subscribe or follow us:                    

An Information Vacuum In Iran

1 comment

Posted by liss on Feb 17, 2011 in Current | 1 comment

This post was originally posted here.

Much is missing in Iran. Not only basic freedoms, but people, facts, information, justice and, importantly, the ability to distinguish truth from the confetti of information whirling around the social media circuit.

Communications disruption of phone, internet, mobile and SMS network, plus very often a language barrier, creates problems for international media coverage of Iran. It also make them vulnerable to propaganda. I was very concerned to hear the Anderson Cooper interview on CNN supposedly with a girl protester in iran. From her accent it was clear the girl was of East Asian descent. Assuming she was a genuine Iranian student protester, her ethinicity would make her that much easier for state security to identify inside Iran. People inside Iran are already taking massive risks by protesting, talking to each other, sharing information. Just because the media has cultivated audiences to expect certain types of coverage, does not excuse putting innocent lives at risk. And if it turns out that the girl was not actually a student protester inside Iran, CNN still does not get excused or absolved for their lack of probity, not even if they acted incomplete ignorance of the characteristics of very different regional accents.

Cutting off commmunications is one of the Iranian regime’s favorite tactics for controlling the population. Suppressing information is another. There are no firm statistics on the number of people arrested during last week’s protests across the country, and very few names of individuals are known. The same is true of the many thousands arrested since the election of June 2009. This makes it extremely difficult for families to find their missing loved ones, and they are frequently passed from one authority to another and back again in an endless game of cat and mouse, trying to find information. If and when they are finally able to locate their imprisoned relative, the game begins anew, with threats and intimidation, warning them against talking to anyone, especially foreign media. Local media know the rules: don’t ask, don’t tell.

In the vacuum created by the regime’s tight control on the flow of information, rumors and conspiracies abound. One recurring theme harks back to the mass executions of dissidents in the 1980′s, which was a tragic time in Iran’s history when countless numbers of prisoners were summarily executed for membership of opposition groups. Because the regime uses the same rhetoric now as was used back then, and has been performing executions at an increased rate on political prisoners and others who they claim are convicted of drug related offences, there is a great deal of apprehension and fear that the same fate awaits today’s prisoners.

Still on the subject of communications, we have a puzzling situation with Mir-Hossein  Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the two most prominent political opposition figures in Iran, and both aligned to the popular grassroots green movement. Both are said to be under virtual house arrest with all phone lines and internet cut off, and even family forbidden entrance to their homes, which are under siege by regime security forces.

Yet each of them has apparently been able to issue statements while under siege, which have been published on FaceBook, Deutsche Welle, kaleme.com and sahamnews.org. The latter was offline for a time, presumably due to an attack, and it was reported that kaleme.com was inaccessible briefly today. Both websites are functioning at the time of writing. This blatant disregard for the regime’s efforts at censorship is a real symbol or hope and encouragement for activists inside Iran, and a clear signal to everyone outside that the opposition is alive and cannot be silenced so easily.

A statement was issued today by Mousavi’s senior political advisor, Amir-Ali Arjomand, calling for Sunday 20th February 2011 to be marked by nationwide gatherings in Iran to mark the death of two young men who took part in opposition rallies on Saturday 12th February 2011. Karroubi also published a statement via his adviser Mojtaba Vahedi, challenging the regime to take him to court, stating “In the event that such trial takes place, Mr. Karroubi will prove that ths government was overthrown by its own leaders.” It is widely understood that Karroubi has ‘got the goods’ on the regime and that they are terrified of him revealing the evidence he has against them. Even after a prolonged campaign which includedd breaking into his office, arresting and intimidating his staff, and last night breaking into son’s home and ransacking it, the regime’s security forces do not seem to have been able to find this evidence.

Will arrival of the second installment of the cash subsidy payment in Iran today impact upcoming weekend opposition protests? Liquidity can be a benefit or a risk. Mass protests need support from low income groups. Ready cash can pay for travel, petrol, SIM cards. But it can also buy drugs, silence, regime loyalty. We will no doubt experience much speculation between now and Sunday, but no one will know for certain until the day itself.

HAVING FUN SERVING OTHERS; Alternative spring-breakers forgo bars, beach.(FAMILY TIMES)

The Washington Times (Washington, DC) March 23, 2003 Byline: Alexandra Rockey Fleming, THE WASHINGTON TIMES Boston College junior Jeff Capotosto needed a break from the daily grind. Like most students, he hit the road, hoping to put some miles between himself and the stress and responsibility that riddle higher education. Mr. Capotosto’s spring break – unlike those of many of his peers – didn’t include any tequila shots, no honeycomb of revelers crashing cheap motels, no random hookups with unknown coeds. He traveled to Washington instead – on his own dime. Here the 21-year-old and his compatriots spent a week laying insulation and posting drywall on a couple of houses in projects supervised by D.C. Habitat, an affiliate of Habit for Humanity International, the Christian nonprofit housing organization based in Americus, Ga.

Nearly 30,000 students nationwide will participate in some type of alternative spring break this year, says Dan McCabe, executive director of Break Away, a national nonprofit group that assists colleges and communities in promoting alternative break programs. Organizers say this type of trip appeals to students who want to make new friends, help other people, learn about different cultures and experience a new environment – minus the bacchanal more frequently associated with spring break.

Before his trip, Mr. Capotosto said he was confident that his vacation, organized through Boston College’s service group, Appalachian Volunteers, would be a great opportunity – “everyone coming together for a cause,” he says.

“A lot of times you’re worried about your own life,” he says. “This is a week where you can actually do something for someone else. It’s a nice thing to do that’s also rewarding for everyone involved.” +++++ Concerns The three B’s booze, beaches and bikinis commonly are linked to spring break in the minds of many students. Some considerations for parents of teens who are planning spring-break vacations include:

* Many “all-inclusive trips” to foreign destinations such as the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada include all-you-can-drink parties, booze cruises, unlimited open bar and parties sponsored by liquor distributors where alcohol is distributed free of charge.

* The drinking age is 18 or 19 in Mexico, Canada and much of the Caribbean, and in many of these places the age limits are only modestly enforced, if at all. alcoholpoisoningsymptomsnow.net alcohol poisoning symptoms

* U.S. citizens are subject to the laws of the country they are visiting. If a teen is arrested, there is little if anything that the State Department can do to help. Also, medical care in many resort areas often is inadequate to respond to drinking and other substance-related crises.

* Although some travel companies provide adult chaperones, these adults are not responsible for monitoring students’ alcohol or drug consumption or sexual activity.

* Many young people don’t know the signs of alcohol poisoning. Symptoms include the following: The person doesn’t respond when spoken to, pinched or poked; the person vomits when passed out; the person cannot stand up or remain standing without aid; the person has a very slow rate of breathing fewer than six breaths per minute; he has bluish or purplish or clammy skin that feels cool to the touch; his pulse is slower than 40 beats per minute.

Source: Students Against Destructive Decisions +++++ More info Books * “The Uncollege Alternative: Your Guide to Incredible Careers and Amazing Adventures Outside College,” by Danielle Wood, ReganBooks, 2000. This book includes ideas and resources on opportunities for adventures around the world; internships, apprenticeships and training programs; and community service projects.

* “The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Adventures: Internships, Extraordinary Experiences, Seasonal Jobs, Volunteering, Working Abroad,” by Michael Landes, Ten Speed Press, 2002. This guide contains more than 1,000 opportunities to work, play, learn and help, introducing readers to previously unconsidered options. this web site alcohol poisoning symptoms

* “Don’t Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money: The Essential Parenting Guide to the College Years,” by Helen E. Johnson and Christine Schelhas-Miller, Griffin Trade, 2000. Using case examples and real-life dialogue, this book shows how parents may have lost control over their college student, but they haven’t lost influence.

Online * SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions, (www.sadd-online.com) has identified spring break as a time of year when teens are particularly at risk. Its Safe Spring Break Campaign offers a safety kit that includes materials that warn young people about some of the dangers of underage drinking. SADD also encourages young people to turn their energies to community-service projects that will strengthen and improve their communities. The Spring Break Safety Kit includes ideas and information about community-service projects that teens can organize that will provide opportunities for teens to get together, have fun and accomplish a worthwhile objective over spring break.

* Break Away (www.alternativebreaks.org), a national nonprofit organization, provides workshops and facilitates a network to connect nonprofit groups that need volunteers with the goal of having students become lifelong participants in community service.

* Youth Service America (www.ysa.org) is a resource center and alliance of more than 300 organizations committed to increasing the quantity and quality of opportunities for young Americans to serve locally, nationally or globally.

CAPTION(S):

Boston College junior Jeff Capotosto helps repair the house for D.C. Habitat, an affiliate of the nonprofit organization. “This is a week where you can actually do something for someone else,” he says. “It’s a nice thing to do that’s also rewarding for everyone involved.” [Photo by Jessica Tefft/The Washington Times] Boston College students and AmeriCorps workers put siding on a Habitat for Humanity house in a Northeast community in the District. Nearly 30,000 students nationwide will participate in some type of alternative spring break this year, says an official of a nonprofit group. [Photo by Jessica Tefft/The Washington Times] Natalie Battle, a junior at George Mason University, traded sand, sun and relaxation for an alternative break in New York City. There she spent a week caring for victims of HIV/AIDS via the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, an AIDS advocacy and education organization. [Photo by Jessica Tefft/The Washington Times]

Comments

Powered by Facebook Comments

  • http://propagandadecoded.tumblr.com STX00

    “Yet each of them has apparently been able to issue statements while under siege, which have been published on FaceBook, Deutsche Welle, kaleme.com and sahamnews.org.”

    On one hand their homes are “under siege”, their phones and internet access have been disconnected, no one can visit them, etc. On the other hand they can post status updates on Facebook, tweet, etc.

    Is, (a) the government of Iran such a bumbling, cartoonish group of vaudevillian bad guys that they can’t stop someone from tweeting, or, (b) is the AP/Reuters virtual monopoly on English-language foreign news reporting not being entirely accurate in their presentation of the situation? And, if the latter, what other liberties in reportage have they taken?