Babak Namdar

The fact that the Voice of Islamic Republic, er - sorry - Voice of America has been censoring Iranian opposition figures is not exactly news.

I remember when I was on their show as an IT expert they wouldn’t even introduce me as ‘Babak Namdar from Marze Por Gohar’ citing that the show was about technology and not politics.  If you are scratching your head wondering what that has to do with me being a member of MPG you are not alone.  The discussion of filtering software to prevent open communication is very a political matter.

Even the screenshots they had requested, which I stayed up late to furnish were not used - why?  Because I had watermarked MPG’s logo on them.

Ken Timmerman from Foundation for Democracy in Iran has written a great piece about VOA and censorship, and to what extent VOA is going to ensure MPG’s activities do not get mentioned and if they do that they strip the name MPG from it.

Here’s a excerpt:

Voice of America purposefully omited the name of the opposition Marzeporgohar party in its TV and radio reporting, or on its website. ” Iran’s official news agency says two photographers detained earlier this month have been accused of new links with an unnamed movement seeking the overthrow of the Iranian regime,” VOA reported. In fact, the official IRNA dispatch, quoted here, specifically mentioned Marzeporgohar (MPG)

Read the full story here

During the 1978 revolution there was one slogan which encompassed the ideals of the revolution:

Esteghlal, Azadi, Jomhourie Eslami which translated means “Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic”.

Therefore, when Iranians use the same slogan and drop the “Islamic Republic” and instead ask for a “Iranian Republic” or more accurately Republic of Iran, this has carries great significance.

What it means is that, it’s now more clear then ever that what MPG has advocated for all these years is finally reaching the masses and the masses have accepted Marze Por Gohar’s message and nationalistic ideology.

Many years ago, when MPG’s branches outside Iran first became active, we said religion and state must be separated people would give us a blank stare, and occasionally laughing at us.

Reformists reiterated over and over that Iranians like the theocracy, they want religion to dictate how Iranians should live their lives.

Monarchists would mock us saying that if Iranians really had their way they would restore the monarchy.

Many said Iranians are too religious to even be able to comprehend separation of state and religion, insinuating that Iranians inside Iran are basically too dump.

And yet they were wrong.

It should be obvious from the thousands of video, images, interviews and other media that Iranians want a non-religious republican form of government.

In the video below which was taken on July 30, 2009 you can hear Iranians shouting:

Esteghlal, Azadi, Jomhourie Irani which translated means Independence, Freedom, Iranian Republic.

The following is a translation of an article published on IRNA’s website.

http://www.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=601916

IRNA, July 25, 2009 at 11:55:20 Tehran time; Item code: 601916

PRESS CONFERENCE BY AMERICAN ELEMENTS INVOLVED IN TEHRAN’S RECENT RIOTS

Roozbeh Farahanipour, Chairman of “Marz-e Por Gohar” group [MPG Party], one of the July 9, ’99 anarchists, held a press conference last Monday to describe the details of his trip to Tehran and his presence among the rioters.

Roozbeh Farahanipour who was the leader of the so-called student groups in the July 9th event of 1999 [18 Tir], traveled to Iran on the tenth anniversary of this event [University Row, in Farsi: "Ku-ye Daneshgah"] to join the ranks of the rioters and protestors rejecting the results of the tenth presidential elections, IRNA reports.

This press conference was held at “The Museum of Tolerance” in collaboration with the “Simon Wiesenthal” Center in LA. In an astonishing move, this center has set up on its website a page for Iranian citizens, asking them to post whether they voted for Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad or Mir Hosseyn Mousavi in the presidential elections.

This US center has set September 15th as the deadline for participation in this “election”, the opening day of the sixty fourth UN General Assembly in NY. It appears that these parties intend to cause a commotion and create a disturbance during the probable trip by the IR of Iran’s President to NY to partake in the UN General Assembly and are already planning it with help from their American friends.

End of news item / Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) / Item Code: 601916

It seems the international media are of the opinion that if you’re protesting then you must be pro-Mousavi.

Here are some pictures with their respective captions labelling protests as pro-Mousavi.  There are many more then the pictures I’ve cited here, but this is just to give an idea about the spin media are putting on protests in Iran.  I wouldn’t doubt it if they have pictures from this years July 9 uprising (18 tir) with a caption claiming protests support Mousavi.

Perhaps AFP thinks anyone who is out on the streets protesting against the regime is actually pro-regime… er I mean pro-Mousavi.

Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi throw stones at Iranian police during a violent demonstration in Tehran on June 20. Iranian opposition leaders have called for the immediate release of hundreds of people arrested in a crackdown on post-election protests and denounced the “brutal attacks” by security forces.(AFP/File)

Supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi run past a burning bus in Tehran. Mousavi plans to unveil a new political grouping which will keep up a protest campaign against last month’s disputed presidential election, an aide said on Wednesday. (AFP/File/Olivier Laban-Mattei)

Again, the same formula is used:

Protester = supporter of regime reformists

A supporter of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi holds a stone as he stands with fellow demonstrators during riots in Tehran in June 2009. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday renewed a limited US offer to talk with Iran despite its post-election crackdown and defended the principle of engaging anti-American regimes. (AFP/File/Olivier Laban-Mattei)

How can someone holding the Lion & Sun flag be branded pro-Mousavi?  Mousavi is a creature of the regime, he is by no-means anti-regime having served as the regime’s prime minister.  It is therefore difficult to understand how an icon for resistance like the Lion & Sun flag can be associated with the Islamic Republic reformist to which Mousavi subscribes to.  Difficult to comprehend for you and I, but not for Associated Press.

Demonstrators wave Iranian flags outside the Iranian embassy in Brussels, Saturday June 27, 2009, protesting the outcome of the presidential election in Iran. The demonstrators are expressing solidarity with Iranian opposition leader Hossein Mousavi. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

LOS ANGELES, July 16, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ —-As the first wave of the Iranian movement characterized by huge mass rallies in June, receded following violent crackdown of IRI forces, a new wave of nationwide protests engulfed the country.

On July 9th as the whole country was almost shut down by an unprecedented deployment of Revolutionary Guards, riot police, the Basseej Islamic Militia and foreign terrorists training in Iran, tens of thousands of courageous young Iranians defied and surprised the regime by staging sporadic hit and run demonstrations in numerous Iranian cities and in particular in Tehran, Esfehan, Kermanshah and other cities. These series of demonstrations succeeded in attracting the participation of hundreds of thousands of other people along the routes who joined in the chants, encouraged the youth and even saved many from the hands of the evil forces.

Last week the revolutionary Guards announced that they were in charge of the country’s security. The regime , under the pretext of a sandstorm affecting parts of the country, had shut down schools and government offices encouraging close to a million to evacuate Tehran and millions to stay indoors. The government had also closed off all university grounds and dormitories, hoping to turn the capital city into and abandoned occupied city with major concentrations of storm troopers and network of spies. The large gaps left out due to lack of forces, revealed the regime’s weakness and provided opportunities for thousands to stage protests in unoccupied parts of the city, with minimum casualties and number of arrests. These demonstrations were frequently assaulted by riot forces who only succeeded in “dispersing” crowds to a different location. Democracy activists acquired tactical experience and organizational skills for their next round of protests by the end of July around the time of the selected president Ahmadinejad’s appointment to a second term.

Roozbeh Farahanipour is out of Iran following his entry into his beloved country earlier through free borders, exercising his right to participate in the democratic movement and contributing to the quality and the organizational aspects of the patriotic and secular parts of the youth movement. Mass singing of the patriotic anthem “O’Iran”(Ey Iran , Ey Marze Por Gohar) and demands for genuinely free and fair elections and freedom for the country have been encouraged by Marze Por Gohar party and on occasion were led by MPG activists. Such slogans and anthems have been discouraged in Iran, including by the so called reformist camp who have ordered their followers to separate their ranks from those of anti regime forces. In the meantime, even pro Moussavi crowds have picked up such slogans and have slowly inched closer to towards the Iranian opposition.

Leaders of patriotic and secular parties in Iran with whom Roozbeh Farahanipour has been ideologically associated had all been placed under surveillance hoping to ensnare Roozbeh if he tried to establish contact, and for preventing them from affecting the street protests in any way. Roozbeh avoided all such contacts and was able to evade security forces. In the meantime a number of regime agents in Los Angeles and agents calling from Tehran under different guises have attempted to find his location through his associates in California.

The MPG will issue statements and hold a press conference upon the return of Roozbeh Farahanipour to the US next week.

FOX Business

Here’s a very informative interview with Faryar Nikbakht, with a brief history of opposition leader Roozbeh Farahanipour.

Here’s a an excerpt:

With the uprising taking place in Iran, I obviously don’t have a whole lot of time to write.

For the time being visit http://livestream.com/marzeporgohar to see mpg and related videos.

Iran will be free!

Very interesting.

When there is talk of Iranian opposition being helped financially that’s bad - very very bad; but when reformists want to receive financial backing it’s good - very very good.

FDI has a great write-up of the developments taking place to the run-up of the Islamic Republic’s [s]election.

Here’s a excerpt:

According to Saeed Behbehani of MihanTV, a U.S. government emissary met in Dubai two weeks ago with Mehdi Khazali, campaign manager for Mir Hossein Mousavi, bringing assurances of U.S. government support for his campaign. So far, organizations such as “One Million Signatures” inside Iran, which is funded through NGO’s getting State Department fnding, have been mobilized in favor of Mousavi in the election. For 30 years, Iranian women have been knocking their heads on the doors of Western “feminist” organizations, seeking - if not help, at least sympathy. Until now, they have been given the brush-off. But with a “reformist” in the White House, “reformists” in Iran have access s to campaign war chests, VOA Persian Service, National Endowment for Democracy grants, and more.

Frontpage magazine conducted a very interesting and detailed interview with Roozbeh Farahanipour, head of Marze Por Gohar Party.

I recommend everyone read it as it contains information that’s rarely, if ever, disclosed about the regime’s [s]elections.

One specific piece I liked, since the American government is turning a blind eye to illegal activities the Islamic Republic is conducting within the United States:

The regime tries to have it both ways: they try to discredit Iranians living outside of Iran who support boycotting by claiming they [boycott supporters] are detached and out of touch, while at the same time they provide logistical support to pro-regime entities living outside Iran to help promote the elections.  The latter is in fact illegal: it is illegal for the Islamic Republic to place ballot boxes in foreign states with which it has no official relations.  Meaning, it is illegal for the Islamic Republic to place ballot boxes in the Unites States and count the votes cast here in the states for the elections in Iran.

But hey, Obama wants to engage the Islamic Republic, so it’s okay if the Islamic Republic breaks American laws within America.