On the Web: ‘Something must be done’

June 19  reports: Toll still not known
An accurate toll of those killed, injured and arrested in Iran is still not known. But, according to Saeed Valadbaygee, writing from inside Iran on his blog: "At least 43 people have been killed by agents of the Revolutionary Guards, anti-riot force and other suppressive forces during the first five days of the people's nationwide uprising.

"Thirty of these people were killed in Tehran while 13 others died in other cities including Esfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Yazd, Kermanshah and Khorram-Abad. Among them were minors and elderly mothers."

Valadbaygee also reports that "medical staff at Hezar-Takhtekhabi Hospital in Tehran have gone on strike against the kidnapping of those injured in the nationwide uprising. Agents of the suppressive forces have for the past several days besieged the hospital and kidnapped those injured and transferred them to prison without prior treatment.

"Following the nationwide uprising and the regime’s barbaric actions toward the people, nothing can justify negotiating with and appeasing this medieval (sic) regime. The time has come for the international community to sever ties and impose comprehensive sanctions against the regime immediately.

"Agents of the Islamic Republic’ notorious Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and their liaison center on campus ... late on Tuesday raided the dormitory for female students at Abu-Ali Sina University in Hamedan. They assaulted the female students and arrested a number of them, dragging them on the ground into vehicles belonging to the MOIS. In another raid on the university earlier in the evening a number of other students were arrested.

"More than 30 students have thus far been arrested at this university."

'An ordinary man'
Arab news channel Al Arabiya reported June 19 that Khamenei "accused 'agents' of the West and Zionism of operating inside Iran and said they were the ones who started the riots in which cars were burned and property damaged as well as killing eight people.

"Hours after Khamenei's speech, the United Kingdom summoned its Iranian ambassador to complain about the speech in which the leader labeled Britain 'the most evil' of Iran's enemies and European Union leaders called on the republic to allow peaceful protests.

"...With regards to U.S. criticism of the heavy-handed police tactics being used on protestors, Khamenei sarcastically noted Iran did not need human rights advice from those are not even concerned about human rights."

Among the comments posted with the story was this one, from Mohammed Qutubuddin Khaja: "Ayatollah is an ordinary man, he doesn't represent Islam."

'It all points to heavy crackdowns'
The BBC's Tehran correspondent, Jon Leyne, "says that Ayatollah Khamenei appears to have staked everything on this election result and Mr. Ahmadinejad," the news organization said on its site.

"It all points to heavy crackdowns if the protests continue, our correspondent says. ...Amnesty International said it was 'extremely disturbed' by the speech, saying that it indicated the 'authorities' readiness to launch violent crackdowns if people continue to protest.'

"Amnesty says latest reports suggest that around 15 protesters have been killed and hundreds more injured or arrested by security forces."

Cheating 'not allowed'
Britain's Times Online reported: "The Islamic establishment would never commit 'treason' by manipulating the vote," the Ayatollah Khamenei said. 'The legal mechanisms in our country do not allow cheating.'

"The 11 million-vote gap between Mr. Ahmadinejad's tally and that of Mr. Mousavi made a mockery of claims that the result was fixed, he suggested. If anyone had evidence to the contrary they should pursue it through legal channels.

"Mr. Khamenei demanded an end to the demonstrations. 'I want to tell everyone these things must finish. These street actions are being done to put pressure on leaders but we will not bow in front of them,' he said.

"Without naming the three losing candidates who have challenged the election results, he ordered them to 'open their eyes' and see behind the demonstrations 'the enemy hands working, the hungry wolves waiting in ambush.'

"He added, with distinct menace: 'Those politicians who somehow have influence on people should be very careful about their behaviour if they act in an extremist manner ...This extremism will reach a sensitive level which they will not be able to contain. They will be responsible for the blood, violence and chaos.' "

Protests 'must finish'
From Arab news agency Al Jazeera on Friday: "Amnesty International, a UK-based human rights group, said on Friday that it believed 15 people had been killed as the protests have spilled over into violence, compared with just seven deaths reported on Iranian state radio ...

"Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has backed the outcome of the country's presidential elections and warned protests against it must stop.

" 'I want to tell everyone these (protests) must finish.'

"He said that any doubts concerning the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president after the June 12 election would be investigated through legal channels.

"If the supporters of defeated candidates fail to halt the protests 'they will be responsible for its consequences, and consequences of any chaos,' he said.

"The speech was a rare public address by Khamenei, who usually only speaks in public at the end of Ramadan and the anniversary of the Iranian revolution, which brought the theocracy to power."

Another way to get the word out
University students and recent graduates of the University of Chicago have set up IranFax.org, a site that is offering a "channel of last resort" to Twitter and other electronic means for getting information out of Iran by arranging a fax link between someone in Iran and the outside world.

"Make sure to only do this with someone you trust completely!" the site advises. "If the Internet in Iran is cut off or severely restricted, start sending fax reports through your trusted links. Remember that even a trusted connection can be tapped, so we recommend using public fax machines or fax machines open to a large number of people.

"We will also remove any identifying or sensitive information that we see, including the name, number and location of the resender. We will have 2 people read each fax and check for any accidentally identifying details so that we can be sure each message is safe."

In Abu Dhabi: no more protests
Iranians holding protests in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, were told to stop protesting, according to a report Thursday in The National, Abu Dhabi's English-language newspaper:

"Iranian protesters were this morning ordered to disperse on the fifth day of demonstrations outside the Iranian consulate ... Protesters were granted permission by the Ministry of Interior on Tuesday to continue demonstrations until 7pm today.

"However, the 70 protesters who congregated outside the consulate this morning were refused the right to stand opposite the consulate building by members of the Dubai police and the CID.

" 'They had their chance (to protest) for the last four days,' said Capt. Ahmad al Mirri, from the national security apparatus of Dubai. 'They have delivered their message to the Iranian government.

" 'They are not allowed to protest anymore,' he added, saying that they had orders to stop any future protests, received from high-level officials."

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