OPEN LETTER

Mehdi

You state that the US prison population is 7 million. Prove it (it is large but not 7 million). Where do you live? In IRI? I though Iranian.com was blocked there. Why have you chosen to live outside the IRI? How many people are stoned to death in the US? How many people are flogged? How many of its own citizens has the US executed since 1979? How many has IRI executed? You can criticize the leader of the US without censorship and not fear imprisonment. Why are people who criticize Khamenei jailed? Why is IRI's GDP per capita lower than that of Botswana and Gabon, despite 31 years of high oil prices (much more oil revenue than the Shah's government earned). What was the right direction that IRI was headed in? Was the Leader Khamenei going to stand for popular election after being put in power by a bunch of akhoonds (aka "mojtaheds") back in 1989). Why do you criticize "riots" in Iran now when IRI came to power through much bigger riots and burning of over 400 people to death in the Cinema rex?

vildemose: ""small set of stats tucked

There are over 7,000,000 individuals in prison in the US. The US has the highest number of people in jail! The youth regularly commit brutal school shootings. If any of these was happening in Iran, would you not immediately and strongly attribute ALL of that to "the regime?" So which country has the highest number of youth killed? Does it matter how they were killed? So, you must realize that the statistics that you are referring to, assuming accurate, are not presented properly in comparison to the rest of the world. The western "human rights" organizations are blind to the whole picture and only concentrate on what they consider is bad for human rights. Their own utter failures have been very well justified. One cannot ignore these facts. One more thing, almost all those youth who are executed in Iran, could be released IF the PEOPLE involved were to forgive them. So it is a misrepresentation to say that IRI executes them. In fact it is the PEOPLE that DEMAND such executions otherwise the government has no interest.

Green is stopping progress

It was in fact the regime that opened up just before the elections and allowed discussing most of the taboo issues. But it was the Green that started to abuse the newly provided freedom. They used it to start riots and destruction. They used the disclosed information in order to get more sanctions against Iran. So Iran was going in the right direction but the Green did not allow it. 

This is what happens when people blindly follow a mob that has no leader, no clear goals, no strategy or rules of play - nothing. For the sake of progress in Iran, the Green must be stopped.

To Niloufar and Bonny & Clyde

Bonny and Clyde, you are very dear, loft dari.

To dear Niloufar: Mrs.Ebadi may have been agianst those who had left the country, but lets put it this way: she stayed and helped in Iran more than any of us.Her office being attacked, her work being disturbed, her husband being harrased, herself being in prison, and finally the minimun (really I mean it)symbolic prize for the international aknowledgement of what she had done was stolen. 

Every time I listened to her talks outside Iran I was wondering how  this woman is going back at all and she did.

People change and that is acceptable-for me-she can hlep more from outside Iran at this point. What good would it do to any of us Iranians if she would have been killed in Iran? I am glad she is safe, I am gald we are all safe outside Iran.

As to asking for International help, with all the shortcomings that the world(East and West) and its justice system and the UN and the EU and the international media has, I believe we are so interconnected and we need to help each other and we need to ask for help whenever human rights are endangered anywhere.

amir1973

all i can say is that every effort counts. khamenei may be able to block reforms now but he won't last for ever. student demonstrations at khatami's time were smaller than the recent unrests. at some point the regime will have to give. i happen to believe that foreign sanctions and interference is more likely to delay this than help it.

قطره قطره سیل گردد 

""small set of stats tucked

""small set of stats tucked away in Maziar Bahari’s article on Iran – published in the New Statesmen shortly before it became an Islamist toilet

//www.newstatesman.com/asia/2008/09/iran-ahmadinejad-government

the figures mentioned are all underestimates but the last one caught my eye as I was rereading the article.

REPRESSION: THE NUMBERS
85 juvenile offenders on death row. Iran is the world’s most prolific executioner of under-18s

30,000 estimated number of political prisoners

100 lashes given to a woman found guilty of adultery in August

500,000 rials (£30) – the fine for women who do not observe Islamic dress in public.

The average monthly salary is £106

317 people were executed in 2007, including six juvenile offenders

11 years’ imprisonment: sentence imposed on a journalist for founding the Human Rights Organisation of Kurdistan

Isn’t Islamic justice a beautiful thing.

Niloufar: except reform isn't a viable path either

In 31 years of IRI, the peak of its "reform period" was under Khatami when the dictatorial powers of the unelected clergy and their executioners (aka Pasdaram) were not touched to any significant extent, where huge restrictions on personal and poliitical freedoms remained intact, and where the murder and torture of political opponents continued. Why keep trying the same approach when it has faced failure time after time? Do you think Khamenei and his gang will ever allow any meaningful reform? Why would they? 

amir1973

thanks for the comment. in the past 40 years many dictatorships have been overturned. some through violence and some through more peaceful means. the soviets (peace), yugoslavia (war), indonesia (mix), lebanon (war), mongolia (peace), south africa (mix), spain (peace), chile (peace), nicaragua (war), south korea (peace), thailand (peace), zambia (peace) and liberia (war) come to mind. sometimes the death of a dictator would stimulate the transition, like in spain after Franco. in the case of zambia, kaunda succumbed to the wishes of the opposition due to economic hardship. but where i would diasagree with you is only this: iranians do not appear ready to challenge this regime violently. so the only viable path at the moment is reform.

Niloufar: reform is even more unrealistic than regime change

I, for one, won't claim that the Murderous Regime is facing its last days or on the verge of collapse. Thus far, the same combination of intimidation, censorship, informants, torture, repression, killing, jailing, bribery, help from abroad, and demagoguery that has kept other Third World tinpot dictatorships afloat will also keep the Democratic People's Islamic Republic afloat for the foreseeable future. However, even more farfetched than the notion of imminent regime change is the delusion that the IRI is reformable in any fundamental sense. You would think that 31 years of killing and jailing would have taught advocates of "reform" that.

VPK:The War Camp in Death

VPK:

//www.campaigniran.org/CASMII/index.php?q=node/5046

vpk: Just check out

vpk: Just check out CASMII's website.

Kaveh Afrasiabi is on the board of advisory...

Cyrus Safdari: He is the editor of news for Caspian affairs or something like that headquartered in Tehran and he is allowed to spread propagnda without ever disclosing his connection to IRI...

It's amazing how many quisling we have to deal with... 

VPK rahm kon baba!

you are way over the top dude. i understand your frustration. but consider this: why is the opposition unable to take effective peaceful action, like a general strike?

many of us here, including myself, got into a 'revolutionary mood' for a while after last year's elections. but in the period since the turn of events appear to support the analysis of those who see the green movement as a minority one without much public support. so far at least, the movement has not been a total success. more like a good step in the right direction.

in the midst of so much bravado here for a revolution in iran, with a sudden intensification of iran's international isolation, and with a brutal suppression of dissent in iran, it is hard to come out and say the inevitable: the movement appears to have inadequate support among people in iran. there does not seem to be an appetite for revolution.

this does not mean that the people support the regime. on the contrary, the regime's brutality has been exposed once again for all to see. shirin and trita are on the right track. the focus abroad has to move from the nuclear issue to the human rights one instead. this would be helpful to the people and has real support among the opposition. the nuclear issue doesn't.

but there is a certain faction that seems to be screaming for revolution from outside the country. i have some doubts about this approach. you belong to this group, and you are particularly virulent and OTT with your claims, insults and accusations against fellow iranians such as me. perhaps it would be better to reconsider this approach VPK. we can discuss these issues in a civil way too.

vpk

not only some of these posers pretend to be with green movement, they like to pass themselves as women.  there are four i can think of: niloufar, irandokht, mehrnaz, and jahelo.  if i were to believe iranian expat women are passionate about survival of velayat faghih, then i would beleive that there is a group of african americans trying to join the kkk.  "her" contempt for shirin ebadi is obvious and "she" just can't hide "her" giddiness of how the thugs prevented ordinary citizens to come out and protest.  these posers want to portray a spectrum of people who for different reasons like the vf to survive and thrive.

Mehdi

You and I have discussed this before on the web site. How can you ask something of someone that you are not willing to do yourself.

It is sooooo easy to pass judgement and say this person should have done this and that.  If you want someone to step up to the plate then you need to be willing to stand next to them.

Whether you like it or not she has put herself and everything she has on the line. Can you say the  same?

Niloufar

on a different note, we have to admit that 22 bahman showed a
surprisingly muted response from the opposition movement. there is not
enough support within iran for a major challenge to the government of
ahmadinejad, let alone the regime. i am not denying that repression
blocked opposition rallies, but as they say: where there is a will,
there is a way. the will was not there. this could change, but for now
at least, it seems we are stuck with ahmadinejad.

You cannot contain your joy at IRR's success in repressing the democracy movement. What are people supposed to do: get out in the streets just to get shot? Then taken from hospital to jail to be raped? Big surprise they chose to "fight another day". IRR uses the same tactics as Stalin and Mao and for now they have the upper hand. They are about as loved as the communist leaders were. Once the east block was freed we saw how much support they really had.

As for Ahmadinejad: we; me or you are not stuck with him. It is the poor souls inside Iran who are. And you know as well as I do that AN is nothing. The real power is in the hands of the military dictatorship known as IRR. 

Go ahead and make fun of Iranian people's desire for freedom. Go ahead and mock them. Have your fun for now. Meanwhile take advantage of all that the evil imperialist west has to offer.

parvaneh jan

totally agree with you. very well put.

i don't know if you have read shirin's autobiography. in it, she was highly critical of iranians who had left the country. i felt guilty for being an exile while reading it! for her to leave and appeal for support from international organizations against iran is really something. it indicates just how unbearable the situation has become for any opponent with a strong voice.

on a different note, we have to admit that 22 bahman showed a surprisingly muted response from the opposition movement. there is not enough support within iran for a major challenge to the government of ahmadinejad, let alone the regime. i am not denying that repression blocked opposition rallies, but as they say: where there is a will, there is a way. the will was not there. this could change, but for now at least, it seems we are stuck with ahmadinejad.

Peace

Ms. Ebadi, Your address is wrong...

Once again, Ms. Ebadi shows her misplaced assumptions regarding the obvious role she has to play in the ongoing history of Iran. That and what possible good has the lousy Nobel done her?

Madam. When are you going to finally get it through your head, that you should have run for President, and like MLK and Gandhi and Mandela, walked hand in hand, and arm in arm AT THE VERY FRONT of the protest marches (unlike the original IRI stooge, and now proven cowardly assinine idiot Moussavi, who only came out when he saw the throngs calling for him, and hasn't been seen or heard since).

Your role is NOT best filled as an outsider, Nobel winner, and to sit in comfort in diaspora, and complain to the UN (of all orgs!) that your country has human rights problems. We actually have FAR bigger problems than that!

Wake up and go to work for god's sake! Fulfill the role you have been chosen for and destined to complete.What else is there for you to do? Lose another case in the staged IRI court system? Come On!

Clearly, clearly clearly, crystal clearly, the Iranian people need to be properly organized and led in their quest. They obviously do not have the capacity to gain their freedom on their own, and the freedom/protest/green movement is stalled, and all but decimated as of this latest exhibition yesterday.

Please stop the diatribes, the letters, and book tours, and start some freaking action! I am sure the IRI has threatened you and your family, but that is an even more obvious reason to take them on, on their own turf, the  streets of Tehran! Trust me, these scum would not dare touch one hair on your head, for it would most certainly seal their fate. Leaving you free to expose them to all, and tempt them to escape the ruin and disgrace that they have brought to our dear homeland.

So stop the BS please. We are really growing very tired of you in this wimpy cowardess role.

Leili's sex is just as confusing 2 Mehdi as Iran's friend or foe

Everything is sacred.

Mehdi jaan

In order to inspire the affection of IRI groupies like yourself would it have helped if Ms Ebadi had raped a few prisoners or killed a few protestors? At the very least, she could take a picture shaking hands with Khaled Meshaal.

Mehdi, IRI is the most murderous regime Iranians have had to deal with, so for someone who lives in the West to spout your vomit-inducing propaganda is really and truly disgusting. It "dismays" me  :-)

Ebadi and Makhmalbaaf

I am dismayed to see that individuals who were doing so much good for their own people are now all of a sudden abandoning their group and joining foreign forces. It is a sad day. Ebadi and Makhmalbaaf were, in a way, beacons of hope for people in Iran. They were inspiration to others. But now, people are unable to take them on as modesl. Only a bunch of irrelevant exiled fosils cheer for them. People forgot about Makhmalbaaf and they will now forget about Ebadi. They both disgraced themselves. It is a pity. They could have done so much more.

More threats from Ms. Ebadi

Last Summer Ms. Ebadi also threatened riots if her group's political demands were not met. What does she care? It's not her car, city and neighborhood being set on fire.

To Parvaneh. A. Farid

I had a hard time putting my thoughts into words and then I read your comment ... It's as though you read my mind

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us...Very true

thexmaster ; mehdi

I honestly do believe that the IRI and its supporters see open discussions, a free society, equality as a form of repression to their own ideologies.  Their ideology has no room for discussion, or for openness.  That is why IRI supporters such as yourself perceive a free society as repression, but not rape, torture and murder (unless the US or Israel are involved).

Perfect! You put your finger exactly on the problem. To IRR supporters anything that is different is repression. This is how they put on image of victim hood while doing the most barbaric deeds. It is sad that they actually believe their own lies.

They do see women not wearing hijab as repressing Islamist men. God forbid they must keep their instinct to rape at bay. They see open discussion as repression of their narrow minded ideology. Why: because light dispels ignorance they feed upon.  

I agree with Mehdi in one thing

"If Ebadi is such a hot shot, why don't people line up behind her in the
form of a political party with specific plans and strategy, etc? Why
does she need to resort to UN? Is there not enough Iranians in the US
and other countries to support her fully?" says Mehdi jan.

Considering the above comment from Mehdi I would like to make it clear that Mrs.Ebadi is not a political figure, she is not running for power. She doesn't want to have a party, she believes in human Rights and she is defending it fullforce. She has suffered a lot but she has made this the mission of her life and I must say what a nobel mission!

Dear Mehdi I agree with you that UN is not a perfect International body we all wish for. The whole veto right doesn't make sense. There is no country that fully abides by the UN principles and I am pretty sure this will change, because deep inside many of us are dreaming for a just international body.

Why do you think we do need political figures? I wonder when was the first day when mankind decided to give his/her life and the choices one needs to make to the hands of a politician. There is no political party that we agree with totally, no where in the world. Because they take the freedom from individuals. And we decide to do this to ourselves. We print posters for them and we expect them to be perfect and they are only human. We elect administrators and we expect them to be our moral examples.But they are just like us, imperfect human beings that can make mistakes, some of which are unforgivable.

Mrs.Ebadi believes in human rights, she knows it far more better than many of us here to trap herself in a political party and let some of us follow her because of her charisma and/or our ignorant in our individual basic freedom of expression.

She deserves all the respect, she is doing what she can, using all the possible means, she knows the UN resolutions and all the declerations by heart, yet she is trying to give a message to these so called leaders of the world. She is trying to wake them up.

I know that deep inside you respect her and are very proud that the name of Iran is related to a very respected, educated, devoted and selfless woman.

I remain with respect

Some More Crying By Our Resident IRI member

I wish these people realized that they are not deserving of more freedom as they are far more repressive than "the regime." It is a blessing that such people are not in power in Iran.

Those are some interesting comments despite the fact that you're free to openly discuss your point of view here and criticize the US government without fearing any consequences.  I also find it interesting that you consider people who are ignoring your rhetorical questions and emotional rants as being 'repressive'.  Isn't it just silly?

I honestly do believe that the IRI and its supporters see open discussions, a free society, equality as a form of repression to their own ideologies.  Their ideology has no room for discussion, or for openness.  That is why IRI supporters such as yourself perceive a free society as repression, but not rape, torture and murder (unless the US or Israel are involved).

Delusional Mehdi Claims:

I find it disappointing that a lot of my comments receive many emotion-filled responses but no discussion

Just like this one:

I get really disgusted with Iranians who resort to foreign powers and beg for force. Ebadi lost all credibility by joining the likes of MKO and Mosad spy agency to ask for sanctions and forceful intervention in Iran's affairs. She also admitted that she is a loser. She did not win the heart and minds of Iranians. She became frustrated and gave up. May she rest in peace, among her MKO friends.

Oh wait, that was yours.   

mehdi, you claim that you

mehdi, you claim that you are not attacking ms. ebadi's "personality."  whatever that means.  you started your string of comments by accusing that she's an associate of mojahedeen and the mosad spay agency.  repeating the talking points of the iri regime (accusing anyone who disagrees with the regime as a zionist, mek member, cia agent, ...) makes you by definition an iri regime supporter.

practically any country or organization that can exert power by making statements or taking actions has black mark in its history, u.n. included.  that doesn't mean these countries and organizations cannot do anything good.  if the u.n. is just an instrument for the west, then why is iri one of its members.  why does iri make demands from the u.n. but a citizen of iran can't make a demand on behalf of the oppressed people of iran?  this is hypocracy.  can we ask china not to help iri?  is that a clean government?  how about russia? 

do you consider this response emotional?  let me ask you, do you have any emotions for those who are being raped, tortured and killed in iran for speaking their mind?  justice will prevail and we will be victorious over this evil regime and the immoral thugs who support it.  people like you will have to answer to your actions during the reign of this regime or just have to hide in a well like your namesake.

Dear Commenters

Dear Commenters,

I am glad that you have responded sufficiently and duly to those who try to tarnish the reputation of Dr. Ebadi, my friend and former classmate. She is the pride of our nation; the only Iranian women awarded Nobel Prize deservingly. She is firm in her commitment to defend those oppressed by the atrocious regime of Iran, and those marginalized by its autocratic system. All along, she has been raising her voice in support of women and those underserved, unrepresented, or disenfranchised in Iran.

We are all living in West under democratic systems, enjoying our comfortable life, hence are not shy to unfairly target those who live in Iran courageously defending our people, endangering their life fighting one of the most oppressive regimes in the word. She is a legal expert and certainly knows how to advance her cause pursuing proper legal channels and if she decides to write a letter to the UN authorities that is her prerogative and I have no doubt the appropriateness of her decision.

Perhaps, one reason why she has not form a political party, as some commenters have mentioned, is because she is a women, our misogynistic society is not yet attuned to the idea of female leadership.

If you cannot respect her, please leave her alone. You are not gaining anything by criticizing famous people.

Dr. Ebadi ...

First off, congratulations on your Noble Peace Prize, you made us all (Iranians) proud. 

Dr. Ebadi, with all due respect, I question how much of an impact could United Nation make in the destiny of our nation?  As I have said before on other strings of comments on Iranian.com, we are talking about an organization that stood by passively as 800,000 Rwandan got butchered by their fellow country men.

I don't think UN or anyone else will come to the aid of the Iranian youth, due to lack of vision and forsight on current high level politicians worldwide.  However, that is perfectly OK, the uprisings will continue, and this evil government will fall, it is not a mather of if but when.

Payandeh Iran, our Ahuraie Fatherland

yes Medhi I am honest about my opinions because

all I see in the international community mealy mouthed manzy panzy "oh lets talk about our feelings " while the murderous animals of the IRI RAPE MURDER AND DESTROY the property... lives... and honor of ORDINARY IRANIAN CITIZENS....  

I stand with my Iranian brothers and sisters REGARDLESS of religion gender  or political ideology....

the people of Iran want freedom....