For those who have been following the twitter streams coming out of Iran,
persiankiwi has been one of the lead sources of information since the election. So far his/her/their twitter stream has been infused with excitement, potential and hidden dangers, as if these were furtive dispatches in a Matrix like underground resistance, tapping in and out of the web to upload small bits and direct traffic towards some useful end. The violence was in the background and the message was of movement and hope.
And now this today. The blunt end of trauma. The last few hours in chronological order:
just in from Baharestan Sq - situation today is terrible - they beat the ppls like animals -
I see many ppl with broken arms/legs/heads - blood everywhere - pepper gas like war -
they were waiting for us - they all have guns and riot uniforms - it was like a mouse trap - ppl being shot like animals
saw 7/8 militia beating one woman with baton on ground - she had no defense nothing - #Iranelection sure that she is dead
so many ppl arrested - young & old - they take ppl away -
ppl run into alleys and militia standing there waiting - from 2 sides they attack ppl in middle of alleys
all shops was closed - nowhere to go - they follow ppls with helicopters - smoke and fire is everywhere
phone line was cut and we lost internet - #Iranelection - getting more difficult to log into net -
rumour they are tracking high use of phone lines to find internet users - must move from here now - #Iranelection
reports of street fighting in Vanak Sq, Tajrish sq, Azadi Sq - now - #Iranelection - Sea of Green - Allah Akbar
in Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping ppl like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher - Allah Akbar -
they catch ppl with mobile - so many killed today - so many injured - Allah Akbar - they take one of us
they pull away the dead into trucks - like factory - no human can do this - we beg Allah for save us -
Everybody is under arrest & cant move - Mousavi - Karroubi even rumour Khatami is in house guard
we must go - dont know when we can get internet - they take 1 of us, they will torture and get names - now we must move fast -
thank you ppls 4 supporting Sea of Green - pls remember always our martyrs - Allah Akbar - Allah Akbar - Allah Akbar
Allah - you are the creator of all and all must return to you - Allah Akbar -
The last line sounds like a benediction. The tone has changed dramatically and if these reports are true, I fear that this a turning point in the revolution. Either the violence just caught up to persiankiwi, or the militia attacks on demonstrators have become much more dramatic. When a government decriminalizes and encourages civic violence towards members of its own population, the results can be horrifying beyond imagination. So far the protest movement tried to position itself as peaceful. But passive resistance only works in the end when the crowd has no stomach to continue the violence. Ghandi won in India because the British public could no longer stand the violence that was being perpetrated in its name. But when the ruling, armed, supporters of the government not only support the violence but actively participate in it, passive resistance will be met with more brutality as in Tibet.
There is enough evidence from reports on western platforms such as the BBC to indicate that there are preparations to step up the violence and use the five day extension granted to protest the election results to smash the resistance before Ahmadinejad is finally declared the winner.
Whatever the situation on the ground in Tehran, persiankiwi's reports ring with pathos and clarity. To emphasize just how far we are here in the West from what is happening in Tehran, take a look at PDN's photo of the day.