Who Really Won Iran Election Irrelevant

June 16th, 2009

Who Really Won Iran Election Irrelevant

It amazes me how much attention has been given to whether the Iran vote count was legitimate or whether Ahmedinejad would have won a fair vote. As far as I’m concerned, that is entirely beside the point. The real story here is government’s cooption of the process that it carefully controlled from the very beginning and the disruption, intimidation, and brutality that characterized its response to dissenters within the system.

Shortly prior to the election, text messaging was blocked. Text messaging and social networking were the primary tools that opposition candidate Mousavi used to mobilize his supporters.

Almost immediately after the election results were announced, cell phones, text messaging, and Internet access were blocked and police flooded the streets. Since that time, images and videos of acts of violence and brutality (which I will not link to this blog) against students and protestors have flooded the Internet. The response of the government was not to even maintain any illusion of concern for the welfare of its citizens; instead, a media blackout was ordered. To leave no doubt as to the government’s ill intent, prominent dissenters were arrested without respect to their prominence or status in the government.

The regime’s actions immediately prior and subsequent to the election make it illegitimate irrespective of which presidential candidate actually received more votes or would receive more votes in a recount or new election. A brutal coup is being staged in Iran and whether that coup is being staged by the government that the people voted for is not relevant in the least.

ePolitical.org