Sidewalk (26 June 2009) -- Thanks to the tremendous ineptitude of our president to even carry out his plan, we have another revolution on our hands. We didn't ask for it, but we've got it. Now, what should we do with it?
The vortex of affairs that is currently sweeping the country can only go in two directions: escalation of violence and the militarization of the country or acceptance of defeat by those who staged the election coup. Both are equally likely and impossible at the same time.
How can a government that so unabashedly stole people's votes while sneering at them now concede defeat? But then, yesterday, Tehran was witness to the largest demonstration in three decades. Millions marched the same streets that inaugurated the 1979 Revolution. The same spirit of non-violence and peaceful cooperation was dominant. At nights, people on rooftops show their resistance to the coup by shouting Allah-o Akbar; again a repetition of a 1979 revolutionary tactic. At nights, cars honk, pedestrians raise their hands victoriously, and groups of people destroy public property. The magnitude of the protest is such that it seems impossible to crush. At this stage public confidence is mounting, to the point that it won't be easy to discourage them.
Then again, there is no telling what the government can pull out of its hat. More than ever, patience is a virtue and peaceful resistance is still the best solution.
Source: Tehran Avenue (Iran), June 16, 2009
