Monday, June 15, 2009

Ballad of a Thin Man -- Tehran Edition


But something is happening, and you don't know what it is. Do you, Mr. Jones?


So what is happening in Iran? Something very big, I suspect. I think this is 1989 for the mullahs. The question is, which 1989?


Is it Tiananmen Square? We are just 20 years on from those horrible moments, when the People's Liberation Army killed the people.


Or is it the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989?


Or will it be the fall of Ceaucescu?


Something very big is happening right now. What will it be?


What do you think?

4 comments:

my name is Amanda said...

I feel hopeful for the young, activist generation in Iran. The revolution was 30 years ago; everything I read about people who were children in 1979, and the generations who came of age after, points toward a desire for Democracy and enthusiasm for Westernization. It will be very interesting to see the outcome (I'm sorry, I admit I didn't read the linked stories), but I imagine if Ahmedinejad is again elected, his term won't be nearly as popular as in years past, and the next president will be wholly different.

my name is Amanda said...

Oh, and to answer your question - I don't think we're in China 1989, in Iran, but I also don't think we've quite made it to Berlin or even Romania.

Then again, I was 10 years old in 1989.

Petercorp said...

I hope that this will be a fall, but I think that it will be another Tiananmen. The Guardian Coucil has a firm grip on the Country, and I see them holding it for a little while longer. I do think that a fall is coming. I just do not see it for a few more years.

Gerry said...

The mere fact that the leadership in Iran is taking notice to a social uprising is big news.

Why would the Ayatollah step in here? Did he wish for a different result? Is he worried about economic sanctions that would most likely come -- or worsen?

I can't imagine the election results being overturned, and if they are it will most certainly be an uprising for the ages.