Oppostion Members Detained in a Tense Iran

One of the ironies of history is that the western democracies seem to make the same mistakes over and over again when it comes to labeling monarchist regimes as dictatorial and then standing by as far worse regimes over throw them and make past alleged atrocities look like child's play compared to the bloodshed that the "reformists" unleash. The parallels between what happened in Tsarist Russian and Iran are amazing. In each case the monarchist regimes - whose secret police killed perhaps numbers in the few thousands - were labeled as murderous despots and over thrown by alleged reformers claiming to be populous leaders who went on to murder tens of thousands (if not millions in the case of the Bolsheviks) of people. Both the pro-western, pro-modern Russian Tsar exiled Lenin and the Shah of Iran exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, respectively, which actions ultimately had disastrous consequences for the world. Had they been the murderous despots alleged, these agents of revolution and forces of evil would have been executed.

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Now, it seems that the population of Iran may be waking up to the fact that Islamic rule is not such a wise choice even as the forces of theocracy appear to be likely rigging elections and using military force to cling to power. People forget that Iran under the Shah was modernizing rapidly and that it had a educated sizable class unlike a number of its neighbors. Note how Ahmadinejad's remarks parallel something out of the old Soviet Politburo. Here are highlights from the New York Times on the after math of last week's election:

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The Iranian authorities detained more than 100 prominent opposition members, and on Sunday unrest continued for a second day across Iran in the wake of the country’s disputed presidential election.

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The leading opposition candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, issued a fresh statement calling for the election results to be canceled, as his supporters skirmished with a vast deployment of riot police and militia members on the edges of a victory rally organized by the government in central Tehran.

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A moderate clerical body, the Association of Combatant Clergy, issued a statement posted on reformist web sites saying the election was rigged and calling for it to be canceled, warning that “if this process becomes the norm, the republican aspect of the regime will be damaged and people will lose confidence in the system.”

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Calling the opposition protests “unimportant,” Mr. Ahmadinejad suggested that they were the work of foreign agitators and journalists. . . . . But Mr. Ahmadinejad’s electoral rivals appeared to be holding firm in their protest against the vote. Mr. Moussavi issued a statement saying he had asked Iran’s Guardian Council, which must certify the election for it to be legal, to cancel the vote. He also said he was being monitored by the authorities, and was unable to join his followers. His campaign headquarters have been closed down, he said. Another candidate, the reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi, echoed Mr. Moussavi’s demand for the election to be canceled.

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“No one led these people in the streets,” said Basu, a 28 year-old opposition supporter who, like many others, was afraid to give his full name. “This is the least we can do — we cannot stay at home and watch them celebrate a fake election.” He opened his shirt to show long red welts on his chest where a Basij militia member had whipped him with a chain. Next to him, a female friend dressed in a black Islamic chador stood with a bloody scar on her forehead; she said she had been attacked by the police.

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My thoughts go out to Iranians who want the nightmare of Islamic fundamentalist rule to end.