White House to Iran: Allow opposition demonstrations there

[kpete]

Source: The Hill

White House to Iran: Allow opposition demonstrations there
By Bridget Johnson - 02/12/11 03:40 PM ET

The White House said Saturday that, off the heels of 18 days of Egyptian protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, Iran should allow its people to demonstrate.

Tehran had praised Egyptians for rising up against Mubarak's secular government, calling it an Islamic awakening. Yet some trace the roots of the grass-roots, social-media-driven revolt in Egypt to the Green Revolution protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's last election and demanding democracy.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroub, both candidates in that election, wanted to stage a rally Monday in support of uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. But the regime quickly put a damper on the permit request, calling the rallies "riots by seditionists."

"By announcing that they will not allow opposition protests, the Iranian government has declared illegal for Iranians what it claimed was noble for Egyptians," National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said in a statement released by the White House on Saturday.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/143693-white-house-to-iran-allow-opposition-demonstrations-there

[bowens43]

1. If we did what the people of Egypt did

we would be arrested or killed.

[Pirate Smile]

5. There are demonstrations all the time. We have elections. Don't act like this is a dictatorship. Go

protest to your hearts content. People do it every day in front of the White House. You are not in the same situation as the people of Egypt. You can even elect different people to Congress and your state government every two years and the presidency every four.

My Gawd, how many teabagger rallies and shows like Glen Beck need to be on TV before people discover they are not oppressed.

[SharksBreath]

8. Tell that to the people of Wisconsin and Los Angeles.

It amazes me how little people know about their own country.

Los Angeles.
Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich is throwing the book at dozens of people arrested during recent political demonstrations — a major shift in city policy that has him pressing for jail time in types of cases that previous prosecutors had treated as infractions.

Some of the activists arrested, including eight college students and one military veteran who took part in a Westwood rally last year in support of the DREAM Act, face up to one year in county jail.

Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Friday that he was willing to mobilize the state's National Guard force in order to address the potential repercussions of his stated proposal to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state employees.

The Associated Press reports:

Gov. Scott Walker says the Wisconsin National Guard is prepared to respond wherever is necessary in the wake of his announcement that he wants to take away nearly all collective bargaining rights from state employees.

Walker said Friday that he hasn't called the Guard into action, but he has briefed them and other state agencies in preparation of any problems that could result in a disruption of state services, like staffing at prisons.

[micraphone]

10. Algerian authorities have been taking lessons

from Wisconsin and LA on how to suppress demos...

[Pirate Smile]

13. That is completely ridiculous although, hopefully, you just meant it as hyperbole.

Frankly, it is insulting to the people living under dictators.

It is like people comparing everything to Hitler or the Holocaust.

My boss sucks - he's Hitler.

No, actually, he's not.

[micraphone]

18. Yup....

Should have used that sarcasm thingy!

[Pirate Smile]

12. That asshole that Wisconsin voted in last November will be up for reelection in 4 years. He isn't a

dictator. His actions will, I'm sure, be challenged in the state and federal courts. If that doesn't work, then people can vote him out in 4 years and in 2 years they can change their state legislature which will limit what the Governor can do.

This is like the RW acting like they are living under a dictator named President Obama because he won a 4 year term to be President of the United States.

It isn't a friggin dictatorship. It is a Republic and we have elections - even though we don't always like the results and they don't happen every other week to accommodate our complaints.

[maryf]

17. Welcome to DU!!!

we need truth speakers like you!

[nyy1998]

9. I remember being in DC for Bush's second inauguration

And I remember a lot of those protests, didn't sound opressed to me.

[maryf]

15. The press does not write about rallies and actions

unless they agree with them, or they allow the ptb to continue...
What msm paper, station showed the banner the Vets for Peace hung last fall at the Newseum?



edited for better image

[maryf]

16. also tell that to the peace activists who held protests and got raided by the fbi

http://www.stopfbi.net/about

About

We are coming together in response to the FBI raids on seven homes and an anti-war office on Friday, September 24, 2010. The FBI also handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to fourteen activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. These activists are involved in many groups, including the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, the Palestine Solidarity Group, the Colombia Action Network, Students for a Democratic Society, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. These activists and many others came together to organize the 2008 anti-war marches during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Across the country organizations and individuals are standing together to protest the United States government’s attempt to silence and criminalize anti-war and international solidarity activists. We see the raids and subpoenas as an attack on anti-war and other progressive movements. It is an attack on our freedom to speak, our freedom to assemble with like-minded people, and our freedom to tell the government that their actions and policies are wrong. It is an attempt to clear the way for more wars and occupations of other countries by the U.S. military.

We Demand:
**Stop the repression of anti-war and international solidarity activists.
**Immediately return all confiscated materials: computers, cell phones, papers, documents, etc
**End the grand jury proceedings against anti-war activists.

[NeoConsSuck]

2. Hurray USA!!

Did you also tell them to restrict the demonstrators to 'Free Speech Zones'?

[virtus_contagiosa]

3. The White House

thinks we wont do it. They think we are so brainwashed by the CorpoRat media that we think America is great and awesome.

I think we will. I think the American populace en masse will soon rise up.

I think it will be soon because people have realized our politicians are bought and paid for by the CorpoRats, And when that realization hits critical mass...those fuckers are going down.

I only hope it happens sooner than later.

Code Word: Cairo

Lets do it.

[DissedByBush]

4. What about "we respect Iranian sovereignty"

When Iranian protesters were actually getting killed?

[Scottybeamer70]

6. Just wow............

imagine.............us telling another country what to do!!
That's rich!!

[peoli]

7. Iran to White House: "Yeah. Ok Bro."

[daleo]

11. Iran might try "free speech zones"

A clever tactic several western countries have used to neuter political dissent without banning it entirely.

[jwirr]

14. I am glad he said it but do we really believe that Iran is going to listen

to us? I want them to but I think Iran is going to be bloody if the demonstrators seek democracy.

[Tx4obama]

19. IRAN: here's a link with live blog updates, photos, and tons of video

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x416104

[yellowcanine]

20. Wait- Ricky Santorum said that the WH was siding with Iran AGAINST the protestors

Is Ricky a liar?