Changing Tactics In Iran
The BBC reports that there were Arrests at new Iranian protests
Iranian riot police are reported to have arrested a number of pro-reform protesters in Tehran after demonstrations turned violent.
Police clashed with hundreds of people marching despite a ban on public gatherings since the disputed election in June, Reuters news agency said.
…In a new form of protest, activists were urged to turn off lights and domestic appliances at 2055 (1625 GMT).
They planned to switch on five minutes later appliances that consume large amounts of electricity, such as irons, toasters and microwave ovens.
Activist leaders hoped the resulting surge in demand could cause a power outage and cloak Tehran in darkness, allowing some the chance to protest on the streets.
In addition to arranging power surges, the Iranian are using economics to punish people they believe have collaborated in the government crack down.
The Telegraph reports that Nokia sees mobile phones boycotted in Iran
The mobile phone company Nokia is being boycotted in Iran because it is seen to be collaborating with the regime, it has been claimed.
Demand for the company’s products has fallen even though it is widely considered to have the best mobile phone coverage in the country.
The boycott comes after reports that the company, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), sold electronic surveillance systems to the Iranian government, according to The Guardian.
Vendors say they have seen sales fall by as much as half.
There are also reports that any company that advertises on the state run television is also being boycotted, which has led to a drop in revenue for the broadcaster as advertisers have decided not to find out if that is true.
4 comments
The ersourcefulness of the protestors is wonderful. The regime closes the door on one form of protest and several more open. Bravo!
.-= ´s last blog ..Glass Hotel =-.
The hardliners don’t seem to understand that this is not going away. The protesters are really serious about their rights, and the hardliners just totally screwed up the theft of the election. It’s hard to understand that they weren’t clever enough to steal the election in a believable manner. This is the problem with autocrats, they don’t have any real respect for people, and expect them to do as they are told.
If they were more intelligent this would never have been a problem. People might have suspected that something was wrong, but it wouldn’t have been obvious. When you have more votes in a district than there are voters, that’s pretty obvious. I don’t think there is anyone who reads this blog who couldn’t have done a better job of rigging the votes for a win than the arrogant people who concocted the Iranian election results.
I don’t like the Iranian system of government, but I would just as soon that it not come apart in a spectacular fashion at this point in history. The world is ill-prepared for any more turmoil at the moment. Evolution gets fewer people killed than revolution.
Way to go. 🙂 Rebellion is never easy, but once started, is usually only stopped when the rebels win or are decimated. The people have decided that they won’t stop until they win, this is now fueling itself and probably past the point of critical mass. The hardliners are running out of options.
The arrogance is what is ticking people off, as well as trying to paint it as “religious” in nature. The Shi’ia pick their own religious leaders to follow; there is no one religious authority that has the final say. The grand ayatollahs are rated in importance by the numbers of followers they attract individually.
Khamenei has been trying to to assert his personal supremacy on religious matters, as well as the government, and the heavy hitters are getting personally annoyed at this presumption. Even some who would be considered hard right don’t like his attitude.
They have lost their credibility and respect. You can’t get that back.