Events in Iran Bode Ill for Democracy
Events in Iran Bode Ill for Democracy
Editor, Times-Dispatch: As I watch the events in Iran unfold, I am disturbed. Not with the political posturing -- that is an inherent by-product of the political process -- but rather the deconstruction of a democratic society before our eyes.
The original election was supposed to take place in a 24-hour period. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not expect the turnout at the polls or the thronging of the ex-pats to the international polling places.
Ahmadinejad likes the international stage that he has made such a fool of himself on. He likes the attention, the perks, and the lifestyle. Like all dictators, he has no desire to give these things up.
When the results were tallied the first day, not by an independent party, but by Ahmadinejad's own ruling party, and the results were not what they wanted, they extended the voting by another two days. Whole blocks of votes were lost, and most likely blocks of votes were counted twice. But we'll never know because there was no independent source that could be trusted by the people.
Now there are people dying. Martyrs are being made daily. With technology, there is no way to keep things quiet anymore. No way to shut the media down. A simple cell phone video tells the story of a young woman shot dead in the street with her father at her side. Uploaded, it runs as international news.
We can't go back in time to an age of filtered media and government sanctioned and sanitized news. We can tell the truth.
But as we tell the truth, we have a responsibility to act in accordance with what we know to be right and true. We can't just tell the truth, we have to fix what is wrong, too.
Leila Gaskin.
Richmond.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
calling them monarchies makes it sound so benign doesn’t it? How would you like to be “owned” by King Saud.
Iran presents itself to the world as a democratic society.
Their election process was to have a pre-determined result.
When it did not, they simply changed the rules.
The point being, in the middle east, whether the repression is covert as in the case of the Saudis or overt in the case of Iran, the result is the same.
Whether we call the participants “enemies” or “allies” we have to deal with them.
Like it or not, we are all globally interconnected and interdependent and
wishing otherwise is niave at best.
We are not the world’s policemen or confessor.
And Blackbird, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are monarchies and the UAE are a Federation of States.
No elections.
It’s good to be critical of IRAN, but at least Iran has an elections.
And women are allowed to vote.
Most of our “allies” don’t even have elections: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,U.A.E and woman have no say. As much as I dislike the way things are going in IRAN, I dislike our blind support of these other countries just as much.
If only Saudi HAD an election to protest…
Memo to HRH LH BHO and supporters: Before you critique the “oppression” in this country, please take a good hard look at current events in Iran. This is what real oppression looks like.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement