From Shiraz today:
We are NOT dead yet!
Today is the anniversary of the week-long 1999 student uprising against abuses of the gov’t, which was, of course, met with brutal suppression. People are looking for venues and ways to show their respects to those students and to continue to show their present opposition. Last night our neighborhood rang out with the most fervent calls of ‘Allah-u-Akbar’ and ‘Death to the Dictator’ that I have heard to date. Most houses and apartments in our area were involved. Many new voices were added to the chorus. I hadn’t heard that much anger and defiance in the nightly calls before. The people of Shiraz (at least in our neighborhood) are not going to stand by quietly!
The more we talk with people from all walks of life, in all government offices, the more widespread we see the negative reaction to the elections. While the overt objections have diminished due to brutality, by no means have the feelings gone away. They are quietly smoldering – waiting, waiting for the next opportunity.
Has anyone come across any good investigative reporting on the role the Russians are playing in jamming BBCPersian and the role the Cubans are playing in jamming VOA(Voice of America) over here? Are they using western technology or their own technology? Any news on that front is greatly appreciated. Our news channels are still jammed and our Internet is SLOW. Any push for some investigation is greatly appreciated too. Our national broadcasting is just a propaganda machine, so most Persians look to outside sources for the ‘real’ news. It’s important.
seamorg
spoonsun
