Why Tunisia Can But Iran Can't
Institute for War & Peace Reporting via payvand / Ali Reza Eshraghi
24-Jan-2011 (3 comments)

The surprising rapidity with which Tunisians unseated President Zine el-Abidin Ben Ali has been watched keenly in Iran, not least by the political opposition known as the Green Movement. 

As Iranian blogs and Facebook messages abound with the punning phrase, "Tounes tounes, Iran na-tounes" - meaning "Tunisia could, Iran couldn't" - there has also been sober reflection on why this was the case; why the massive protests that followed the disputed presidential election of June 2009 came to nothing in the end.

At the same time as economic hardship sparked riots in Tunisia, Iran remained almost eerily calm in the wake of increases in the cost of fuel, bread, water, gas and other essentials, as the Ahmadinejad administration launched a programme of cuts to Iran's large and costly system of subsidies. (See: Muted Response to Iranian Subsidy Cuts.)

The Bolivian government began a similar subsidy-elimination programme at around at the same time as Iran, but was rapidly forced to retreat in the face of wide-scale protests.

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Darius Kadivar

No history of big protests over economic problems

by Darius Kadivar on Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:20 AM PST

Islamic Iran has no history of big protests over economic problems, and no consensus on who is really to blame.


Balatarin
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vildemose

Afshinazad: Exactly. Also,

by vildemose on Mon Jan 24, 2011 01:39 PM PST

Afshinazad: Exactly. Also, they now know what the regime is capable of given last June election massacres.


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afshinazad

IRANIAN COULDN'T NOT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO

by afshinazad on Mon Jan 24, 2011 01:36 PM PST

Iranian couldn't finish the regime because people started the movement with no clear goal at first, second reason is Iranian movement were taking break and coming out in certain days on government selected days. In any movement you cannot give the opportunity for regime to destroy your motivation and we had people so called reformers who are loyal to regime and they don't want any change. Tunisian were angry and fed up with regime and had no one to miss guide them, opposition was against the regime not cheerleader of regime. Next round of movement in Iran will be bloody and there will be no mercy from neither side and this movement will be revenge and massive killing from each side and only if there is a next movement. Iranian lost their trust with all leaders and specially disappointed with American and western countries who kept quiet and specially silence of HUAASIN OBAMA, our people still believe in that if American or British want to remove the regime they will do it and no matter what people want or do will not bring any change, unfortunately in some part they right but true democracy comes from peoples own hard work and their own accomplishments not with help of foreigners, because no one care about our needs and their goal is for their best interest not ours.  

 


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