Don't Vote: Blog

February 20, 2004 5:44 AM

"Don't Vote: Blog" is the message to supporters of reform in Iran, as today's parliamentary elections are marred by mass disqualification of reform candidates by religious authorities and protest resignations by sitting parliamentarians (via Joi Ito.) Check IranFilter for English-language posts and updates. Will this be the blogosphere's finest hour to date?
posted by hairyeyeball (8 comments total)

Now I read a roundup or summary of Iranian election news, written by an Iranian, who described the conflict between reformists and non-reformists as an argument over which side was the most authentic Islamic theocracy.

I can't find it now, maybe someone else has seen it? But is the message accurate? What do these reformist candidates who were banned represent, politically and philosophically?
posted by techgnollogic at 6:28 AM on February 20, 2004

The impression I got was that the liberalization the people - especially the young people - in Iran want is not being offered by either side of the election debacle.
posted by techgnollogic at 6:30 AM on February 20, 2004

Found it: here and here.
posted by techgnollogic at 6:37 AM on February 20, 2004

I'll be following this with great interest. Thanks for the post, hairyeyeball. (Here's the page for election reports on IranFilter.)
posted by languagehat at 8:56 AM on February 20, 2004

Weird article from the Post. It is true that the kind of reform we're talking about is reform within the context of the Islamic Revolution. No other kind of reformist movement is even possible, short of civil war, given the absolute veto power of the Supreme Council (which vetos 90 percent of legislation issued by the Majlis). I just don't get why it is that letting the hardliners consolidate control is a good thing, either from a diplomatic perspective or from the point of view of your average Iranian citizen.

Not that I'm an expert on the subject, just interested in learning. But here's another article by Amir Taheri that puts these views in some perspective: He thinks the idea of a democratic reform of the Islamic Revolution is a pipe-dream, and offers some more detailed criticisms of the "reformist" camp.
posted by hairyeyeball at 2:20 PM on February 20, 2004

I was LOOKING at IranFilter when the government censored it. All of a sudden the links went dead. A few hours later I saw reports that the Interior Minister is wasting no time in cracking down on those annoying truth tellers.
posted by kablam at 3:12 PM on February 20, 2004

Why, THOSE DARN KIDS! They've already come up with a work around. "Curses, foiled again," sneers the Iranian censor.
posted by kablam at 3:21 PM on February 20, 2004

The server was down for a while. censorship in Iran doesn't affect the US-based server.
posted by hoder at 10:40 AM on February 21, 2004