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Daliran BIBAK
Reports coming from inside Iran show that Iranian youth have not stopped their protests despite sever crackdown of Government forces organized in more than 30 different forms of suppressive squads , to prevent any action during the ancient Chārshanbe-Sūri* fire ceremony.
it has been weeks that the regime in Iran has been fearful of the resistance to take advantage of the annual ceremony , in order to launch some kind of action to display its strength. This is while it has been weeks that State sponsored propaganda Typhoons have been targeting Iranian and International public to persuade the world that " the movement is dead " .
Only Today, Khamenei issued an unusual "Fatwa" , saying it has no "Sharia base" and would only cause problems than create good. He shun next week's Iranian fire Festival as un-Islamic event amid fears that the opposition supporters could use the rituals to stage anti-government protests.
The news coming out today, is that much activity and group celebrations have been observed and firebomb explosions heard in Ferdowsi Square, Amireh street, Bab Homayoon, and Park shahr. Sonic explosions are heard nearly for hours non stop , and special brigades organized to prevent this sort of "unfavorable" social acts, have been miserably unsuccessful!
Photos from Archive
*Chārshanbe-Sūri:
is an ancient Persian festival dating at least to 1700 BCE of the early Zoroastrian era. The festival of fire is a prelude to the Norouz festival, which marks the arrival of spring and revival of nature. Traditionally celebrated on the last Wednesday night of the year, Chahrshanbeh Soori has, since the Iranian revolution, been marked on the evening of the last Tuesday. The word Chahar Shanbeh means Wednesday and Suri is red. Bonfires are lit t
o keep the sun alive till early hours of the morning. The celebration usually starts in the evening, with people making bonfires in the streets and jumping over them.The tradition includes people going into the streets and alleys to make fires, and jump over them while singing the song Sorkhi-ye to az man, zardi-ye man az to. The literal translation is, Your fiery red color is mine, and my sickly yellow paleness is yours. This is a purification rite and 'soori' itself means redness which hints at the color of fire.Loosely translated, this means you want the fire to take your paleness, sickness, and problems and in turn give you redness, warmth, and energy. There is no religious significance attached to Chaharshanbeh Soori and it serves as a cultural festival for Persians, Persian Jews, Muslims, Armenians, Kurds, Turks and Zoroastrians alike. Indeed this celebration, in particular the significant role of fire, is likely to hail from Zoroastrianism.
Another tradition of this day is to make special ajeel, or mixed nuts and berries. People wear disguises and chadors and go door to door knocking on doors. Receiving of the Ajeel is customary, as is receiving of a bucket of water.
Persians celebrated the last 10 days of the year in their annual obligation feast of all souls, Hamaspathmaedaya (Farvardigan or popularly. hi Forodigan). They believed Faravahar, the guardian angels for humans and also the spirits of dead would come back for reunion. These spirits were entertained as honored guests in their old homes, and were bidden a formal ritual farewell at the dawn of the New Year. The ten-day festival also coincided with festivals celebrating the creation of fire and humans. In Sassanid period the festival was divided into two distinct pentads, known as the lesser and the greater Pentad, or Panji as it is called today. Gradually the belief developed that the 'Lesser Panji' belonged to the souls of children and those who died without sin, whereas 'Greater Panji' was truly for all souls.
(Reuters) - There is consensus within the European Union for unilateral sanctions on Iran if a U.N. Security Council resolution fails, Finland's foreign minister said Saturday.
Alexander Stubb said the EU remained committed at this stage to seeking a U.N. resolution, which requires the backing of Russia and China, but said that if began to look impossible, unilateral action would be taken.
"I think we'll be able to convince Russia and China and I'm quite hopeful that we'll get something in the Security Council," said Stubb, who is hosting a gathering of foreign ministers from the EU and Turkey in Finnish Lapland.
"But failing that, we'll just have to do it unilaterally and by unilateral I mean the EU directly on Iran."
Britain, France and Germany are agreed on the need for a fourth round of sanctions to restrict Iran's nuclear program, but some smaller EU states have reservations and the details of any sanctions package have yet to be finalized.
Despite that, Stubb said there was "consensus enough" within the EU to secure support for a unilateral move and said the issue would be discussed by foreign ministers on March 22.
"Time is running out, so I'm sure this is going to be something, if the U.N. Security Council fails, that we'll deal with when we have our EU foreign ministers' meeting on the 22nd," he said. "That's when we'll get into the detail (of possible sanctions)... There is consensus enough."
Britain said Friday it believed China would not be prepared to isolate itself over sanctions, suggesting that Beijing might ultimately move to support the United States, Britain and France in the Security Council.
But if efforts to win U.N. backing falter or start to drag on too long, EU officials have said they need to be prepared to move rapidly to implement their own measures to rein in a nuclear program that Iran says is for peaceful purposes only.
"If we have succeeded in driving a common line on one particular issue, I would pinpoint Iran," Stubb said of the EU.
"It's true that there's a lot of convincing still to be done, but the main issue here is to get the U.N. Security Council to agree to those sanctions and therefore you have to convince the five (permanent) negotiating partners."
Anti-regime wall grafitti-sharif University walls
Struggle continues at Nights
Two thousand Sharif University students have written a letter to Saeed Sohrabpour, president of Sharif University, urging him to demand the release of their peers Mehdi Kelari, Koohyar Goodarzi, and Tara Sepehrifar.
The students criticized the “silence and diplomacy” of university officials and said: “Rather than reacting against the recent events, we have witnessed a complete surrender to outside institutions on behalf of the University, which has led to disciplinary sentences issued by university officials against the students.”
Koohyar Goodarzi is an aeronautics student who has been arrested since the end of December 2009. Tara Sepehrifar is a chemical engineering student who has been detained since February 10, 2010. Sepehrifar is the secretary general of Sharif University’s Islamic Association. The letter states that she played a “significant role in relieving the tense atmosphere that surrounded the university during the post-election events.”
Mehdi Kelari is also chemical engineering student. He has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
The letter states: ”On the first day when we entered the university, we believed that we could take advantage of the sacred institution and take steps toward prosperity and freedom for our beloved Iran. But the recent events have proved that the reality is far from the ideals.”
The signatories expressed their support for the decisions made by their imprisoned peers and stressed that the conditions for prisoners is disturbing.
In the letter, the students urge the president of Sharif University to be a “father” to all students and protest against the harsh treatment of his students.
Translation by: Radio Zamaneh | Edited by: Persian2English.com
Mother of Mostafa Karim Beigi, one of the protesters killed in December 27 protest: “My son told me never to beg the officials.”
Fereshteh Ghazi-Rooz Online
"He was always saying that it is not clear how much blood will be shed before our children could live freely in the future. He constantly reminded me that if he gets arrested I shouldn’t go to Evin prison. He even said: “Your cry and begging before the officials is the worst type of torture for me. Don`t go there, even if they kill me. Don`t cry, don`t beg. Keep your head up…”
After more than two months since the Ashura uprising on December 27, 2009, the names and identity of some of those killed on this day remains unknown. Many of the families of those killed are under pressure not to speak out on how their loved ones have been killed.
However, Shahnaz Akmali, the mother of Mostafa Karim Beigi continues to insist that those who ordered and those who committed the murder of her sons and other Ashura Day`s victims to be identified and tried.
26 year old Mostafa lost his life on Ashura with a bullet to his forehead, as his body was pushed off the College bridge in Tehran.
What follows is the interview conducted by Rooz website with Mostaf`s mother. After 14 days without any news on his fate, the body of her son was returned to her and was buried under tight security measures.
Q: Ms. Akmali, how were you informed of your son`s martyrdom?
A: I had no news of my son for 14 days; our family were looking for him by going to Evin prison everyday, but nobody would respond to our inquiries. We went to complain, the security agents had a repulsive and awful reaction to our request, and told me: “Go find your son in a ditch, and get him out…your kid has definitely done some crack and is in some dumpster.” I told them my son wasn’t even smoking cigarettes, and had left his house to protest the killing of the youth of our country. When we went to Tehran`s central police station, I saw Mostafa`s photo, but they told me I was mistaken and this person is not your son, and he had already been identified by someone else. I couldn’t believe it. They ask me to go and check the coroner office at Kahrizak¹. I went there and identified my son`s body. He was still wearing a scarf. My whole world came crashing down around me. I don`t remember what happened next, and how they took me out of Kahrizak.
Q: You said that your son had gone to take part in the protest. Did he usually attend such gatherings?
A: Yea, since the summer of 1999 student uprising, he always attended the protests. And he was present at all the protests since the June 2009 election. He used to say that we would get our votes back, and we will not let them trample upon blood of the youth who had lost their lives. He was always saying that it is not clear how much blood will be shed before our children could live freely in the future. He constantly reminded me that if he gets arrested I shouldn’t go to Evin prison. He even said: “Your cry and begging before the officials is the worst type of torture for me. Don`t go there, even if they kill me. Don`t cry, don`t beg. Keep your head up…” Believe me in those 14 days, I never once went to Evin, his father used to go, despite the fact that my heart was in pain, I didn’t go.
Q: Did you know that Mostafa had participated in protest of Ashura?
A: Yea, I knew, he would go and join the people.
Q: There were some reports on how you were being harassed by a phone call from your son`s cellphone. Were they true? Did anybody contact you during those 14 days?
A: Yea, every night between 2:30am to 3:00am, somebody would call our house, but they wouldn’t speak. Sometimes we could hear them breathe. My husband and I were thinking it was our son who contacted us, but they wouldn’t let him speak. We would cry out of joy, because we were led to believe our son was alive.
Q: How long did these phone calls last?
A: They lasted until the day we identified my son`s body, then they stopped.
Q: When was the body of Mostafa returned to you? In what condition was it?
A: Mostafa was martyred on December 27th, and we identified the body on January 9, 2010, and we buried him overnight on January 11th. There was a bullet 
hole on the left side of my son`s forehead. They had performed an autopsy on his body, and there was a long stitch from his neck until right below the navel. His kidney, heart and other organs were removed, but we had no problem with that, because he as well as my daughter and myself always said that if we became brain-dead , our body parts and organs should be donated to those in need.
Q: Apparently, they set some conditions for returning your son`s body. Could you explain what was cited as the cause of death in his death certificate?
A: The coroner office told us that he was killed on Ashura, but they issued three death certificates. One cited head collision with a sharp object as the cause of death; the second cited fall from the bridge as the reason; and in the third it was written that he died as a result of a bullet to the head. They returned the body to us contingent on accepting the collision with a sharp object as was cited in the first death certificate. Since we wanted to have the body back, we accepted.
Q: Your family is a resident of Tehran. Why didn`t you bury Mostafa in Behesht-e Zahara (Tehran’s main cemetery)?
A: It was our own decision, because on one hand, they told us that they would give us a two-story grave for free. However, the funeral should be attended only by the father, mother and sister of Mostafa. On the other hand, they asked us to announce that Mostafa was a Basiji. Mostafa’s father said that we wanted to bury him next to his grandmother. As soon as these words left Mostafa’s father mouth, they dug a grave in the village of Jogheen, near Shahryar, and a car from Intelligence Ministry escorted the body to Behesht-e Zahra where, without telling us, they washed the body, and brought to Shahryar to bury. They were filming the entire ordeal. My son was buried at 8 pm, and I was really wishing to bid him farewell, and embrace his body one last time. The grave they had dug was too small, and the body didn’t fit in, so I got a chance to hug my son [while they fixed the grave]. There is one question that I would like you to ask doctors: when the person who was reading Quran entered the grave and held Mostafa’s head, his hands were soaked in blood. He climbed out while crying, and they brought another person. How is it possible that my son who had been killed on December 27th, was still bleeding from his head on January 9th.
"There is one question that I would like you to ask doctors: when the person who was reading Quran entered the grave and held Mostafa’s head, his hands were soaked in blood. He climbed out while crying, and they brought another person. How is it possible that my son who had been killed on December 27th, was still bleeding from his head on January 9th."
Q: Did they allow you to hold a memorial service for Mostafa?
A: We held a memorial ceremony in the neighborhood mosque. It was full of intelligence agents so that no one would protest or says anything. They came to our door a few days later and said your son was a basiji, and we want to bring a wreath for the commemoration of the 40th-day² of his death. I responded that my son wasn’t a basiji, and I wouldn’t even hold a memorial service for that day. That is why we didn’t have a ceremony, and we only gathered at his grave.
Q: Ms. Akmali, was your son a student?
A: No, he had graduated from high school, and was working freelance with one of his friends. They had partnered up in a business of central network telephone installation. They had, for example, contracts from Ministry of Education.
Q: Have have opened a case and asked that those responsible for the murder of your son be held accountable?
A: Yes, the case is open in Criminal Court. The murderer of my son has been identified too, and the officials know very well who he is. However, I don’t want them to execute him. I want those behind these criminal acts to be presented and punished. The person who has ordered the death of my son has to be identified. It’s not important if they bring someone and say he is the shooter. What is important is whomever that has ordered the shooting. He has to be punished. Meanwhile, I have taken my case to the higher court of divine justice, and have asked God to destroy those responsible for these tragedies. We believe in life after death, and we know there is a heaven and hell. I have left it to God.
¹Kahrizak detention centre was a prison camp just outside Tehran which was used in the aftermath of June 2009 disputed election for holding some of the protesters. The horrific conditions in this prison camp, systematic torture and rape of some of the prisoners, and the resulting death of some of the prisoners led to a major scandal that forced the closure of the camp by Ayatollah Khamenei’s order.
²In Iranian and Shiite tradition 7th and 40th day following one’s death is commemorated by mourning ceremonies.
Translation by: Siavosh J. | Persian2English.com