Haiku 062409

morning glories
lie still on the grass...
summer sunset

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Recently, we read the following:

NPR: “Iran Supreme Leader Vows Not To Bow To Protests”

“Iran's supreme leader said Wednesday that the government would not give in to pressure over the disputed presidential election, effectively closing the door to compromise with the opposition.

" ‘Neither the system nor the people will give in to pressures at any price,’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a meeting with lawmakers Wednesday….

“In his remarks on state television, Khamenei was adamant. ‘On the current situation, I was insisting and will insist on implementation of the law. That means we will not go one step beyond the law,’ he said…

“Mousavi claims that hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole the June 12 election through massive fraud. He has called for annulling the results and holding a new vote.

“Mousavi supporters have flooded the streets of Tehran and other cities on a near-daily basis since the election, massing by the hundreds of thousands in protests larger than any since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Security forces initially stood by and permitted the demonstrations.

“Khamenei said in a stern sermon broadcast to the nation Friday that Ahmadinejad was the legitimate winner. He told opposition supporters to halt their protests and blamed the U.S., Britain and other foreign powers for instigating unrest.

“The government then ramped up both the use of force and its rhetoric, beating protesters, firing tear gas and water cannons at them. State media say at least 17 people have been killed in the postelection unrest. Amateur footage of a woman bleeding to death from a gunshot on a Tehran street unleashed outrage at home and abroad….”

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And we thought:

… You’d think that Iran’s mullahs would at least try to provide a safe forum to hear out the protesters. Or do Iran’s laws actually prohibit dialogue between its leaders and its people? Scores of protesters have since fallen in the streets – some killed, a lot more injured. But the protests continue. Obviously, "threats, beatings, and imprisonments" -- and blaming other countries -- will not resolve the issues protesters have raised. A good-faith dialogue might just help start the process....