>> ^demon_ix:
Most of the violence against protesters comes from the Basij, as I understand, which is a sort of government-sponsored militia. An army without government responsibility.


From what little I understand, they are basically poor working class, indoctrinated into believing they are in a class/morality war with the more affluent urbanites. There is a few hundred thousand of em IIRC, generally outfitted with motorbikes and clubs.

Most of the violence against protesters comes from the Basij, as I understand, which is a sort of government-sponsored militia. An army without government responsibility.

^ I don't want the left to respond to this with violence. I like that we're mostly just trumpeting the sheer ugliness of our opponents, and the shallowness of their so-called "principles".

They're against having any kind of reasonable debate, and will engage in the most blatant lies, scare tactics, and now outright physical intimidation, and for what? To preserve a broken healthcare system?

This is supposed to be a civilized society, and it's up to people to decide whether they're going to hop into bed with our nascent version of a Republican Basij, or if they're going to demand that people conduct their debates on issues with some modicum of honesty, civility, and respect.

*news

"Iran has executed its Tiananmen Square. Baharestan Square has become synonymous with barbarity, cruelty, massacre and inhumanity.

An Iranian blogger (whose URL I will not publish) live blogging from Baharestan Square in central Tehran today captures but brief glimpses of the unimaginable horror that took place today. Bus loads of protesters were stopped and unloaded from their buses by "black-clad police" and literally herded. When the massing was sufficient, as the barely controllably distraught Tehran caller to CNN described first hand, hundreds of the regime's Basij thugs poured out of an adjoining mosque and commenced a massacre with axes, clubs, guns and gas."

http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2009/06/unimaginable-horror-in-tehran/

"Massacre at Baharestan Square in Iran
Protests continue in Iran today as thousands clashed with police – with one of the bloodiest confrontations happening in Baharestan Square. A newly posted youtube video of the clashes in the Teheran Square details the violence and utter chaos of the situation.

The video shows protesters carrying away a man, bloody from the torso up. It is unclear whether the man is alive. Another account of what many are referring to as the Baharestan square massacre appeared on CNN.

“All of a sudden some 500 people with clubs and woods they uh came out of [unintelligible] mosque and they pulled into the streets and they uh started beating everyone and they tried to beat everyone on [unintelligible] bridge and um throwing them off of the bridge. They beat a woman so savagely that uh, she was a drenched in blood. Her husband who was watching the scene he just fainted. At first people were brave that booed the security forces but they were beating people like Hell, this was a massacre.”

On Twitter, “Persiankiwi,” a regular poster who’s been documenting the protests since they began, says he has to remain on the run for fear of capture and torture. He says “in Baharestan we saw militia with axe chopping ppl like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher.”

http://www.fsrn.org/audio/headlines-wednesday-june-24-2009/4945

OP where is the info about the circumstances of the murder? (sniper and alley aspects for instance)

These Basij are a bit of a fuck up. Poor, uneducated rural kids, given a gun, a gang and a story of self-glorification. I can just imagine the shit they get told to fuel their hate of the westernised, educated urban middle class. The political manouvering and power consolidation that gave birth to the 4million - 14million Basij is so cut-throat: I can't think of a country so neatly at odds with itself.

Much better for a sift - it is put in context, using the video medium. thanks.

heres some stuffs:

Iranians to mourn Neda, the "Angel of Iran", despite warning from Revolutionary Guards

Iran blames "unknown vandals" for civilian deaths

>> ^imstellar28:
Infuriating.
Why won't the police/Basij/military defect and join the protesters? Presumably they too have families and face the same consequences as the citizens; how could you kill your neighbors under such unjust orders?



My guess is that they are paid a lot. So they just act under orders and can look after their families well.

Infuriating.

Why won't the police/Basij/military defect and join the protesters? Presumably they too have families and face the same consequences as the citizens; how could you kill your neighbors under such unjust orders?

>> ^Psychologic:
I'm really curious what is going on here. It looks like the guys up front are setting fire to stuff, and I saw at least one person throwing rocks. I really wish the video showed what was happening right as they opened fire.
This doesn't look like the police attacking "nonviolent demonstrators". There was definitely some destruction going on before the shooting (though I'm not sure what they were destroying).
Firing on those people definitely seems like excessive force, but it doesn't look totally unprovoked. There will always be people who use such general disorder as an opportunity to take their frustration and anger out on their choice of targets. Unfortunately that also gives the government a visible excuse to respond aggressively, even if disproportionately so.


From what I understand, the protests started out with nonviolence; however, the pro-government militia, the Basij, started beating people for protesting. If I heard correctly, the police were actually protecting the protesters from the Basij during the first couple of protests.

But with every protest, you can almost guarantee that some protesters are using violence and destruction.

oh you basij