The Iranian army was controlled by USA. USA was afraid that the same event as Nicaragua, El Salvador,... happen in Iran. The only way out was first to destroy the opposition by using Savak and then order the army to surrender and replace Shah with Islamic regime which could fight off the revolution in Iran. Mousavi is a former prime minister of Iran and close associate of Khomeini when he was alive. He is the person responsible for execution of tens of thousands of Iranians.
gworld, no one says Mousavi was or is perfect. He didn't order the killings of thousands of people in his presidency but he certainly could step down in opposition to it if he wanted to. He knew what was going on... Today, however, he is a symbol for fighting this regime. People need a leader when rising against a government. My guess is that he will soon fade and a new true leader will emerge from within Iranian people.
i hope so. I'm afraid more people will get hurt. Lets hope it will be for the right price I see this as a new beginning inside Iran's politics and the groundswell for a substantial change in Iran.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Islamic_Republic_of_Iran Mousavi was the prime minister during this time and let's not forget his terrorist background in Lebanon. The fight right now is between the two section of the same government regarding what is the best way to keep the power and which fraction should have the open hand in plundering the country resources.
I read your post but what I say is that Mousavi is no real opposition to this government. It is stupid to encourage the young people to come to street right now because the only thing that will happen is that they will be identified by Iranian secret service and the best of them and their leadership will be put in prison or be executed after the two fraction of the government make a compromise. It is old trick that has been tried many times in south America and even in Iran in 1979. Fool people to come out, identify the best and smartest, arrest and execute.
Seems like you've made up your mind,. here is what i said again You've lived in a free country all your life not knowing how this freedom has been achieved and what prices have been paid. Mousavi is the only leader that can move Iranian people forward right now and is better than Ahmadi Nejad. If you know of anyone that we don't know about, please do let us know. We are supporting Mousavi because he is better (much better) than Ahmadi Nejad, not because he is perfect person.
Nime good point. His positions are probably still better then what you have right now. Its unrealistic to expect a complete overhaul of the political system right now, and they surely dont trust us because of our past meddling. They definately dont want the shah's son back as they allready experienced life under his fathers rule.
I know your country and it's politics very well. I lived in Iran under Shah time when I was a teenager and later on I have visited your country many times. I also have many Iranian friends that are excited like you about current event. I don't agree and if you read my post and think about it, you will see that the question is not if Mousavi is better than ahmadi nejad or not, almost anything is. The problem is that I think Mousavi is a Judas goat. http://everything2.com/title/Judas%20goat
pingpong123, you are absolutely right. So you are one of those people that likes to denounce everyone and every path without offering any other way? Its easy to just be negative, its not so easy to offer constructive solutions.
I suppose you live outside of Iran. Its easy to just be so brave when it is not your life which is on stake.
nice try to change the topic. To answer your question, I do live in States, but i did also live in Iran for almost 20 years and was quite involved in the 1999 Iran's student protest
As I have been saying for many years here on dp, as far as Iran is concerned its about what the new generation wants and who represents the new generation of moderates better then the student movement. I have seen mousavis speeches on youtube and it seems like his stances have actually changed a bit in the last 20 years (they have actually moderated a bit). Life experiences have changed many a world leader's views and beliefs and maybe this is what is happening with mousavi. The iranian students are no dummies (actually some of the best educated student in the world), so they might see something that some of the skeptics dont.
Ok so far the iranian governments only claim is that the brits and american government is behind this so called velvet revolution. If they are then I find it crazy that these powerful clerics are also joining the reformists side. It really is looking like the iranian people want some kind of moderate change here. This is the biggest clerical opposition since the islamic revolution. They may be able to arrest and kill regular people and reformist politicians but they can do it that easily to the clerics who hold the true power there.
On the spot... The allegations that US and west are behind the protests are baseless. The Iranian government has been saying that for the past decade. Every time there is a protest they say it was US or west... If we haven't done anything so far, we've done one thing. We've shown the world who the real Iranian people (not who their president portrays them to be) are.
Unfortunately it is the Iranian government's way to explain anything and everything that goes wrong within the country, instead of looking at themselves and trying to fix things.
how is he better? explain what you want from iranian govt and how is he better in getting that. no slogans please. this way of thinking got you khomaini instead of shah. here is a different opinion on this subject. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443737189&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1092198.html also check this http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6134066.stm rafsaanjani is his main supporter
i believe that if iran doesnt stop fhighting with each other. america will come soon with their bombs just like iraq issue.