Sunday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 7.24.2005:

Letter to Ayatollah Montazeri

Akbar Ganji, FreeGanji: This is Ganji's third letter from prison, on the 42nd day of his hunger strike. The letter is addressed to the leading dissident Iranian Ayatollah, Montazeri. Montazeri has been under house arrest for many years and is a major critic of the present regime. Excerpts:

Grand Ayatollah Montazeri,

Your kind letter on 16 July sent fresh blood in my bloodless veins once more. For many years you have become the symbol of courage and resistance against the tyrants in my eyes and I have always wanted to learn courage from you.

After the widespread executions of the [political] prisoners in the summer of 1988 and the general silence against this crime against humanity, you were the only one who stood up against it; everybody else seems to have forgotten that remaining silent against crime, shares equally in that crime. Afterwards, when they kept you prisoner in your own house, you still defended all political prisoners regardless of their different beliefs and view and you were and still are a serious patron of their families. Your courage and consistency is such that even your serious enemies have had to acknowledge it many times. ...

I say we don’t need any king or queen. The issue in dispute is the choice between constitutionalism and republicanism. In my view, civil disobedience is the most important tactic in the transition from sultanism to democracy. ...

Our problem is not "lack of knowledge on democracy", but not being ready to pay the price. Democracy needs men of action, women of courage, and resilient youth. ...

Now we must say with perfect clarity and frankness: "Mr. Khamenei must go!" ...

The issue is clear: they want to kill me and blame it on my wife and friends. ...

Ganji's death could be as water in the desert and irrigate the sprouts of freedom. READ MORE

While I support Ganji in his quest for freedom, human rights, and real democracy in Iran I do not support reformists like his friend, Mr. Hajjarian. To learn more about him and the reformist movement, read this.

Here are a few other news items you may have missed.

• Paul Harris, The Observer reported that Ganji has become the Republican Party's darling and a hero to its neo-conservative wing who are pressing for a hardline US policy on Iran.
• R 3358 IH - 109th CONGRESS A Bill Introduced in Congress: To provide for payment of certain claims against the Government of Iran.
• Iranian.com reported that Ganji’s efforts are unique and heroic because he is hopeful at times when our society is not.
• Yahoo News reported that Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi warned on Sunday that her client, jailed journalist Akbar Ganji, is in failing health.
• Iranmania reported that Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi recommended Europeans not to use the language of threat against Iran.
• Iranian bloggers on Ganji. Two opinions.
• Dan Darling, WindsOfChange.net reports that Al-Qaeda is not so decentralized and there are a lot of Al-Qaeda members inside of Iran.
• Iranian blogger, Hossein Bastani, Roozonline reports that Akbar Ganji’s hunger strike is the type of event that has been absent in Iran’s pro-democracy movement in recent years. This has been a missing loop in Iran’s pro-democracy movement.
• ReleaseGanji.net reports that Abar Ganji is going to be operated on the meniscus of his knee tomorrow (Monday 25 July 2005) and the operation is being performed against his will.
• And finally, Roxana Saberi, Channel NewsAsia: The Iranian Government Cracks Down on Blogging.