One of the most amazing stories of our time is the uprising in Iran by moderates. Moderates that simply want to have electoral representation that is fair and accountable. The debate that Ahmadinejad might have actually won is not the fight. The fight is that people were told that they would have a fair election, were encouraged to vote, stood in line for hours in what was turning out to be a huge election. Then to have ballot boxes with broken seals, reported stuffing and outright burning of ballots reported is outrageous. The people were not even given a chance to have their vote fairly counted. We will never really know the true outcome of this election, because the improprieties were too numerous.
The damage is done and the young educated people of Iran have come to expect the same electoral freedoms they saw last November. It was not just inspiring here it inspired the imaginations of the young all over the world.
Andrew Sullivan and Nico Pitney have been tireless in their constant live blogging of the events there. They have shown amazing fortitude and tenacity in getting information wherever they could. Since the closing down all foreign press service in Iran, the only information we are getting is from Twitter. There are several people moving constantly to different locations to set up and broadcast out of the country. They are not sure how many people are listening and all they ask is MORE PROXY SERVERS THAT WORK IN IRAN and for the Western press to tell their story.
The resolve of the people of Iran has been beautiful and touching. I can't do any better than Al Rodgers or the Boston Globe
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2009
Open Letter to the World
"Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain." - Saadi
This week Iranians turned out in record numbers not seen since the beginning of the Iranian revolution to change their current President Mahmood Ahmadinejad. Their willingness to exercise their democratic right was both historic and uncommon in the Middle East.
Iranians longed for change the same way people in the United States, and indeed worldwide, longed for a new beginning after the Bush years. They were tired of an increasingly delusional President who has thrown their country into economic turmoil and portrayed their country as a conflict seeking entity in the Middle East. But today the same Iranian regime that has denied a dialogue with the world, denied human rights, denied democracy, denied the Holocaust, is blatantly denying the will of its people by committing massive election fraud to reelect Mahmood Ahmadinejad, and arresting journalists and opposition leaders in broad daylight. Accepting this deception will be costly not only for the people of Iran but also for the people of the Middle East, with far reaching consequences worldwide.
As you read these words, the people in Iran have taken to the streets in nationwide protests. Despite brutal government suppression tactics the Iranian people are courageously fighting for their rights. As antiriot police batons crush the bones of demonstrators whose only protest is election fraud, Iranians are screaming for the world to hear them: WE DENOUNCE MAHMOOD AHMADINEJAD! The people of Iran now ask for your support! We do not expect you to fight our struggle but to help us fight it.
We expect people worldwide to put pressure on their governments and politicians not to accept the legitimacy of the Iranian elections and the fraudulent presidency of Mahmood Ahmadinejad. Democratic societies worldwide must not leave the Iranian people alone now that they have risen to the challenge. Instead they need to align their policies with the will of the Iranian people. Friends, we ask you not to let 70 million people in Iran be taken hostage.
Any government that accepts Mahmood Ahmadinejad as the new president of Iran has betrayed the Iranian people, endangered world peace, and has no sympathy for human pain.
Iranian Artists in Exile
ACTION ALERT TWITTER HAS JUST ANNOUNCED IT WILL GO DOWN FOR 90 MINUTES AT 9:45PM PACIFIC
Here are some Twitters that just came through.
We will have 90 mins of maintenance starting at 9:45p Pacific today, June 15.
Home
IranRiggedElectFollowed by Tehran Univ Faculty taking sancturary at the Univ Mosque. #iranelection
1 minute ago from web
iran09will get of twt for an hour to manage photos and some rest... thanks friends! #iranelection
1 minute ago from TwitterFox
StopAhmadiNEWS: Reason why ppl burning down Basiji HQ was a person got killed outside #iranelection
2 minutes ago from Seesmic Desktop
IranRiggedElectsources: 5 students killed at Tehran Univ dorm Sun night.Bodies of the martyrs R carried from hospital to the univ tomorrow. #iranelection
2 minutes ago from web
persiankiwiwe only want freedom - we are peaceful - we have no life no future in IRI without freedom - #Iranelection
3 minutes ago from web
iran09RT: @sadenshi:"Say you want a revolution. We better get on right away" John Lennon "Power to the People"♫ http://twt.fm/... #IranElection
3 minutes ago from TwitterFox
StopAhmadiPlease @Twitter and @ev don't take down twitter, for the iranian ppl #iranelection
3 minutes ago from Seesmic Desktop
iran09Malaysian police fired tear gas to break up the rally by about 500 Iranians in Kuala Lumpur. http://tinyurl.com/... #iranelection
4 minutes ago from TwitterFox
iran09UN's Ban Urges Iran to Respect People's Will http://bit.ly/... #iranelection
5 minutes ago from TwitterFox
StopAhmadiwe never sleep! RT @frederics: @StopAhmadi I think you will sleep at 9:45 pm Pacific?
6 minutes ago from Seesmic Desktop
persiankiwiwe are all tired - no sleep for 3 days - one of us is injured from baton - waiting for doctor #Iranelection
7 minutes ago from web
StopAhmadiAnother picture of Basiji HQ attack http://twitpic.com/... #iranelection
8 minutes ago from Seesmic Desktop
persiankiwiit is very hard here - we are under big pressure and risk - we are being tracked on twitter - #Iranelection
9 minutes ago from web
Please note the Twitter accounts in the blockquote above. They are the best people to follow for constant information. They are very busy so unless you have concrete and secure information to give them then just listen. They have had very little sleep over the last 72 hours and are a bit overwhelmed.
I hope that you will feel free to exchange any other information you see into this diary. I will be adding some good links as I find them.
Here is live feed from BBC Persia. It is in Farsi, but they have the best footage of the demonstrations.
UPDATE 2: WHOOOHOOO
iran09I♥@Twitter RT: @marsimarsimarsi: Twitter says they are postponing maintenance to a "less intrusive time." #nomaintenance #iranelection #gr88
9 minutes ago from TwitterFox