Iran Election Guide

Donate to EAWV





Or, click to learn more

Search

Entries in Martin Fletcher (2)

Wednesday
Jul132011

Iran Document: A New Green Manifesto?

And now a mystery: yesterday a collection of activists, reportedly inside Iran, put out a document which claims to be a new path for the opposition. The "manifesto" emerged outside the country through two outlets: Martin Fletcher in The Times of London and insideIRAN, a project of The Century Foundation in the US.

The document is forthright in its language and general in its ambition: "the complete subordination of all government and state posts to direct popular sovereignty", while putting forth the Green Movement as an umbrella for different groups who were pursuing rights long before the 2009 Presidential election.

But there is an important starting question, especially amidst the current debate amongst reformists and activists over the way forward inside and outside the Iranian system: who are these "intellectuals who are leaders in the Green Movement in Tehran"?

Click to read more ...

Sunday
Jun192011

Libya: Pimps and Snitches --- The Story That Brought the Expulsion of a British Journalist

Gunmen in Tripoli's Green SquareOn Saturday, Libyan authorities ordered Xan Rice, a reporter for The Guardian of London, out of the country. This was the article on Friday that apparently raised their anger:

Locals call them pimps or snitches. They wear plain clothes, drive unmarked cars and are as numerous as scorpions in the Libyan desert, only more dangerous. Loathed and feared in equal measure, they are the eyes and ears of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, and a large part of the reason that Tripoli has not been able to join the revolt sweeping the country.

Click to read more ...