Who can easily forget the scenes, some bloody, of the street-protests post the rigged election in Iran a year ago.
The Washington Post appraises the situation in Iran now:
"When office clerks, housewives, students and other urban Iranians took to the streets a year ago to protest what they said was massive election fraud by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they hailed the birth of a leaderless popular movement that embodied their aspirations for a more open society.
"We are all together" became a favorite slogan of the Green Movement, which sprang to life last year after Ahmadinejad was proclaimed the landslide winner of the June 12 presidential election. Defeated opposition candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who quickly turned into figureheads, said it was not they, but ordinary Iranians, who were leading the massive anti-government demonstrations that followed the vote. There was no agenda other than a demand for new elections; no goal other than the departure of Ahmadinejad."
But:
"Now, a year later, the masses that made up the movement have disappeared from the streets of Tehran. Dozens of protesters have been killed in clashes with determined government forces; hundreds have been arrested and put on trial. Faced with overwhelming force, without guidance or organization, the dissidents these days cannot agree on their goals, much less mount a significant challenge to the country's leadership.
In their latest retreat, Mousavi and Karroubi on Thursday called off an anniversary demonstration that had been planned for weeks, saying they were acting "to safeguard the lives and properties of the people."
The Washington Post appraises the situation in Iran now:
"When office clerks, housewives, students and other urban Iranians took to the streets a year ago to protest what they said was massive election fraud by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they hailed the birth of a leaderless popular movement that embodied their aspirations for a more open society.
"We are all together" became a favorite slogan of the Green Movement, which sprang to life last year after Ahmadinejad was proclaimed the landslide winner of the June 12 presidential election. Defeated opposition candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who quickly turned into figureheads, said it was not they, but ordinary Iranians, who were leading the massive anti-government demonstrations that followed the vote. There was no agenda other than a demand for new elections; no goal other than the departure of Ahmadinejad."
But:
"Now, a year later, the masses that made up the movement have disappeared from the streets of Tehran. Dozens of protesters have been killed in clashes with determined government forces; hundreds have been arrested and put on trial. Faced with overwhelming force, without guidance or organization, the dissidents these days cannot agree on their goals, much less mount a significant challenge to the country's leadership.
In their latest retreat, Mousavi and Karroubi on Thursday called off an anniversary demonstration that had been planned for weeks, saying they were acting "to safeguard the lives and properties of the people."
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