The multi-faceted crackdown by the Iranian regime continues with reports that militia are now conducting night-time raids on homes, beating civilians and destroying satellite dishes so Iranians can’t see what the outside world is reporting about the crackdown in their country.
Human Rights Watch has accused Iran’s volunteer Basij militia of carrying out night-time raids, destroying property in private homes and beating civilians.
The New York-based group says the raids are an attempt to stop the nightly rooftop chants against the government.
It also says satellite dishes are being confiscated to stop people from watching foreign news.
Meanwhile, on state TV, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad again attacked what he said was US and European meddling.
And Iranian media reported that the public relations chief of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi had been banned from leaving the country.
Abolfazl Fateh, who was preparing to travel to the UK to work on his doctorate, told Reuters news agency that he was restricted for his role in post-election developments.
If you take all of this together these strands provide signs that the regime is continuing to move to not just go after opponents, but short-circuit foes’ ability to get their message out by going abroad and prevent Iranians from what the outside world is reporting about events in Iran.
Meanwhile, it’s clear that Iranian bigwigs are continuing to lay the groundwork to increasingly to link the opposition with the United States. The war of words continues between the President of Iran and the President of the U.S.:
Iran’s hardline president lashed out anew at the United States and President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of interference and suggesting that Washington’s stance on Iran’s postelection turmoil could imperil Obama’s aim of improving relations.
“We are surprised at Mr. Obama,” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in remarks to judiciary officials broadcast on state television. “Didn’t he say that he was after change? Why did he interfere?”
“They keep saying that they want to hold talks with Iran … but is this the correct way? Definitely, they have made a mistake,” Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad’s comments should be particularly welcome news to Republicans: it’s now clear that Obama’s chance of pursuing a policy of opening up a serious dialogue with the Iranian government any time soon has little chance of occurring or garnering much support among U.S. political elites or voters in general while the image of a young Iranian woman murdered and dying on the streets by official forces lingers — and while Iran’s President almost gleefully berates the American President.
Ahmadinejad was probably upset by this:
US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Iran on Friday to end violence against protestors and underscored their commitment to prevent the Islamic state from developing a nuclear weapon.
Merkel called the crisis playing out on the streets of Iran ‘horrifying,’ while Obama refused to give in to Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s demand for an apology for allegedly interfering in the elections and subsequent mass protests.
‘I don’t take Mr Ahmadinejad’s statements seriously about apologies, particularly given the fact that the United States has gone out of its way not to interfere with the election process in Iran,’ Obama said.
‘I would suggest that Mr Ahmadabad think carefully about the obligations he owes to his own people,’ Obama added. ‘And he might want to consider looking at the families of those who’ve been beaten or shot or detained.’
This seems unlikely in a country where a leading Iranian cleric has now said that opposition protesters who fight with the authorities should be killed.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.