Ahmadinejad's Jinx Continues

When president Ahamdinejad turned up at a wrestling tournament last month, it was widely expected that the Iranian team would easily win. Presumably Ahmadinejad had planned to ride on the euphoria of the crowd who would have become rapturous after victory, by claiming some of the frenzy was due to his presence. In fact against all expectations the Iranian wrestling team lost.



Next such opportunity for Ahmadinejad was to turn up at the world cup qualifying match between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Again the expectation was that Iran would easily defeat Saudi Arabia on the home ground. Ahmadinejad is known for his love of the game and rarely misses a photo opportunity with Iran's football players. Surely the football fans would share some of their enthusiasm with his presence at the stadium and he would take some credit from that for his popularity.

Yet this is how the events unfolded according to the Iranian website

'The president turned up at the stadium 30 minutes after the game had started. Loud speakers announced his entry and welcomed him, but the 100,000 crowd remained silent as if they were in a shock.

Another attempt to get the crowds on their feet was made at half time. While the players were in the changing rooms, the loud speaker at the stadium twice asked the crowds, to hoist and wave the flags and cheer loudly for the national team in the presence of 'our beloved president'. Again no reaction! The crowds remained silent. Prior to Ahmadinejad turning up, the crowd were ecstatic in their support of the national team. It was obvious that the request by the loud speaker was a naive attempt at soliciting the crowd's support for Ahmadinejad but they were not falling for it.

When Iran lost against all expectations in the last ten minutes, silence turned into anger, the crowd started jeering at the regime's pet coach, Ali Daii, at Ahamadinejad himself and at the regime in general and the LEF had to move in to control and push back the crowd.

The cartoon shown here, depicts Ali Daii, who was removed as the national coach after Iran's defeat, saying 'I think the president's presence raised the spirits of the other team'.

What Better Way to Celeberate Nowruz?

What better way to celebrate Nowruz? with the Haft-Sin decorations right next to the tomb of Cyrus the Great, the father of our nation and then throwing flowers at his tomb.

Now I am really feeling home sick!

Happy Nowrooz

They can't take away our happiness, they can't take away our hopes and they will never be able to take away our national day, Nowruz.

Happy Nowruz to all those who stand up to injustice and all those who cherish freedom.

Omid Mir Sayafi, Another Death at Evin

So soon after the death of political prisoner, Amir Heshmat Saran, another prisoner and blogger, Omid Mir Sayafi died earlier today in the notorious Evin prison. Omid Mir Sayafi was given an overdose of tranqualisers which lowered his blood pressure to a critical level but despite this, he did not receive medical help and died.

Omid meaning hope in Persian, was not a political activist, his passion was music which was the subject of most of his posts.

He was sentenced to two and half years prison after he wrote a one off on his blog saying
'Mr. Khamenei love me as much as you love Sheikh Nasrollah's son'

Instead of celeberating the Iranian New Year Nowruz, our national day, Omid's family will now mourn the death of their son.

Support for Ojalan and Hammer and Sickles Under the Guise of Nowruz

The Mayor of London's office was really taken for a ride on Saturday. Not having done their homework as to what Nowruz is and what Nowruz is about, Saturday at Trafalgar Square became a day of political propaganda for PKK supporters waving pictures of Ojalan and Hammer and Sickle flags! Hook, Line and Sinker Mr. Mayor!

See photos:

Newruz is Turkish National Day and Islamic Republic Day is Iran's National Day!

If only Uncle Napoleon was alive and could see all these attempts by the British to destroy all our symbols of national identity.

Here is the Queen's message posted on the UK embassy's website in Tehran on the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution:

'It gives me great pleasure to send the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran my warmest greetings on the celebration of your National Day, together with my best wishes for good fortune and happiness in the coming year.
Elizabeth R'

Which silly ass of a diplomat advised the Queen of England that the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution is the Iranian national day??

And yet the day which should be our national day, the day which has been celebrated by Iranians for thousands of years, the day which celebrates the first day of the spring, the rebirth of the nature and is beyond religious and political sectarianism, the day that marks the beginning of the Iranian New Year, Nowrooz, the New Day, according to the Mayor of London's office belongs first and foremost to the Turks!!

http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/events/mar-09.jsp
Newroz

Date: 14th, from 12pm - 6pmLocation: Trafalgar Square Summary: Event marking the traditional New Year festival celebrated by the Turkish and Kurdish communities and countries including Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Albania, India, Turkey, Zanzibar and others across central Asia.

Ten Months and 30 Lashes for War Veteran

Etemad Meli daily printed in Iran, has reported a war veteran, Dr. Reza Jalali, as having been sentenced to 10 months in prison, 30 lashes and payment of a monetary penalty by the Gorgan court. Dr. Jalai was found guilty by the court for 'making illegal speeches' and 'insulting government officials' . He was previously rejected by the Guardian Council to stand as a candidate for the Islamic Assembly.

Dr. Jalali is a member of the university's scientific committee and served a total of 70 months in the fronts from the age of thirteen defending Iran against Saddam's invasion . He is also categorised as 70% wounded during the war. A hero of the war against Iraq who suffered Saddam's shrapnels now has to face the lashes of the Islamic Republic.

The plaintiff against him was the Gorgan governor, Major Ja'far Gorzin, who never served in the fronts himself but has been promoted for his servile conduct towards the Islamic Republic authorities.

More and more war veterans in Iran are standing up against the injustices and the monopoly of the power by the few in the Islamic Republic, for this is not what they fought for!

See the clip made for Dr. Reza Jalali:

In My Youngest Son's Motherland

It must be nice to be able to go to one's motherland and be close to one's roots. Here I am once again in the mighty Tatras, this time with my youngest son so he can see and appreciate where half of him comes from. The mighty Tatras, so rugged and so beautiful, looking proud and steadfast as ever.

It has been a pleasure coming to these mountains over the years and watch the people of this land gain their freedom from the yoke of Communism and totalitarianism. They seem to be more prosperous every year, and they deserve it. They are good honest hard working people.

And I wonder will there be enough time when I can go back with my boys to show them their fatherland. The Caspian Sea, Sahand and Sabalan mountains, the Alborz and Zagros mountains, the Persian Gulf and so much more.

Demo Outside BBC TV Studios

Iranian ex-pats today staged a demo outside the BBC TV studios in Wood Lane, London and protested against the lack of coverage of recent events at Tehran Polytechnic by the BBC correspondent in Tehran.

Demonstrators also stood at the main entrance gates of both buildings in Wood Lane and handed out leaflets shown below to the BBC employees as they went through the entrance gates to work.

Protesters also refused to leave unless their grievances with BBC coverage of Iran events was registered with the BBC News desk and the BBC Press Officer. At the end, the BBC agreed to allow one representative on behalf of the protesters to enter the building and register their criticisms of the BBC Iran coverage in a face to face meeting with a BBC representative.

Only then the protesters agreed to leave the area.

Leaflet handed outside the BBC Television studios:

Why we are Protesting Here

In the last week, there have been serious disturbances at Tehran Polytechnic. Hundreds of hired thugs and hoodlums as well as security forces have entered the university campus and clashed with Iran’s pro-democracy students. Nearly one hundred Iranian pro-democracy students from the Polytechnic have been arrested and sent to the notorious Evin prison. Twenty are in hospital as a result of their beatings and inflicted injuries and seven are in critical condition. More dissident students are hiding in the dormitories; the regime’s forces have surrounded the polytechnic but are not entering the dormitories as yet in fear of a recurrence of the student uprising in July 99 that spread to 19 Iranian cities.

Yet despite all this happening, the BBC correspondent in Iran has remained silent on the news preferring to report on safer subjects like Iranian women taxi drivers etc. While the plight of Iran’s real students is ignored by the BBC, whenever there is a government sponsored staged demo attacking foreign embassies, for example, the mob is referred to by the BBC as ‘Iranian students’, giving a totally wrong image of who Iran’s real students are to the viewers.

So much of the human rights abuse and the struggle of the Iranian people against the theocratic dictatorship is going unreported because the media correspondents fear expulsion from Iran and losing their comfortable posts.

As UK TV licence payers we demand better and more objective coverage of the protests and human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the BBC. This is vitally important especially now that the Islamic Republic funded Press TV is operating in UK and is brainwashing the English speaking Muslim audience with their misinformation party-line broadcasting.

Supporters of the Secular Pro-Democracy Movement in Iran