Blogs > DEMONSTRATION CONTINUES 6/21/2009

Jun 21, 2009

DEMONSTRATION CONTINUES 6/21/2009



Mullahs take their frustrations out on reporters: at least 24 arrested. They fear repeating yesterday's bloodshed.

Mousavi calls for additional demonstrations. So far, he is not backing down and neither do his supporters.

And there is NEDA. Robyn Wright: In Iran, One Woman's Death May Have Many Consequences

Iran's revolution has now run through a full cycle. A gruesomely captivating video of a young woman — laid out on a Tehran street after apparently being shot, blood pouring from her mouth and then across her face — swept Twitter, Facebook and other websites this weekend. The woman rapidly became a symbol of Iran's escalating crisis, from a political confrontation to far more ominous physical clashes. Some sites refer to her as"Neda," Farsi for the voice or the call. Tributes that incorporate startlingly upclose footage of her dying have started to spring up on YouTube.

Although it is not yet clear who shot"Neda" (a soldier? pro-government militant? an accidental misfiring?), her death may have changed everything. For the cycles of mourning in Shiite Islam actually provide a schedule for political combat — a way to generate or revive momentum. Shiite Muslims mourn their dead on the third, seventh and 40th days after a death, and these commemorations are a pivotal part of Iran's rich history. During the revolution, the pattern of confrontations between the shah's security forces and the revolutionaries often played out in 40-day cycles.



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