Mousavi Said Calling for General Strike;
Hard Liners Call for his Arrest
In what may be a major development, it is being alleged that Iranian opposition leader Mir Hosain Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard are calling for a general strike next week. Such a strike would be harder for the regime to forestall than crowds coming into the streets, and whether it has a big effect or not would be a way of measuring the support for the reformists in the country.
Predictably, hard liners in the Iranian parliament are calling for Mousavi to be arrested. As it is, seven members of what the regime calls "anti-government groups" from Tehran and Qazvin were arrested yesterday.
Not satisfied with having held an Egyptian-style election, some Iranian politicians apparently want to adopt the Burmese model. How do you say "Myanmar" in Persian?
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Meanwhile, one price the regime will pay for phonying up the election results and violently repressing peaceful demonstrations is even greater diplomatic isolation. Although this LA Times piece questions whether sanctions will be tightened, I think that is also a possible outcome. Many Iranians are fearful that what was done to Iraq, in reducing it to a fourth-world country, will ultimately be done to Iran by the US/UNSC if things go on like this.
The 27-member European Union is intervening with Iran over the holding of British embassy personnel. This is a powerful intervention. One third of all Iran's trade is with the EU and it is Iran's number one trading partner. The EU imported 11.3 bn. Euros in goods from Iran in 2008 and exported 14 bn. Euros to Iran-- maninly "machinery and transport equipment (54.6%), manufactured goods (16.9%) and chemicals (12.1%). "
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posted by Juan Cole @ 7/03/2009 01:47:00 AM
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5 Comments:
An Egyptian-style election? Now, that's not fair to Mubarak... Hosni would never win re-election with a pathetic two-thirds of the vote.
ref : “One price the [Iranian] regime will pay for phonying up the election results and violently repressing peaceful demonstrations is even greater diplomatic isolation... I think that is also a possible outcome.” imho, What a tragic, short-sighted and uncreative response this would be by the West ~ all the moreso because now we have "seen" one another not as enemies or extremists, but as "just folks, just like us." fwiw, I would take this precious window of opportunity and open up the bandwidth, man: drop all the silly sanctions, and just flood them with Western culture and commercial goods; just friggin' bury the old Mullahs in an avalanche of US-stuff. You want to bomb them? then quite Obviously: bomb them with cheap netbooks and smartphones; bomb them with music and literature and artworks and poetry; bomb them with steak and pommes frites and fine California wine ;-) Why do we have so little faith in the righteous power of our own culture? I daresay, if "I Love Lucy" could bring down the mighty Soviet Empire, then let's loosen Lucy and Oprah on them. Good grief! isolate them? ...now??! If THIS is what our idiot Western politicians do, I do believe their fuddy-duddy old Mullahs would be dancing a jig (behind closed doors, of course :)
"Not satisfied with having held an Egyptian-style election......."
Hmm, I don't recall 24/7 mass media indignation when Egypt held its many many "Egyptian-style elections". I know Israel loves Egypt and hates Iran, but only a conspiracy theorist would suspect that Israel calls the shots.
MonsieurGonzo has it right. Are we so pleased with causing death-by-sanction of about 350,000 Iraqi children that we'd like to give it another try.
We should not forget that the government in "Burma" has managed to maintain their power for a long time after refusing to hand over power to their opponents.
My estimate is that a Junta does not begin to get shaky until it's support drops below 10% of the population. That is just a guess but considering that everyone who rules a country by force has less than a 50% popularity rating I think that it has some logic behind it.
Also minorities can play off factions of their opponents against one another. Khameni could try to link his enemies not only with England or the US but even brand them as Stalinists.
If he is successful some people could stay home figuring the outcome will be a dictator one way or the other.
(Mousavi Said Calling for General Strike)? Proof that too much al jazeera rots brain cells.
Mousavi has already failed as opposition leader who was a day late and a dollar short. You’re constant (enlightened election views) notwithstanding this hoisting of Mousavi
As savior of democracy in Iran and worldwide peace and prosperity is laughably slanted and insulting.
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