Ahmadinejad gets a New York welcome - Part 2

The evening did not end well for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

As he prepared to host a dinner at the InterContinental Barclay Hotel Wednesday night, hundreds of protesters outside chanted slogans against him and the few guests who had not declined his invitation. Two New York venues - the Helmsley Hotel and Gotham House -- had already canceled banquets that the Islamic Republic's president had announced weeks ago. As the revelers arrived under a barrage of insults and boos, some covered their faces while others turned around and left. Ahmadinejad and the rest of his jet-lagged delegation would have to sleep in the same hotel later.

I want to ask him why they held my father for 90 days.

- Turaj Zaim, 33, San Francisco hip-hop artist. Zaim's father, Kourosh Zaim, was arrested a week after the June 12 election, apparenty for having given an interview to Canadian radio.

The demonstrators across from the InterContinental Braclay cried out, 'Come out, murderer!' But as a group of dinner-goers, including a cleric, came out from behind a police van and marched purposefully to the hotel's entrance, the shouts rose in intensity and turned into a continuous hoot:


Other slogans of the evening included 'Ashghal biya biroun!' (Come out, you piece of garbage!), referring to President Ahmadinejad, and 'Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein', referring to his rival in the disputed presidential election:

The green movement now encompasses everyone inside and outside Iran who wants change and freedom for their country 
- Akbar Atri, former student activist. Atri escaped to the U.S. in 2005 after being jailed several times in Iran.

The day's events had been kicked off that morning at 10:30 in Columbus Circle by a group of cyclists who had traveled from Toronto to New York. The group, members of Cycling for Human Rights in Iran, informed New Yorkers of the Iranian regime's crimes and violations as they made a loop around Central Park and continued towards the Iranian Mission at 40th Street and 3rd Avenue, the starting point of one of the rallies organized by Where Is My Vote - New York Chapter.

BoomGen TV's report on the protests includes an interview with some of the members of CHRI:

Ahmadinejad is not my president. 
- Voices of Iranians living in Iran. Iran Alive video art installation shown on Tuesday, September 22 in New York.

The protesters proceeded from the Iran Mission up 3rd Avenue to the corner of 47th Street, where the main rally was to take place next to the UN Building. The number of people grew significantly as the day advanced and soon reached the thousands. Eyewitnesses spoke of at least ten thousand demonstrators, but the figure has not been confirmed by the NYPD. The following footage shows a considerable number of people.

'Political prisoners must be freed!' - 'Liar, where's your 63%?' - 'Independence, freedom, Iranian Republic!' (NB Contrary to the revolution slogan which ended with 'Islamic Republic.')

We asked, 'Where's our vote?' and they answered us with tear gas and batons. 
- Hassan Alizadeh, 38, who had come from Iran to attend the rally. Alizadeh plans to bike to Washington, Charlotte, and Atlanta in protest.

In this video, the cameraman walks past crowds lining the street.

There are thousands in Iran who are in jail, who get beaten...

- Jewish activist as he is being arrested by New York police for blocking traffic while protesting Ahmadinejad.

The rally, at times boisterous, at others more earnest, was always spirited, with an eclectic mix of politics, creative sloganeering, and songs. At one point, Arash Sobhani, leader of the band Kiosk, performed a song. 'It is dismaying that in a country in which 70% of the population is under 30, a dozen old men who are over 400 years old sit in the Guardian Council and get to decide who becomes president,' he told the cheering crowd. 'This song is for the Guardian Council...'


Just outside the UN security perimeter, one Iranian accosted a regime cleric and engaged in talks (for version with subtitles click twice on the image to open in large format in YouTube):

If I had a chance to meet Ahmadinejad, I would say to him, 'You don't deserve to be Iran's president, because you are a cheat and a liar.' 

- Alireza Sadr, 30, dentist. Sadr flew in from Tokyo to attend the protests.

On 1st Avenue and 41st Street, a group of rabbis and Jewish activists were arrested for blocking traffic as they denounced Ahmadinejad. The New York Post said that Ahmadinejad had managed to unite Muslims and Jews on this day of protests:


Meanwhile, inside the UN Building, the General Assembly was in session. Ahmadinejad was programmed to deliver his speech at around 5 PM, but finally arrived at the lectern two hours later. Muammar Ghaddafi's 95-minute unending address was partially to blame.

As Ahmadinejad delivered a series of critiques and suggestions to a an already less-than-full chamber, the number of attentive diplomats began falling alarmingly. Delegation after delegation began walking out ten minutes into the speech as the Islamic Republic's President launched into an anti-Semitic rant about a 'minority group' which controls the world's business and media. The televised fiasco can be viewed here. Moments of interest are at the following time marks 10:30, 11:45, 12:10, 16:15, 27:50, and 30:05. The embarrassing footage shows Ahmadniejad speaking before line after line of empty seats. One twitter activist noted, 'I think I just saw a chair walk out as well.' The scene was broadcast live in Iran, through at least one official news outlet, Fars News, but was probably missed by most Iranian viewers because it took place well after midnight local time.

President Ahmadinejad left the UN Building after his speech to attend what he thought would be a more relaxed event: dinner at the InterContinental Barclay.

Thursday morning, protesters gathered at Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza Park at 10:30 AM local and walked across Brooklyn Bridge with the world-record-breaking green scroll covered with the signatures of tens of thousands of Iranians around the globe who say, 'Ahmadinejad is not my President.'


This evening (Thursday), the Empire State Building will be bathed in green, a fitting tribute to the thousands who attended the events of the past two days. Protesters will gather below the landmark skyscraper for photo shoots. However, the green lighting has nothing to do with Iran. It is part of the 70th anniversary celebration of the movie 'The Wizard of Oz' and the Emerald Ball which will be held at the Tavern in the Green tonight.

(For part 1 go here)

Ahmadinejad gets a New York welcome - Part 1

Cyclists before leaving Toronto

Thousands of Iranians have traveled to New York by chartered bus, plane, automobile, and bicycle to demonstrate against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and support human rights in Iran.

Ahmadinejad arrived in the city last night, Tuesday, to attend the UN General Assembly and deliver a speech today, Wednesday, sometime after 5 PM. For weeks various groups have been planning events and protests to coincide with this visit. Where Is My Vote - New York Chapter is among many organizations which offered cheap transportation on chartered buses to New York ($30 round trip from Washington DC).

The welcome mat had already been pulled out from under Ahmadinejad last week when two venues where he was to speak abruptly canceled the events. On September 17, the New York Helmsley Hotel declared it would not host the president's banquet. Helmsley spokesman Howard Rubenstein said that the hotel was unaware that Ahmadinejad would be at the event and that the banquet hall had been rented months ago by an Iranian student organization. Subsequently, Gotham Hall also cancelled an engagement at which the Islamic Republic's president was to have appeared.

'No vacancy' for Ahmadinejad:



Despite a concerted telephone, fax, and e-mail campaign to get Ahmadinejad thrown out of the InterContinental Barclay, which reportedly had hotel staff up in arms, Ahmadinejad has apparently managed to managed to maintain his reservation at the plush hotel.



Since the start of the week, mobile billboards on trucks have been circling the UN neighborhood, denouncing human rights violations in Iran and attracting considerable attention:

Though the biggest protests will take place today and tomorrow, demonstrators kicked off the events last night at the corner of 47th Street and 2nd Avenue, near the UN building, with an art installation organized by Voices For Iran. Hundreds watched a video projected onto a living screen of white-clad people. The voices in the footage are of Iranians inside Iran and were collected especially for the installation. Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who was detained in Iran months ago, was present at the event, according to Radio Farda.

The original footage that was used in the installtion:



The art installation with the 'living screen':



A group of cycling activists who had been pedaling from Toronto to New York since September 19 arrived to loud applause at the art installation just before the video was screened. They were members of CHRI (Cycling for Human Rights in Iran), a group that had delivered an Amnesty International petition to the Iranian embassy in Ottawa in July after another long bike ride from Toronto.

Footage of CHRI and Amnesty International activists just before their departure from Toronto, September 19:

The Iranian-Canadian cyclists organized a loop around Central Park, starting at Columbus Circle at 10:30 this morning, to bring their message to New Yorkers, before heading for the Iranian Mission at 40th Street and 3rd Avenue, where the first mass gathering of the day will take place at 12:30 PM. 'We all know Mr. Ahmadinejad will be addressing the UN on the 23rd of September,' the group explained on its FaceBook page. 'By cycling a all over New York City, we intend to draw attention to the widespread and systematic human rights abuses that have, and still continue to take place in Iran. We ask you to join us to show solidarity with the people of Iran and condemn the violation of human rights worldwide.'

The protesters in front of the Iranian Mission will walk north on 3rd Avenue up to 47th Street, then head east to the main rally site at 3 PM local. The main demonstration will take place from 4 PM outside the UN Building near 47th Street and 2nd Avenue and will last for the duration of Ahmadinejad's speech which will start at around 5 PM local.

(For part 2 please go here)

Unprepared and vapid, France 2 journalist falls for Ahmadinejad's song and dance - 22 September 2009

France 2 Télévision broadcast an interview with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in its Tuesday evening newscast. The interview had been conducted the day before in Tehran by Renaud Bernard.

Bernard elicits one key element in the encounter -- Iran's desire to link the fate of Clothilde Reiss, a French lecturer accused of espionnage, to that of 'Iranian prisoners' in France -- and one outrageous comment indicative of the regime's shameless distortion of the facts -- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is 'responsible' for Neda's death.

But for the most part, Renaud Bernard blunders through an interview for which he seems ill-prepared. To be fair, France 2 had been informed that its journalist could meet with Ahmadinejad only 24 hours before the encounter took place. Most major newsrooms, however, have an Iran expert who can be dispatched to the scene within hours and can return with a solid report that does not make him look like a cub reporter at a local newspaper.

Bernard makes a wobbly start. In his first question he refers to 'the first round of the presidential election which you won with 63% of the vote,' apparently mistaking himself for the president of the Guardian Council or a UN election observer. He uses no qualifier like 'allegedly' or 'according to your Interior Ministry figures' as any journalist should, given the circumstances. With that introduction, Bernard's ensuing remark that 'a large portion of the population still contests the results' and believes that 'you [stole] the election' can now mean that 37% of Iranians are misguidedly protesting your victory and can you tell us what you think about this, Mr. President, Sir.

Perhaps this could be laid down to a poor choice of words, but a minute later he becomes a repeat offender as he gives a tally of victims 'since the June 12 election, which you won.' Why the repeated confirmation of Ahmadinejad's victory?

And what of the tally of victims advanced by Bernard? 36 dead, according to unnamed human rights organizations. The opposition committee investigating the deaths and abuse of protesters has compiled a provisional list of 72 people killed in the unrest and in prisons. The figure was regularly updated until the committee's offices were raided, documents were seized, and two key members -- Alireza Beheshti and Morteza Alviri -- were arrested. Bernard could and should have mentioned these facts.

But France 2's journalist seems a bit short of facts. The one dead protester he does name is Neda Agha Soltan, whom he mistakenly refers to as 'Neda Soltani'. And when he brings up last Friday's protests, which he erroneously says occurred four months after the election, he says that 25 to 30 people were arrested. Perhaps Mr. Bernard would be kind enough to divulge his independent sources because this figure seems to coincide with those released by the Iranian police.

Bernard moves onto foreign policy and Barack Obama's 'extended hand.' The France 2 journalist appears to have read news reports from before the disputed election, when President Obama did indeed engage in a more conciliatory approach towards Iran. But the situation has changed and neither the US, nor the EU, have even congratulated Ahmadinejad on his 'victory.' Bernard asks Ahmadinejad if he will respond positively to Obama's overtures, as if the matter is solely in the Iranian president's hands. Most analysts believe that Ahmadinejad is desperate to score a diplomatic coup and meet a US official in New York, anyone from Obama to Senator John Kerry, but that the American delegation is adamant in not even having a chance encounter in the UN's corridors. Obama has set an informal deadline of year's end for Iran to make substantive proposals or face harsher sanctions. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg told the Washington Post, 'We view it as a win-win proposition' for the US.

Ahmadinejad's tactic of diverting attention by denying the Holocaust pays off once again as Bernard devotes a quarter of his interview to this matter. The questions are predictable, the answers even more. Couldn't have Bernard said something like, 'Your shocking statements about the Holocaust have dismayed and disgusted the world. You keep saying that people should be able to research the historical fact of 6 million deaths. Is Iran willing to allow research to be conducted on the thousands of political prisoners killed in mass executions over just several months at the end of the 1980s, a historical fact that prompted Ayatollah Montazeri to give up his position as the next Supreme Leader by openly complaining to Ayatollah Khomeini?'

In one of the more interesting parts of the interview, Ahmadinejad seems to suggest that French citizen Clothilde Reiss's fate is linked to that of 'Iranian prisoners' in French jails. Not only does Bernard seem unaware of who Ahmadinejad is talking about (NB The most famous Iranian prisoner in France is Ali Vakili Rad, one of the assassins of former Prime Minister Shahpour Bakhtiar, who received a life sentence in 1994 and is up for parole this year. Bernard would have been aware of this had he followed Iran news and read an article in Le Figaro, published less than two weeks before his interview.), but he does not even ask Ahmadinejad whom he is alluding to. This would have been a much more appropriate question, instead of the breathless one he actually did voice: 'It sounds like you're imposing some form of blackmail!' Really?

Ahmadinejad appears to have gotten away with another song and dance -- a musical comedy/tragedy now entering its fifth year. When will interviewers learn? It's not as if they won't get out of there alive. On second thoughts...

The full interview can be viewed here.

France 2:
Mr. President, thank you for receiving us here, in your offices in central Tehran. Three days ago, demonstrations took place in Tehran and other cities. Four months after the first round of the presidential election which you won with 63% of the vote, a large portion of the population still contests this result. All the opposition leaders were also in the streets. Numerous other [protesting] voices can be heard. I have to ask you, Did you steal the election as the opposition claims?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:
In Iran, there is freedom. Individuals can express their views. But there is the rule of law.

France 2:
And concerning the election...?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:
The law applies to the elections as well. We have no problems. The people express their views and the law is applied. The Iranian government is the most legitimate in the region and the world.

France 2:
[French President] Nicolas Sarkozy says that Iranians deserve a better government than the current regime...

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:
You mean Mr. Sarkozy is interfering in our domestic affairs? I also think that the French nation deserves better leaders. Mr. Sarkozy's anger holds no weight for us.

France 2:
Human rights organizations maintain that since the June 12 election which you won, 4,000 people have been arrested -- there were 25 to 30 arrests last Friday -- at least 36 people have died... Everyone recalls the images of young Neda being shot in the street. She has become an icon for this movement. There have allegedly been cases of rape and torture in prisons. You haven't said anything about this subject in the past four months.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:
I have expressed myself. I have asked the judiciary to act more quickly and with greater precision. And the judiciary will do this. In Iran, anyone who is a criminal is punished according to the law, whether he is a police officer or someone who sets fire to private property in the streets.

France 2:
And the dead, the tortured...?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:
We are sorry that some individuals incited people to riot. Ask that question of the Voice of America, the BBC, or the French Foreign Minister [Bernard Kouchner] who incited the people. We are sorry that some of our countrymen were ultimately hurt.

France 2:
You think that Bernard Kouchner is responsible for the events of the past four months? Bernard Kouchner is responsible for the death of Neda Soltani (sic)?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:
Yes, he is also responsible.

France 2:
Tomorrow, you're flying to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. You're going to cross paths with US President Barack Obama, who has decided to extend his hand to Iran. Are you going to seize [this extended hand]?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:
Our position is clear. We believe in talks, but within the framework of justice and respect. We are waiting to see Mr. Obama's behavior and actions.

France 2:
The IAEA considers that you have enriched enough uranium to produce an atomic weapon. You possess sufficiently powerful missiles to transport such a payload. You are able to produce an atomic bomb.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 
The official report of the agency states that we have no reason or evidence to believe that Iran wants to move towards military nuclear applications. 

France 2:
What do you think about Nicolas Sarkozy's tough stance towards Iran?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 
Mr. Sarkozy is free to hold whatever position he wants, but we believe that he is seriously mistaken. He mustn't sacrifice France for the interests of others. We were interested in good relations with France, but we're not insisting on this. Mr. Sarkozy shouldn't think that the Iranian nation needs him.

France 2:
Concerning the nuclear issue, an Israeli official said today that the military option is still on the table.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 
You mean that the Zionist regime has threatened Iran? So why is Mr. Sarkozy silent? I have to tell you that the Zionist regime is too small to threaten Iran. We don't even pay attention to its threats. We're able to fully defend ourselves and make anyone making threats regret their actions.

France 2:
You'll be sitting several seats away from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN. Will you be addressing him?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 
We don't recognize the Zionist regime and we don't have any need to talk to him.

France 2:
The state of Israel was created after a tragedy, the Holocaust. The death of six million Jews. This weekend you once again referred to this tragedy as a myth. The world, and France in particular, was shocked.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 
If the Holocaust is a historical fact, they should allow research on the topic. In conclusion, if such a thing occurred in Europe and European countries are responsible, why must the Palestinians pay? Why must they be killed? Why must they give up their land? Someone else has committed the crime, in some other place. Why don't you give them some French land? If the French government is so sorry for the Zionists, it should give them a part of France. Why doesn't it?

France 2:
A Frenchwoman has been held here since July 1. She is under house arrest at the French embassy. Her name is Clothilde Reiss and she is accused of espionage. She is awaiting a verdict. France considers her a university lecturer. Her father asked me to give you this book which she translated and has just been published in France. He's written you a letter. (reporter extends the book and letter, but Ahmadinejad does not take them) Can you and will you do something for her so that she can return to France and her family? (Ahmadinejad finally takes the book and letter).

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 
I've asked the judiciary to accomodate her case as much as possible. But you should know that some Iranians have been languishing in French prisons for years. They also have families. Unfortunately we haven't witnessed any gesture on the part of France to help these prisoners.

France 2:
It sounds like you're imposing some form of blackmail. Clothilde Reiss against some Iranian prisoners held in France.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 
If we were looking for a payoff, there would have been easier ways.

France 2:
Do you think she's a spy?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 
I'm not a judge. The judge will decide, according to the law.

(End of interview.)

Tit for tat: Pro-regime officials allegedly attacked on Ghods Day

Opposition figures were not the only ones who were attacked during the Ghods Day rallies on Friday, September 18, according to a pro-regime news service.

Reports of assaults or attempted assaults on green leaders such as former President Mohammad Khatami, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi quickly spread trough the Internet on Friday. However, only news of an attack on Khatami could be confirmed. The former president was manhandled near Palestine Square, north of Tehran University, by a mob led by Abolfazl Shariatmadari, son of Keyhan editor Hossein Shariatmadari. Parleman News, the news service of the Imam Line Faction of the Majlis, posted photos of that attack on its web site.

The alleged attacks on Mousavi and Karroubi, reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency, appear to be attempts by the regime to portray the opposition leaders as unpopular. According to IRNA, the two men 'had to leave the rallies in their automobiles after being attacked by angry people.' Footage and photos of Karroubi on Ghods Day show a beaming cleric being acclaimed by tens of thousands of supporters as he made his way from Hafteh Tir Square down Karim Khan Zand Street. One photo shows a single man charging towards Mousavi, but neither his bodyguards, nor the presidential candidate appear unduly perturbed.

But according to Bultan News (NB The transliteration of 'bulletin' in Farsi), pro-regime officials were also attacked during the Ghods Day rallies. While bemoaning the fact that such assaults are becoming commonplace on both sides of the political divide, Bultan News concentrates on misdeeds targeting pro-Ahmadinejad personalities during Friday's demonstrations 'which were truly another epic orchestrated by the Iranian nation in support of the oppressed people of Palestine.'

The news service goes on to say, 'When these people saw [Assadollah] Badamchian, representative of Tehran, former Interior Minister [Ali] Kordan, and current Commerce Minister [Mehdi] Ghazanfari, they physically attacked them, and insulted them with obscene and inappropriate words.' The report also claimed that Ghazanfari's car sustained 4 million toumans (NB about $4,000) in damage.

Badamchian, a Principlist and deputy head of the Islamic Motalefe Party or Islamic Coalition Party, has been vocal in his criticism of the green movement. Kordan was mired in a scandal involving his fake doctorate from the 'Oxford University of London.' He was impeached and sacked by the Majlis in November of last year.

It should be noted that Bultan News is considered pro-regime. Its web site was brought down by opposition supporters through a cyber-attack in the month of June.

IRGC commander observes mysterious lights over Persian Gulf

Ali Razmjou

An Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander has declared that unidentified flying objects emitting light were observed over Kharg Island off the coast of the strategically sensitive port of Bushehr, home of Iran's first, and still inoperative, nuclear reactor.

Commander Ali Razmjou said in a statement Monday that three shining objects flew over Kharg Island, also known as Khark, on the night of September 9 and that one of them had been shot down. The wreckage has not been discovered yet and a search is ongoing. Razmjou added that such flying objects have been seen occasionally along the coast of Bushehr Province.

Razmjou commands the IRGC's fleet in naval sector 2 which includes the port of Bushehr. Newly-appointed Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, a fellow IRGC officer and the former Defense Minister, recently offered Razmjou the governorship of Bushehr province, but Razmjou turned him down, citing his desire to remain a man in green -- the green of the Revolutionary Guards uniform.