Frightened Iranian regime opens fire on unarmed crowds

NY Times:

Iranian police opened fire into crowds of protesters on Sunday, killing at least 10 people, witnesses and opposition Web sites said, and setting off a day of chaotic street battles that seemed poised to deepen the country’s civil unrest.

The nationwide protests, on the holiday commemorating the death of Hussein, Shiite Islam’s holiest martyr, were the bloodiest and among the largest since the uprisings that followed Iran’s disputed presidential election last June, witnesses said. Hundreds of people were reported wounded in cities across the country, and the Tehran police said they had made 300 arrests.

The authorities’ decision to use deadly force on the sacred Ashura holiday infuriated many Iranians, and some said the violence appeared to galvanize more traditional religious people who have not been part of the protests so far. Historically, Iranian rulers have honored Ashura’s prohibition of violence, even during wartime.

In Tehran, thick crowds marched down a central avenue in mid-morning, defying official warnings of a harsh crackdown on protests as they chanted “death to Khamenei!” referring to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

They refused to retreat even as police fired tear gas, charged them with batons and fired warning shots. The police then opened fire directly into the crowd, opposition Web sites said, citing witnesses. At least five people were killed in Tehran, four in the northwestern city of Tabriz, and one in Shiraz in the south, the Web sites reported. Photographs of several victims circulated widely.

One of the dead was Ali Moussavi, the 43-year-old nephew of the opposition leader Mir-Hussein Moussavi.

Unlike the other protesters, Mr. Moussavi appears to have been killed by assassins, in a political gesture aimed at his uncle, according to Mohsen Makhmalbaf, an opposition figure based in Paris with close ties to the Moussavi family.

Mr. Moussavi was first run over by an SUV outside his home, Mr. Makhmalbaf wrote on his Web site. Five men then emerged from the car, and one of them shot him at point-blank range. Government officials took the body late Sunday, and warned the family not to hold a funeral, Mr. Makhmalbaf wrote.

In some parts of Tehran, protesters pushed the police back, hurling rocks and capturing several police cars and motorcycles, which they set on fire. Videos posted to the Internet showed scenes of mayhem, with dumpsters burning and groups of protesters attacking Basij militia volunteers amid a din of screams.

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This is taking on many of the elements of a "general uprising" where the people resist government forces and in some cases the government forces refuse to fire on the people. I think that happened in some places in Iran during these demonstrations. Some in the army have previously said they would not fire on civilians.

The legitimacy of this government is still in question and it is a shame that Obama has taken the side of the oppressors. That is poor judgment on his part and it will come back to haunt him when the revolution happens. He would be wise to jump on board this process before it is too late.

Nile Gardiner opens fire on this administrations reaction to the election theft and suppression in Iran.