Iran And The Green Movement
It's been over a year since the Iranian Green movement first made its voice heard by marching peacefully against what was perceived as a stolen election and the continued tyranny of the Ahmadinejad regime and religious leader Ali Khamenei.
Led by the young, intellectual, and middle class segments of society, along with moderate religious figures spurred on by the brutal treatment of peaceful protesters, the movement grew. The social networking tool Twitter gained international attention as highly tech savvy Iranian dissidents spread word of what was happening in the country, bypassing government attempts to shut down coverage. Thousands of people were injured by roving gangs of thugs called basij, who were hired and trucked in from rural and poor areas to break up protests through intimidation and more often, violence.
The movement coalesced around the video of the death of a young woman named Neda standing with her father on a street corner by a basij on a motorcycle for no apparent reason. Her death sparked international outrage and emboldened the Green movement to continue to protest even under the threat of physical violence. Unfortunately, even after briefly rising again months later, the movement was forced underground once again after hundreds of arrests and executions.
Things don't look great for the Greens in Iran at the moment, but they are certainly not gone. Pink Floyd recently allowed a band called Blurred Vision made up ex-pat Iranian brothers, the rights to record a version of their famous counter culture song, 'Another Brick in the Wall' in support of those who risked everything to get the message out.
Watch the video below retitled 'Another Brick in the Wall (Hey Ayatollah, Leave Those Kids Alone):
Led by the young, intellectual, and middle class segments of society, along with moderate religious figures spurred on by the brutal treatment of peaceful protesters, the movement grew. The social networking tool Twitter gained international attention as highly tech savvy Iranian dissidents spread word of what was happening in the country, bypassing government attempts to shut down coverage. Thousands of people were injured by roving gangs of thugs called basij, who were hired and trucked in from rural and poor areas to break up protests through intimidation and more often, violence.
The movement coalesced around the video of the death of a young woman named Neda standing with her father on a street corner by a basij on a motorcycle for no apparent reason. Her death sparked international outrage and emboldened the Green movement to continue to protest even under the threat of physical violence. Unfortunately, even after briefly rising again months later, the movement was forced underground once again after hundreds of arrests and executions.
Things don't look great for the Greens in Iran at the moment, but they are certainly not gone. Pink Floyd recently allowed a band called Blurred Vision made up ex-pat Iranian brothers, the rights to record a version of their famous counter culture song, 'Another Brick in the Wall' in support of those who risked everything to get the message out.
Watch the video below retitled 'Another Brick in the Wall (Hey Ayatollah, Leave Those Kids Alone):


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