Dr. Ali Ettefagh serves as a director of Highmore Global Corporation, an investment company in emerging markets of Eastern Europe, CIS, and the Middle East. He is the co-author of several books on trade conflict, resolution of international trade disputes, conflicts in letters of credit, trade-related banking transactions, sovereign debt, arbitration and dispute resolutions and publications specific to the oil and gas, communication, aviation and finance sectors. Dr. Ettefagh is a member of the executive committee and the board of directors of The Development Foundation, an advisor to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and an advisor to a number of European companies. Dr. Ettefagh speaks Persian (Farsi), English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and Turkish.
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Ali Ettefagh
Tehran, Iran
Dr. Ali Ettefagh serves as a director of Highmore Global Corporation, an investment company in emerging markets of Eastern Europe, CIS, and the Middle East.
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Yes, Mr. Radan exists and he is the deputy commander of national police of Iran. His reference to 400 police wounded ought to be taken at face value as many were throwing rocks at police or when they found them isolated, several rioters attacked a lone policeman and beat the man.
Overall, the disturbances were isolated in one day, although there has been a series of property damage incidences around the same area or two main streets leading to the main area, mostly broken glass of shops and damage to bank ATM machines. Only a few (less than 10) banks were burnt, but many suffered broken glass. Also many shops belonging to private people were destroyed and the goods were looted by rioters. And, yes, a large number of people (shop owners, ordinary people, residents in the area, etc.) filed formal complaints to the prosecutor's office and the police demanding the state to establish security for their homes and streets and businesses.
Overall, it was just one day (20
June/30 Khordad) plus two attempted repeats which was met with strong presence of police and they didn't gather. Now, every one can figure it out that it was organised and planned in advance for that particular day and it was just to divert the issue of elections, votes, etc.
I appreciate your reply and share your views as expressed in your last two paragraphs.
I am sorry to insist but I really want to try and get to the bottom of this, if at all possible.
Yesterday, after writing my note to you, and as I was trying to find (in vain!) the source of the reported death of scores of revolutionary guards in the recent disturbances (I did not dream that --- may have heard on the radio??...), I was brought back to this:
"Iran's deputy police commander, Ahmad-Reza Radan, said 400 police have been wounded since last Friday's vote.
He claimed 10,000 complaints have been been made, according to state-run Press TV. "They have called on the police to deal with rallies firmly," he said.
"The recent rallies destroyed 700 buildings, burst 300 banks into flame, damaged 300 cars and 300 public properties," Radan added."
As far as I know, this has been reported, word for word (or just about) in guardian.co.uk, at watching america via Pravda, Russia ("Genuine Protests or U.S. Plan to Destabilize Iran?"), etc. as you can see yourself by doing a quick google search.
I would like to know what you think we are to make of this.
Are you in a position to answer the following:
Does Ahmad-Reza Radan exist?
If so, who is he?
Did he ever say that?
If so, where and when did it get reported, in Iran?
What did he say, exactly, if anything?
Did "Press TV" say anything in this connection?
If so, when and in what terms?
Do you know any other official source, in Iran, that did report on this, specifically?
If so which one, when, and in what terms?
Thanks Ordak100
With best wishes always.
P.S. Anybody who can help is most welcome to come forward and do so.
What you mention might be in some one's imagination, perhaps the vilification campaign against Iran that has shifted location to another land to cover up traces of its origin. Alternatively, that source is fed wrong information or just stupid propaganda.
Iran is not completely closed to foreign reporters and there are still many based in Iran, including Washington Post and France Press and Al Jazeera and many others.
The figures released by Iranian news sources are more or less accurate because there is an intensive competition for news in various websites in Iran and it is not possible to report anything but the truth.
The numbers you mention are absurd. There were less than 50,000 people on 20 June/30 Khordad (Iranian calendar) and there was only a single day of violence where the troublemakers burnt a small mosque, broke windows of 22 banks and burnt down about 3-4 busses and about 100 rubbish bins and two or three shops. All of that was within one or two square kilometers in west of Tehran, in the area near Tehran University and the same area of the main/last street battle of MKO terrorists (as Dr. Ettefagh has outlined above).
They used young, uninformed people as fronts so they will be blamed, as the patterns were clear.
Prior to the election, there were peaceful and civilised marches and street protests, rallies with banners, etc. but nothing violent. It was good to see that young people are engaged in a healthy debate and talk about issues.
The story of Neda Aghasultan is also another strange one (and sad). In a riot, one person got shot (by unidentified people). But nobody says that if the police killed her, why only one person got shot in a riot? The fact is the police did not shoot her but it was just a setup to get the riot going....
The fact is that the so-called West has come to a point that it must negotiate and find a way to accept Iran and make a deal. That is due to the failures in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Iraq.
But somehow, and a few of these "Westerners" have decided to first fight a psychological war with Iran to posture themselves and get the upper hand. This mind game is stupid and foolish because the so-called western democratic countries cannot first talk about democracy and then insist on supporting riots at the same time. Can they?
Without taking too much of your time, I would appreciate some help from you, after having read you mention that "only 1 day, 30 Khordad/20 June, was a day of violence... and that day... was due to a street showdown of MKO near the University (and it was not all over town in a mass chaos)."
As you know, a report from Russia, which was translated and reproduced on Watching America, indicates that “the recent rallies destroyed 700 buildings, burst 300 banks into flame, damaged 300 cars and 300 public properties, and left more than 400 policemen injured”. I seem to remember that I saw, elsewhere (I just can't find out where, right now), that scores (?) of revolutionary guards were also killed and "secretly" (?) buried...
Are you in a position to tell us whether there is any substance to those statements? Evidently, I could not care less about the exact numbers as such, only about the scale of the destructions and casualties, if any.
Forgot to say that only 1 day, 30 Khordad/20 June, was a day of violence in about 6 weeks of pre-election campaigns and that day, as the article of Dr. Ettefagh mentions, was due to a street showdown of MKO near the University (and it was not all over town in a mass chaos).
All other rallies and meetings were peaceful because they were ordinary Iranians that were talking, debating, celebrating with music and street parties etc. Iran is and will be for those ordinary peaceful majority, not a few violent crazy people that burned a few buses (which are no longer government owned and are owned by the drivers!). But again, CNN and CNN viewers have no clue about that, do they?
First, yes, I tend to agree with most of Dr. Ettefagh's views. I don't need a permit or license or approval from the mentally isolated people from "the other side of the ocean" to think what I want. Who cares what the other side of the ocean thinks?!
2nd: What is most important is that most Iranians, I mean to say all 72+ million of them that live in Iran, are living their own lives for themselves, in their own country, not to please the other side of the ocean or their views or colonialists. Again, who cares what a small number of Iranians abroad or foreigners think! If you go to middle of India or South Africa or Mexico or Brazil, they will tell you the same thing that they are living for themselves, not to please Americans that are less than 5% of world population!
3rd, when more than 80% of Iranians go to the polls and vote under the existing constitution and laws, about 40 million out of 48 million eligible voters (i.e adults), it means a vast majority have accepted their system as is, how it is. That is about as representative of a government and a republic as you can get. Therefore, it is no longer a "regime" (which is just trash talk labelling, it shows no decency or politeness).
4th, you bring up the issue of religion and the holy book. Gee, I guess Israel has fallen off the map and we don't know it yet, when they are insisting, violently, that their Semetic beginning was there before the other, Arab Semitic cousines and therefore they can bomb each other.... or that you forget that God and religion is just about everywhere in your beloved USA. The same religious society that you ridicule in Iran happens to have a much lower rate of crime and prisoners per million of population and has a more advanced stemcell research prgoram than "the other side of the ocean".
Finally, what has the other side of the ocean contributed to the lives of Iranian people, except for sanctions, shooting down the civilian IranAir jet, getting Saddam to attack and kill or injure one million Iranians with chemical weapons, stupid divide-and-dominate games, a coup to stop the last democractic movement of the Iranian people.....? All your beloved Yanks have done is to make life more difficult for ordinary Iranians.
Believe me, it is not just Dr. Ettefagh that makes these observations. There are millions, an absolute majority, that agree with him. But you isolated people in America think that there is only a lone voice such as Dr. Ettefagh.
Dream on, my friend, or perhaps I should say, wake up to reality or go back to your Iraqi cakewalk stories and keep yourselves entertained with hot air and cheap baloney.... many of us professionals here in Iran have seen the hollow west and have come back to our country and our land. All because we don't care what they say!
The regime in Iran is theocratic; it is not a democracy. On this side of the ocean people know the difference and it makes your arguments kind ‘a silly. See, when you have a litmus test for all of the laws of your country based on a book written by an Arab man for his society of 1400 years ago, then you have a rigid base independent of the will of the people. What follows is a system that hinders free will by screening thought for conformity. You are Mickey Mousing the democratic system of government by having an appointed council choosing who people can vote for. Then you try to force fit the laws needed to govern a 21st century society into a 7th century governing apparatus. That is why you have a “regime” not a “government”; live with it.
The brutality that your regime used to confront the demonstrators can not be justified by comparing what happened in Iran to what could happen in a democratic society. In a democracy people have peaceful avenues for dissent (like free press!); in theocratic Iran they don’t. Do not pick and choose events to justify the brutal crackdown either. Why a democratic government needs plain cloth goons with sticks to protect it? When goons did ever attacked college dormitories, killed college students (7 of them) and destroyed their property in a democratic government. Who is exactly the vandal here?
Why do you think your regime is so afraid of a national referendum? Wouldn’t it stop all talk of their illegitimacy?
Your posts closely follow the writings of Dr. Ettefag. I imagine that is where the name Ordak (Duck) comes from. As the actions of your regime are more indefensible your explanations become more bizarre. Since you are taking the role of his mouthpiece, you may want to explain why Dr. Ettefag has used half of his post trying to misrepresent the demands of the demonstrators by mentioning a hated terrorist group that had nothing to do with the uprising. No one mentioned Mujahidin in any of the reports coming from Iran because they were non-existent in that struggle and Dr. Ettefag should know that.
Although I rarely would agree with Dr. Ettefag, I could see a basic class and some decency in the writings. Not anymore - if it walks like a duck ….
So you answered my question that you are not in touch with Iran, the country were in this election cycle, the incumbent president dared to ask about people in government in the past 20-30 years about corruption, and he mentioned specific names like the family of Mr. Rafsanjani, still a powerful figure in Iran.
That is progress, openness and the essence of democracy and that is also something that didn't happen 4 or 8 years ago during the previous election cycles in Iran.
There were daily gathering of people and their rallies in Tehran for more than a month, all peaceful and all without incident. No police to be seen. But on Sat. 20th June, it was different--different people, different moods, very violent when they started breaking bank windows and setting shops on fire. That is chaos and facsism, not democracy by any stretch of imagination and when push comes to shove, it must be stopped, cracked and peace restored, be it in Honduras or in Sweden.
Finally, it is time for you Americans to realise that when 40 out of 48 million people turn out and vote under the rules, it is no longer a "regime", but a legitimate, respectable governing system. And it is not going to change because a few Yanks don't like it. Perhaps the Yanks ought to learn to live with reality!
In my opinion injustice stands alone. It has nothing to do with inflated body count comparisons and honest people looking for the truth, not partisan defense-at-all-costs recognize that clearly.
It's obvious to me that Bush's Iraq War was wrong in many ways - bad for Iraqis as well as America. Iranian meddling there didn't contribute much good to the situation either. It's also obvious to me, however, that this has absolutely nothing to do with a discussion of the validity of Iran's elections or post-election handling of protestors.
There is good and bad in all countries because nations are nothing more than a collection of human beings with all of their imperfections.
No country on earth is criticized more readily than the U.S., sometimes for good reason and many times for no reason other than a cover for incompetent or dishonest politicans in other states.
I believe in democracy. We have a new president in this country, freely elected because the American people voted for change. The main goal of all dictatorships seems to be to perpetuate themselves and a common thread is always shutting off free contrary debate and blaming others.
Dictatorships do not seek to improve; they and their apologists seek to defend their elite privileged positions in society at any cost.
This TOMHASANI poster is typical of Iranians abroad that are out of touch with reality. Moreover, America is such a closed society, almost totally isolated from the realities of the rest of the word and....no wonder such warped information comes out of his comments.
The Khavaran Cemetery is the new name for the old MESGARABAD, the old Tehran Cemetery on the Mashhad Road in southeast Tehran, prior to start of Beheshte Zahra in the southwest, which started about 40 years ago and all other regional cemeteries were closed down, based on a master plan of Tehran. As the main cemetery of Tehran is now full, a new one is planned for the same direction, but further out of town. The land is still owned by the municipality and can be reused.
Shiite tradition is such that cemetery and burial plots can be reused or redeveloped after passage of 30 years. The Khavaran Cemetery has been closed for longer than such period and it is now within limits of the ever growing metropolis of Tehran.
It is also common knowledge that:
a) in Tehran that a specific section of the main Tehran cemetery is designated for terrorists and troublemakers ("La'anat Abad" is the slang reference for it) and
b) Degradation of human remains down to bones takes at least 25 years, hence it has nothing to do with Ahmadinejad & Co.; and
c) The fact of mass execution of troublemakers and political prisoners in fact dates back to the days when the West's beloved Mr. Mousavi was prime minister! Go figure dude....
So, I guess the writer of this article and his facts about people (and foreign press) being duped by semi-informed and ill-willed people is quite correct!
I think we will next have Forest Gump's comments posted on Iranian affairs!!!!
In your capacity as a proud Iranian/American, what is your say on the US government massacres, destruction, abuse, torture and brutality that were committed in Iraq?
Are you telling us that the Iranian government killed more than the US government did within few weeks after the invasion?
Iraqbodycount.com (run by two individuals) has documented nearly 20,000 civilians deaths within 6 weeks of the invasion and little after Bush declared Mission Accomplished under the cheer of the media and officials.
All of Baghdad's basic infrastructure was bombed and destroyed: bridges, power grids, communication networks, water systems, main roads cut off from the city and so forth.
Do you know how many elderly or sick people died in Baghdad during those weeks of terror because they couldn't reach a functioning hospital?
Do you know how many women died in labor because they couldn't reach a hospital under the curfews imposed by the illegitimate occupation?
I am not sure I understand what you are trying to do here:
Turn Iran into another violent imperialist country like the US has become by upgrading the turbans into ties and suits?
Dr. Ali Ettefagh,
I am disappointed to see that you are attempting to blame the current peacefull demonstration to MEK or others to justify regime action against their own people. I am not a pro MEK and never will be simply because their ideas are similar to Mullahs, that is Islamic fanatic. I respect Islam teaching as I am a muslim too. But we need to have a separation of state and church in Iran.
Since you mentioned MEK, my heart goes to families of those who have been killed unjustly. I urge you to GOOGLE "Khavaran cemetery" to see it for yourself.
As a proud American/Iranian, I want to ensure my vote is counted. But, I am afraid in an attempt to conceal another massacre, Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets.
You are well aware of the fact that Islamic Republic of IRAN had executed prisoners already convicted and while serving their sentences! Then, dump them in unmarked spots and unknown mass graves.
Remember the mass grave discovered in Iraq after the fall of Saddam? Dr. Ahmadinejad being smarter than Saddam, on January 25, 2009 ordered to demolish Khavaran cemetry and dig out the bones in order to get rid of the evidence. Click to see the facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khavaran_cemetery
If the above link is removed, search GOOGLE and type “Khavaran cemetery” to find multiple articles.
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri said regime doesn’t let the dead rest in peace. At least during Shah’s, they wouldn’t bother you once you were dead!
How low we humans can sink and how hate and fundamentalist view of the world based on ideologies and religions … Click for the article: http://www.eyeranian.net/2003/09/08,329.shtml
For how much longer the regime has to suppress a peaceful demonstration? How much longer the corruption within the system has to go on? How did Ayatollah Khamenei’s son “Mojtaba” acquired well over 10 Billions of dollars in which 1.6 Million are now frozen by British?
The regime has been rigging the so called election which is nothing but selection for years among themselves. This time the problem is the power struggle between Ayatollah Khamenei’s son and Rafsanjani.
Neda died on the streets to say “Fight for your basic human rights in a peaceful manner”.
You seem to think that there is something wrong if an Iranian in Iran talks about the reality and the fundamental rights of a vast majority living in their own country. Obviously, you have proven that you are one that does not believe in basic principles of sorting out differences at the ballot box, not in streets by burnging down shops (of other ordinary people) or banks.
Second, is it only in Iran when people get shot by the police in a riot?
Dr. Ali Ettefagh is right on the target and I for one have to say it is shameful if we allow this growing democracy to diminish all in the name of almighty dollar because this is what it all boils down to $$$.
Reading this article i cant help beleiving that this man is a paid agent of the bloody regime or at leat a regime sympetizer. his potetic claim of poeple who are fighting for freedom from a stone aged theocracy being mmembers of MKO is mind buggling. West should not and will not leave this brutal regime alone and should continiue supporting the freedom loving people of iran free themselves from tyrany.
"It is time for the world to realize that the Iranian political system is maturing.".
You are right Dr. Ettefagh. In fact, in maturing political systems, the state resorts to shooting at un-armed onlookers from roof tops. Perhaps you should provide this heartwarming comment of Iran maturing to the parents of Neda, the young woman who was killed by a sharpshooter.
By the way, your bio reads that you run an investment company active in emerging markets.
As a private equity professional, I would very much like to get a glimpse of your investor newsletters now that you are so laden with your unique logic. Would you invest in Iran as Iran is clearly maturing, irrespective of the bloodshed on the streets of Tehran.
please send a copy of this article to the White House, hopefully someone will read it.
I support more social and political freedom in Iran, and I clearly were put on high mental alert when I heard the US Neocons coming out in support of "democracy" movement in Iran.
When Cheney, Wolfowitz, Krauthammer, Kagan, etc, lean a certain way, we have to assess their Machiavelian intentions.
For got to ask you if the police have ever shot anyone in your country in a riot or public disorder type of situation? Say, in a town of 10+ million like Tehran? Remember L.A. riots a decade ago?
And do you know that the Iranian police were in fact using rubber bullets ONLY on the day Neda died? (even though she had defied the police orders not to gather where the violence happened)? You can figure out the rest, I hope...and there just "happened to be" some one with a camera right there and then to film the shooting of a person in the wrong place at the wrong time, eh?
You people think that Tiananmen Square is all of China, don't you?
Where you in Iran, or do you get your "information" from the same polluted, junk media reports that has been intellectually ripped off by questionable sources and in turn they ripp you off?
Second is, have you ever been in Iran? And how come there was no violence for month prior to the elections and even one week after the election results were announced? Any clues, dude?
Third, you probabaly think Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the perfect models to follow, eh? LOL, LOL....
The point is, if you don't know, sit down quietly and learn....
First it was the media but now it's the terrorist organization that duped the media. :)
The truly internal Iranian election problem is, according to Mr. Ettefagh caused by everything but election fraud and the will of people to be free of the constraints of a dictatorship. Rubbish!
Because of a free media the world can judge for itself by looking at the faces of the demonstrators, watching the government reaction and hearing the unbiased accounts that this statement is frankly a lie:
"...a democratic process is summarily trampled in favor of sensationalist views of the relative few troublemakers with a questionable past and foul intentions."
Neda had foul intentions? Amazing!
Now that the free media has been banned, communications controlled and the full cruelty of the government-paid militia turned onto the people without concern about transparency, of course Shah Khamenei will win the day. His selected "candidate" can continue to spew forth his divisive and ignorant words while the mullahs continue to use Palestinian and Lebanese lives to keep them in the forefront of politics in the region.
But I bet the clock is ticking on this musty old relic of a government and if the fractured governing elites don't soften the tyranny soon they can expect more from their people.
There is one consoling fact from the sham of the election, however, and that is that Ahmadinejad will be even less effective under the circumstances of the election farce whereas an intelligent freely elected President of Iran representing this dictatorship could have done far more damage to peace in the region. At least with Ahmadinejad honest and intelligent people know exactly what to expect. Like the regime we've seen it all before.
The fact remains that Iran had peaceful demonstrations up until 20 June and those demonstrations were allowed and tolerated by the government. There were also a number of street parties, rallies and campaign gatherings for 4 weeks prior to the election and that was all peaceful and there no violence, none!
But on 20 June, when mobs started burning shops, banks, buses and one mosque...it was evident that these are a completely different lot all together and not the ordinary people. Tehran is not a violent town, given the low level of crime for its population.
Add to this that some American companies that are trying to launch their (currently money losing business), namely Twitter and YouTube, are trying to promote themselves by using this hype....go figure!
The author of this article seems to think that the murder and beating of protesters is fine. English language signs in foreign country protests is not that surprising. English is the language of the internet and the language people in many countries can use to communicate with other countries. Obviously, the woman holding the "where is my vote?" sign wanted people abroad to read it and, since foreign reporters could read it, they published it. The people of Iran are tired of 20% unemployment, 20% inflation. They are tired of government leaders spending billions on Hamas and Hezbollah and nuclear technology instead of helping Iranians themselves. In civilized countries, mass protests and violent government crackdowns ARE newsworthy, even if you personally think they're no big deal.
You've conveniently left out the fact that it was 3,000,000 marchers per State TV's coverage. We have approximately 350 million Americans and there are approximately 70 million Iranians - That would mean we'd have to have a march of 15 million Americans to equal the size relatively speaking.
I can't imagine any decent leader loosing the hounds on his own citizens for any reason. Your "Supreme Leader" has joined some awful company.
It should also be pointed out that the xenophobic responses of the Iranian Government should be cause for reflection as they view the wastelands they've contributed to across their so-called 'sphere of influence'.
I hope your country finds peace. I hope it learns to let others do so as well.
Your patronizing tone reveals adherence to the ayatollahs' official line. We've heard the "subversive agitators" dodge in many another authoritarian regime's excuses.
If Iran's "democracy" is so "mature," why was it necessary for over 400 candidates for the presidency to be summarily rejected by theocratic dictators?
The Washington Post, Ignatius, and Zakaria should be ashamed for giving Ettefagh this opportunity to insult the intelligence of the citizens of the United States of America. It is he who will be receiving a stern lecture as events unfold.
What this doesn't explain is the roles of Iranian figures such as Mousavi or Rafsanjani. Are you charging these leaders of the Islamic revolution of being tools of the CIA?
I'm not naive about the MEK or the CIA, but your tale has too many omissions (the too-quick announcement and certification of election results) and loose ends to win me over. And your international business interests make you possibly susceptible to government pressure.
Dr. Ettefagh, I have always very much appreciated your contributions to PostGlobal.
It so happens that I have followed very closely this latest long prepared, meticulously planned and well-orchestrated campaign in the Western media (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese), and compared their so-called "coverage" to what appeared in Russian and Chinese media. I was indeed particularly interested in studying just HOW consent was being manufactured, literally day and night, this time around, here in the West.
Although it may be premature to conclude just yet, I wish to point out that evidently, for you to say that "the (English-language) media frenzy and its sensationalism has breached the limits of reality" is very much an understatement.
In those circumstances, your denunciation above I consider particularly courageous.
PostGlobal is an interactive conversation on global issues moderated by Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria and David Ignatius of The Washington Post. It is produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com, as is On Faith, a conversation on religion. Please send your comments, questions and suggestions for PostGlobal to Lauren Keane, its editor and producer.
All Comments (28)
@ Citizenofthepost-Americanworld
Yes, Mr. Radan exists and he is the deputy commander of national police of Iran. His reference to 400 police wounded ought to be taken at face value as many were throwing rocks at police or when they found them isolated, several rioters attacked a lone policeman and beat the man.
Overall, the disturbances were isolated in one day, although there has been a series of property damage incidences around the same area or two main streets leading to the main area, mostly broken glass of shops and damage to bank ATM machines. Only a few (less than 10) banks were burnt, but many suffered broken glass. Also many shops belonging to private people were destroyed and the goods were looted by rioters. And, yes, a large number of people (shop owners, ordinary people, residents in the area, etc.) filed formal complaints to the prosecutor's office and the police demanding the state to establish security for their homes and streets and businesses.
Overall, it was just one day (20
June/30 Khordad) plus two attempted repeats which was met with strong presence of police and they didn't gather. Now, every one can figure it out that it was organised and planned in advance for that particular day and it was just to divert the issue of elections, votes, etc.
July 4, 2009 4:28 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on July 4, 2009 04:28
Ordak100
I appreciate your reply and share your views as expressed in your last two paragraphs.
I am sorry to insist but I really want to try and get to the bottom of this, if at all possible.
Yesterday, after writing my note to you, and as I was trying to find (in vain!) the source of the reported death of scores of revolutionary guards in the recent disturbances (I did not dream that --- may have heard on the radio??...), I was brought back to this:
"Iran's deputy police commander, Ahmad-Reza Radan, said 400 police have been wounded since last Friday's vote.
He claimed 10,000 complaints have been been made, according to state-run Press TV. "They have called on the police to deal with rallies firmly," he said.
"The recent rallies destroyed 700 buildings, burst 300 banks into flame, damaged 300 cars and 300 public properties," Radan added."
As far as I know, this has been reported, word for word (or just about) in guardian.co.uk, at watching america via Pravda, Russia ("Genuine Protests or U.S. Plan to Destabilize Iran?"), etc. as you can see yourself by doing a quick google search.
I would like to know what you think we are to make of this.
Are you in a position to answer the following:
Does Ahmad-Reza Radan exist?
If so, who is he?
Did he ever say that?
If so, where and when did it get reported, in Iran?
What did he say, exactly, if anything?
Did "Press TV" say anything in this connection?
If so, when and in what terms?
Do you know any other official source, in Iran, that did report on this, specifically?
If so which one, when, and in what terms?
Thanks Ordak100
With best wishes always.
P.S. Anybody who can help is most welcome to come forward and do so.
July 2, 2009 9:10 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on July 2, 2009 09:10
@Citizenofthepost-Americanworld
What you mention might be in some one's imagination, perhaps the vilification campaign against Iran that has shifted location to another land to cover up traces of its origin. Alternatively, that source is fed wrong information or just stupid propaganda.
Iran is not completely closed to foreign reporters and there are still many based in Iran, including Washington Post and France Press and Al Jazeera and many others.
The figures released by Iranian news sources are more or less accurate because there is an intensive competition for news in various websites in Iran and it is not possible to report anything but the truth.
The numbers you mention are absurd. There were less than 50,000 people on 20 June/30 Khordad (Iranian calendar) and there was only a single day of violence where the troublemakers burnt a small mosque, broke windows of 22 banks and burnt down about 3-4 busses and about 100 rubbish bins and two or three shops. All of that was within one or two square kilometers in west of Tehran, in the area near Tehran University and the same area of the main/last street battle of MKO terrorists (as Dr. Ettefagh has outlined above).
They used young, uninformed people as fronts so they will be blamed, as the patterns were clear.
Prior to the election, there were peaceful and civilised marches and street protests, rallies with banners, etc. but nothing violent. It was good to see that young people are engaged in a healthy debate and talk about issues.
The story of Neda Aghasultan is also another strange one (and sad). In a riot, one person got shot (by unidentified people). But nobody says that if the police killed her, why only one person got shot in a riot? The fact is the police did not shoot her but it was just a setup to get the riot going....
The fact is that the so-called West has come to a point that it must negotiate and find a way to accept Iran and make a deal. That is due to the failures in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Iraq.
But somehow, and a few of these "Westerners" have decided to first fight a psychological war with Iran to posture themselves and get the upper hand. This mind game is stupid and foolish because the so-called western democratic countries cannot first talk about democracy and then insist on supporting riots at the same time. Can they?
July 2, 2009 4:19 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on July 2, 2009 04:19
ordak100,
I very much enjoy reading your posts.
Without taking too much of your time, I would appreciate some help from you, after having read you mention that "only 1 day, 30 Khordad/20 June, was a day of violence... and that day... was due to a street showdown of MKO near the University (and it was not all over town in a mass chaos)."
As you know, a report from Russia, which was translated and reproduced on Watching America, indicates that “the recent rallies destroyed 700 buildings, burst 300 banks into flame, damaged 300 cars and 300 public properties, and left more than 400 policemen injured”. I seem to remember that I saw, elsewhere (I just can't find out where, right now), that scores (?) of revolutionary guards were also killed and "secretly" (?) buried...
Are you in a position to tell us whether there is any substance to those statements? Evidently, I could not care less about the exact numbers as such, only about the scale of the destructions and casualties, if any.
Thanks ordak100.
All the best.
July 1, 2009 10:40 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on July 1, 2009 10:40
@SHIVEH
Forgot to say that only 1 day, 30 Khordad/20 June, was a day of violence in about 6 weeks of pre-election campaigns and that day, as the article of Dr. Ettefagh mentions, was due to a street showdown of MKO near the University (and it was not all over town in a mass chaos).
All other rallies and meetings were peaceful because they were ordinary Iranians that were talking, debating, celebrating with music and street parties etc. Iran is and will be for those ordinary peaceful majority, not a few violent crazy people that burned a few buses (which are no longer government owned and are owned by the drivers!). But again, CNN and CNN viewers have no clue about that, do they?
July 1, 2009 4:04 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on July 1, 2009 04:04
@SHIVEH
You are wrong on several fronts.
First, yes, I tend to agree with most of Dr. Ettefagh's views. I don't need a permit or license or approval from the mentally isolated people from "the other side of the ocean" to think what I want. Who cares what the other side of the ocean thinks?!
2nd: What is most important is that most Iranians, I mean to say all 72+ million of them that live in Iran, are living their own lives for themselves, in their own country, not to please the other side of the ocean or their views or colonialists. Again, who cares what a small number of Iranians abroad or foreigners think! If you go to middle of India or South Africa or Mexico or Brazil, they will tell you the same thing that they are living for themselves, not to please Americans that are less than 5% of world population!
3rd, when more than 80% of Iranians go to the polls and vote under the existing constitution and laws, about 40 million out of 48 million eligible voters (i.e adults), it means a vast majority have accepted their system as is, how it is. That is about as representative of a government and a republic as you can get. Therefore, it is no longer a "regime" (which is just trash talk labelling, it shows no decency or politeness).
4th, you bring up the issue of religion and the holy book. Gee, I guess Israel has fallen off the map and we don't know it yet, when they are insisting, violently, that their Semetic beginning was there before the other, Arab Semitic cousines and therefore they can bomb each other.... or that you forget that God and religion is just about everywhere in your beloved USA. The same religious society that you ridicule in Iran happens to have a much lower rate of crime and prisoners per million of population and has a more advanced stemcell research prgoram than "the other side of the ocean".
Finally, what has the other side of the ocean contributed to the lives of Iranian people, except for sanctions, shooting down the civilian IranAir jet, getting Saddam to attack and kill or injure one million Iranians with chemical weapons, stupid divide-and-dominate games, a coup to stop the last democractic movement of the Iranian people.....? All your beloved Yanks have done is to make life more difficult for ordinary Iranians.
Believe me, it is not just Dr. Ettefagh that makes these observations. There are millions, an absolute majority, that agree with him. But you isolated people in America think that there is only a lone voice such as Dr. Ettefagh.
Dream on, my friend, or perhaps I should say, wake up to reality or go back to your Iraqi cakewalk stories and keep yourselves entertained with hot air and cheap baloney.... many of us professionals here in Iran have seen the hollow west and have come back to our country and our land. All because we don't care what they say!
July 1, 2009 3:51 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on July 1, 2009 03:51
Ordak,
The regime in Iran is theocratic; it is not a democracy. On this side of the ocean people know the difference and it makes your arguments kind ‘a silly. See, when you have a litmus test for all of the laws of your country based on a book written by an Arab man for his society of 1400 years ago, then you have a rigid base independent of the will of the people. What follows is a system that hinders free will by screening thought for conformity. You are Mickey Mousing the democratic system of government by having an appointed council choosing who people can vote for. Then you try to force fit the laws needed to govern a 21st century society into a 7th century governing apparatus. That is why you have a “regime” not a “government”; live with it.
The brutality that your regime used to confront the demonstrators can not be justified by comparing what happened in Iran to what could happen in a democratic society. In a democracy people have peaceful avenues for dissent (like free press!); in theocratic Iran they don’t. Do not pick and choose events to justify the brutal crackdown either. Why a democratic government needs plain cloth goons with sticks to protect it? When goons did ever attacked college dormitories, killed college students (7 of them) and destroyed their property in a democratic government. Who is exactly the vandal here?
Why do you think your regime is so afraid of a national referendum? Wouldn’t it stop all talk of their illegitimacy?
Your posts closely follow the writings of Dr. Ettefag. I imagine that is where the name Ordak (Duck) comes from. As the actions of your regime are more indefensible your explanations become more bizarre. Since you are taking the role of his mouthpiece, you may want to explain why Dr. Ettefag has used half of his post trying to misrepresent the demands of the demonstrators by mentioning a hated terrorist group that had nothing to do with the uprising. No one mentioned Mujahidin in any of the reports coming from Iran because they were non-existent in that struggle and Dr. Ettefag should know that.
Although I rarely would agree with Dr. Ettefag, I could see a basic class and some decency in the writings. Not anymore - if it walks like a duck ….
July 1, 2009 12:28 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on July 1, 2009 00:28
@TOMMILLER1
So you answered my question that you are not in touch with Iran, the country were in this election cycle, the incumbent president dared to ask about people in government in the past 20-30 years about corruption, and he mentioned specific names like the family of Mr. Rafsanjani, still a powerful figure in Iran.
That is progress, openness and the essence of democracy and that is also something that didn't happen 4 or 8 years ago during the previous election cycles in Iran.
There were daily gathering of people and their rallies in Tehran for more than a month, all peaceful and all without incident. No police to be seen. But on Sat. 20th June, it was different--different people, different moods, very violent when they started breaking bank windows and setting shops on fire. That is chaos and facsism, not democracy by any stretch of imagination and when push comes to shove, it must be stopped, cracked and peace restored, be it in Honduras or in Sweden.
Finally, it is time for you Americans to realise that when 40 out of 48 million people turn out and vote under the rules, it is no longer a "regime", but a legitimate, respectable governing system. And it is not going to change because a few Yanks don't like it. Perhaps the Yanks ought to learn to live with reality!
June 30, 2009 11:21 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 30, 2009 11:21
In my opinion injustice stands alone. It has nothing to do with inflated body count comparisons and honest people looking for the truth, not partisan defense-at-all-costs recognize that clearly.
It's obvious to me that Bush's Iraq War was wrong in many ways - bad for Iraqis as well as America. Iranian meddling there didn't contribute much good to the situation either. It's also obvious to me, however, that this has absolutely nothing to do with a discussion of the validity of Iran's elections or post-election handling of protestors.
There is good and bad in all countries because nations are nothing more than a collection of human beings with all of their imperfections.
No country on earth is criticized more readily than the U.S., sometimes for good reason and many times for no reason other than a cover for incompetent or dishonest politicans in other states.
I believe in democracy. We have a new president in this country, freely elected because the American people voted for change. The main goal of all dictatorships seems to be to perpetuate themselves and a common thread is always shutting off free contrary debate and blaming others.
Dictatorships do not seek to improve; they and their apologists seek to defend their elite privileged positions in society at any cost.
June 30, 2009 9:36 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 30, 2009 09:36
This TOMHASANI poster is typical of Iranians abroad that are out of touch with reality. Moreover, America is such a closed society, almost totally isolated from the realities of the rest of the word and....no wonder such warped information comes out of his comments.
The Khavaran Cemetery is the new name for the old MESGARABAD, the old Tehran Cemetery on the Mashhad Road in southeast Tehran, prior to start of Beheshte Zahra in the southwest, which started about 40 years ago and all other regional cemeteries were closed down, based on a master plan of Tehran. As the main cemetery of Tehran is now full, a new one is planned for the same direction, but further out of town. The land is still owned by the municipality and can be reused.
Shiite tradition is such that cemetery and burial plots can be reused or redeveloped after passage of 30 years. The Khavaran Cemetery has been closed for longer than such period and it is now within limits of the ever growing metropolis of Tehran.
It is also common knowledge that:
a) in Tehran that a specific section of the main Tehran cemetery is designated for terrorists and troublemakers ("La'anat Abad" is the slang reference for it) and
b) Degradation of human remains down to bones takes at least 25 years, hence it has nothing to do with Ahmadinejad & Co.; and
c) The fact of mass execution of troublemakers and political prisoners in fact dates back to the days when the West's beloved Mr. Mousavi was prime minister! Go figure dude....
So, I guess the writer of this article and his facts about people (and foreign press) being duped by semi-informed and ill-willed people is quite correct!
I think we will next have Forest Gump's comments posted on Iranian affairs!!!!
June 30, 2009 3:29 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 30, 2009 03:29
TOMHASANI:
In your capacity as a proud Iranian/American, what is your say on the US government massacres, destruction, abuse, torture and brutality that were committed in Iraq?
Are you telling us that the Iranian government killed more than the US government did within few weeks after the invasion?
Iraqbodycount.com (run by two individuals) has documented nearly 20,000 civilians deaths within 6 weeks of the invasion and little after Bush declared Mission Accomplished under the cheer of the media and officials.
All of Baghdad's basic infrastructure was bombed and destroyed: bridges, power grids, communication networks, water systems, main roads cut off from the city and so forth.
Do you know how many elderly or sick people died in Baghdad during those weeks of terror because they couldn't reach a functioning hospital?
Do you know how many women died in labor because they couldn't reach a hospital under the curfews imposed by the illegitimate occupation?
I am not sure I understand what you are trying to do here:
Turn Iran into another violent imperialist country like the US has become by upgrading the turbans into ties and suits?
June 29, 2009 11:25 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 29, 2009 23:25
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri was right when he said you have to be nuts to think the election was legit.
June 29, 2009 2:52 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 29, 2009 14:52
Dr. Ali Ettefagh,
I am disappointed to see that you are attempting to blame the current peacefull demonstration to MEK or others to justify regime action against their own people. I am not a pro MEK and never will be simply because their ideas are similar to Mullahs, that is Islamic fanatic. I respect Islam teaching as I am a muslim too. But we need to have a separation of state and church in Iran.
Since you mentioned MEK, my heart goes to families of those who have been killed unjustly. I urge you to GOOGLE "Khavaran cemetery" to see it for yourself.
As a proud American/Iranian, I want to ensure my vote is counted. But, I am afraid in an attempt to conceal another massacre, Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets.
You are well aware of the fact that Islamic Republic of IRAN had executed prisoners already convicted and while serving their sentences! Then, dump them in unmarked spots and unknown mass graves.
Remember the mass grave discovered in Iraq after the fall of Saddam? Dr. Ahmadinejad being smarter than Saddam, on January 25, 2009 ordered to demolish Khavaran cemetry and dig out the bones in order to get rid of the evidence. Click to see the facts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khavaran_cemetery
If the above link is removed, search GOOGLE and type “Khavaran cemetery” to find multiple articles.
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri said regime doesn’t let the dead rest in peace. At least during Shah’s, they wouldn’t bother you once you were dead!
How low we humans can sink and how hate and fundamentalist view of the world based on ideologies and religions … Click for the article:
http://www.eyeranian.net/2003/09/08,329.shtml
For how much longer the regime has to suppress a peaceful demonstration? How much longer the corruption within the system has to go on? How did Ayatollah Khamenei’s son “Mojtaba” acquired well over 10 Billions of dollars in which 1.6 Million are now frozen by British?
The regime has been rigging the so called election which is nothing but selection for years among themselves. This time the problem is the power struggle between Ayatollah Khamenei’s son and Rafsanjani.
Neda died on the streets to say “Fight for your basic human rights in a peaceful manner”.
June 29, 2009 11:51 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 29, 2009 11:51
@CYRUSM
You seem to think that there is something wrong if an Iranian in Iran talks about the reality and the fundamental rights of a vast majority living in their own country. Obviously, you have proven that you are one that does not believe in basic principles of sorting out differences at the ballot box, not in streets by burnging down shops (of other ordinary people) or banks.
Second, is it only in Iran when people get shot by the police in a riot?
June 29, 2009 4:51 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 29, 2009 04:51
Dr. Ali Ettefagh is right on the target and I for one have to say it is shameful if we allow this growing democracy to diminish all in the name of almighty dollar because this is what it all boils down to $$$.
June 28, 2009 11:42 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 28, 2009 23:42
Reading this article i cant help beleiving that this man is a paid agent of the bloody regime or at leat a regime sympetizer. his potetic claim of poeple who are fighting for freedom from a stone aged theocracy being mmembers of MKO is mind buggling. West should not and will not leave this brutal regime alone and should continiue supporting the freedom loving people of iran free themselves from tyrany.
June 28, 2009 10:45 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 28, 2009 22:45
"It is time for the world to realize that the Iranian political system is maturing.".
You are right Dr. Ettefagh. In fact, in maturing political systems, the state resorts to shooting at un-armed onlookers from roof tops. Perhaps you should provide this heartwarming comment of Iran maturing to the parents of Neda, the young woman who was killed by a sharpshooter.
By the way, your bio reads that you run an investment company active in emerging markets.
As a private equity professional, I would very much like to get a glimpse of your investor newsletters now that you are so laden with your unique logic. Would you invest in Iran as Iran is clearly maturing, irrespective of the bloodshed on the streets of Tehran.
Nicholas Gilani
June 28, 2009 2:21 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 28, 2009 14:21
Dr. Ettefagh,
please send a copy of this article to the White House, hopefully someone will read it.
I support more social and political freedom in Iran, and I clearly were put on high mental alert when I heard the US Neocons coming out in support of "democracy" movement in Iran.
When Cheney, Wolfowitz, Krauthammer, Kagan, etc, lean a certain way, we have to assess their Machiavelian intentions.
June 27, 2009 5:59 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 27, 2009 17:59
@ TOMMILLER1
For got to ask you if the police have ever shot anyone in your country in a riot or public disorder type of situation? Say, in a town of 10+ million like Tehran? Remember L.A. riots a decade ago?
And do you know that the Iranian police were in fact using rubber bullets ONLY on the day Neda died? (even though she had defied the police orders not to gather where the violence happened)? You can figure out the rest, I hope...and there just "happened to be" some one with a camera right there and then to film the shooting of a person in the wrong place at the wrong time, eh?
You people think that Tiananmen Square is all of China, don't you?
June 26, 2009 6:19 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 26, 2009 06:19
@ TOM MILLER1
Where you in Iran, or do you get your "information" from the same polluted, junk media reports that has been intellectually ripped off by questionable sources and in turn they ripp you off?
Second is, have you ever been in Iran? And how come there was no violence for month prior to the elections and even one week after the election results were announced? Any clues, dude?
Third, you probabaly think Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the perfect models to follow, eh? LOL, LOL....
The point is, if you don't know, sit down quietly and learn....
June 26, 2009 6:08 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 26, 2009 06:08
First it was the media but now it's the terrorist organization that duped the media. :)
The truly internal Iranian election problem is, according to Mr. Ettefagh caused by everything but election fraud and the will of people to be free of the constraints of a dictatorship. Rubbish!
Because of a free media the world can judge for itself by looking at the faces of the demonstrators, watching the government reaction and hearing the unbiased accounts that this statement is frankly a lie:
"...a democratic process is summarily trampled in favor of sensationalist views of the relative few troublemakers with a questionable past and foul intentions."
Neda had foul intentions? Amazing!
Now that the free media has been banned, communications controlled and the full cruelty of the government-paid militia turned onto the people without concern about transparency, of course Shah Khamenei will win the day. His selected "candidate" can continue to spew forth his divisive and ignorant words while the mullahs continue to use Palestinian and Lebanese lives to keep them in the forefront of politics in the region.
But I bet the clock is ticking on this musty old relic of a government and if the fractured governing elites don't soften the tyranny soon they can expect more from their people.
There is one consoling fact from the sham of the election, however, and that is that Ahmadinejad will be even less effective under the circumstances of the election farce whereas an intelligent freely elected President of Iran representing this dictatorship could have done far more damage to peace in the region. At least with Ahmadinejad honest and intelligent people know exactly what to expect. Like the regime we've seen it all before.
June 25, 2009 4:40 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 25, 2009 16:40
The fact remains that Iran had peaceful demonstrations up until 20 June and those demonstrations were allowed and tolerated by the government. There were also a number of street parties, rallies and campaign gatherings for 4 weeks prior to the election and that was all peaceful and there no violence, none!
But on 20 June, when mobs started burning shops, banks, buses and one mosque...it was evident that these are a completely different lot all together and not the ordinary people. Tehran is not a violent town, given the low level of crime for its population.
Add to this that some American companies that are trying to launch their (currently money losing business), namely Twitter and YouTube, are trying to promote themselves by using this hype....go figure!
June 25, 2009 11:45 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 25, 2009 11:45
The author of this article seems to think that the murder and beating of protesters is fine. English language signs in foreign country protests is not that surprising. English is the language of the internet and the language people in many countries can use to communicate with other countries. Obviously, the woman holding the "where is my vote?" sign wanted people abroad to read it and, since foreign reporters could read it, they published it. The people of Iran are tired of 20% unemployment, 20% inflation. They are tired of government leaders spending billions on Hamas and Hezbollah and nuclear technology instead of helping Iranians themselves. In civilized countries, mass protests and violent government crackdowns ARE newsworthy, even if you personally think they're no big deal.
June 25, 2009 9:07 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 25, 2009 09:07
Dr. Ettefagh,
You've conveniently left out the fact that it was 3,000,000 marchers per State TV's coverage. We have approximately 350 million Americans and there are approximately 70 million Iranians - That would mean we'd have to have a march of 15 million Americans to equal the size relatively speaking.
I can't imagine any decent leader loosing the hounds on his own citizens for any reason. Your "Supreme Leader" has joined some awful company.
It should also be pointed out that the xenophobic responses of the Iranian Government should be cause for reflection as they view the wastelands they've contributed to across their so-called 'sphere of influence'.
I hope your country finds peace. I hope it learns to let others do so as well.
June 24, 2009 10:02 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 24, 2009 22:02
Your patronizing tone reveals adherence to the ayatollahs' official line. We've heard the "subversive agitators" dodge in many another authoritarian regime's excuses.
If Iran's "democracy" is so "mature," why was it necessary for over 400 candidates for the presidency to be summarily rejected by theocratic dictators?
The Washington Post, Ignatius, and Zakaria should be ashamed for giving Ettefagh this opportunity to insult the intelligence of the citizens of the United States of America. It is he who will be receiving a stern lecture as events unfold.
June 24, 2009 8:40 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 24, 2009 20:40
Ah, it's all a conspiracy.
What this doesn't explain is the roles of Iranian figures such as Mousavi or Rafsanjani. Are you charging these leaders of the Islamic revolution of being tools of the CIA?
I'm not naive about the MEK or the CIA, but your tale has too many omissions (the too-quick announcement and certification of election results) and loose ends to win me over. And your international business interests make you possibly susceptible to government pressure.
Best wishes for the people of Iran,
Shalom, In'shAllah
June 24, 2009 7:28 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 24, 2009 19:28
The only sensible article I have read about Iran
June 24, 2009 3:23 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 24, 2009 15:23
Dr. Ettefagh, I have always very much appreciated your contributions to PostGlobal.
It so happens that I have followed very closely this latest long prepared, meticulously planned and well-orchestrated campaign in the Western media (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese), and compared their so-called "coverage" to what appeared in Russian and Chinese media. I was indeed particularly interested in studying just HOW consent was being manufactured, literally day and night, this time around, here in the West.
Although it may be premature to conclude just yet, I wish to point out that evidently, for you to say that "the (English-language) media frenzy and its sensationalism has breached the limits of reality" is very much an understatement.
In those circumstances, your denunciation above I consider particularly courageous.
With best wishes to you and the people of Iran.
Regards.
June 24, 2009 12:43 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Posted on June 24, 2009 12:43