Ethical principles be damned, to the barricades!

07.21.2003

Finally, Indymedia.org speaks. But it wasn't so pretty. I've been monitoring Indymedia.org (the flagship darling of many so-called "peace" activists) for any mention about Iran's pro-democracy movement and the brutal repression against it. For months, nothing. Finally, this:

Zahra Kazemi was a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist who travelled to Tehran to cover the pro-democracy student uprising. She was arrested by the authorities after she began taking photographs at the Evin prison -- where many of the arrested demonstrators are being detained.

During her arrest she received a blow to the head and died of a brain hemorrhage two weeks later. Initially, the Iranian government lied about their involvement in the murder of Ms. Kazemi. As more reports leaked out, the mullahs began to change their story.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups are calling for an independant investigation into the situation and Canada is mulling its options in the likely event Iran is proved to have been directly involved in the murder.

Among the comments posted in response to this story were this:

Prisoners are beaten to death in prisons throughout the "civilized" world, so let's not make this bigger than it really is, however appalling.

One valid question remains, which has been brushed aside: Was she working with CSIS, or any other intelligence agency?

And this (which, frankly, I just don't get):

...inspired violence. Bush and his band of PNAC tit mice are sowing the seeds of hatred around the world.

Money is the only God republikkkans worship.

And this one:

As to what difference it makes. She might have been an agent provocateur in which case she got exactly what she deserved. So how many innocent people will die in the invasion she was trying to set up?

So, there you have it folks, the only Indymedia.org coverage of the Iran pro-democracy movement and it mostly just used (in a weird twist of non-linear logic) as means to rail against Bush & co. Wow. They'd rather hate Bush (and I thought hate wasn't a family value) than defend human rights (like freedom of the press). Oh, well. To the barricades!

The person who originally posted it to Indymedia.org is blogger Kashei. She's angered by the silence on Iran in general and the response to her post in particular. I don't blame her.

Posted by Miguel at 05:24 PM

Comments

While I'd be glad to take credit for it, it was actually my co-blogger Peter who posted to Indymedia. I've given up on them long ago but he just has this huge faith in humanity and feels he can sway their hateful hearts. Good luck to him but he'll have more luck just beating his head against the wall.

Great site, by the way.

Posted by: Kashei at July 23, 2003 03:22 PM

I'm glad someone else feels the same way as me. I was so disgusted at the response to my post, I just about gave up on Indymedia.

Posted by: Peter at July 25, 2003 12:30 AM

That's disgusting in every possible way. To downplay her death and then say she deserved it, is appalling even for a group such as that. How is her death any different from other people such as Mandela, Ghandi, or King who have tried to show the world the pain and suffering of living in an oppressed society? And one has to love the way they refer to "republiKKKans" and money.

Posted by: Kara at July 25, 2003 11:28 AM