scolding earlier today. The people are indignant, emboldened and ready to risk all for the freedom of their nation.

Keep refreshing this space for updates. Looks like we’ll have to set the alarm clock early Saturday to watch the dawn of a new day...

Update: Iranian journalist and former political prisoner Akbar Ganji (also translated for The Field by Ijar Omidvar) writes:

We have to use the recent events as a historic opportunity for strengthening our society.  The more diverse and pluralistic our society becomes, the stronger it will be. Labor unions, women's movements, student groups, these have to organize as well. Our goal should not be merely to overthrow Ahmadinejad. This is a good and great goal, but more important is democracy and to move on to democracy we have to strengthen society.

Again, this has moved way beyond the matter of the results of an election. It is 56 years of unredressed grievances boomeranging up from below.

Update: AP reports:

A spokesman for Mousavi said today the opposition leader is not under arrest but is not allowed to speak to journalists or stand at a microphone at rallies. Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf told the AP from Paris it's even becoming difficult to reach people close to Mousavi. He said he has not heard from Mousavi's camp since Khamenei's address.

If true, it means Mousavi can still attend rallies. Beyond the censorious and repressive absurdity of the state gagging any citizen, much less a political leader, it's not the worst thing for the resistance movement that other voices fill the gap and emerge, too.

Update II: The President, tonight:

We are seeing that now as history is unfolding in the sounds and images of broadcasts from Iran over the last week. We have seen professional and citizen journalists act as a voice for those who want to be heard, bearing witness to the universal aspirations of democracy and freedom, often at great risk and sometimes with great sacrifice. They do it because the rest of us need to hear the stories that they tell.

I'm certain that was the first time any US president has acknowledged the existence of citizen journalists.

Update III: I got this music video off of the #IranElections Twitter feed:

The singer, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, was born in Tehran in 1979, year of the revolution. and is the founder of the Stop Child Executions Campaign. We're all in great anticipation and nerves tonight waiting for the next eight hours to see what happens in Iran, but somehow I bet her anticipation meter is in the red zone.