As computer and telecommunication systems across Iran went into government-imposed, emergency shut down mode after the hotly contested and disputed reelection of President Ahmadinejad, one system proved difficult to shut down -- Twitter.
Case in point? At 9:00 local time in Tehran, literally tens of thousands of Iranians took to the rooftops to shout the Muslim prayer chant "Allah O' Akbar (God is great)". The orchestrated effort -- in a city in lockdown with limited communication -- was coordinated by a series of Twitter feeds. Two newer requests are circulating now; here they are as posted by a follower or the campaign of MirHossein Mousavi (who stood for election against Ahmadinejad):
- Mousavi asks his supporters to protest throughout Iran from 4pm on Monday 15 June (in Tehran: Enghelab Sq. to Azadi Sq.) #IranElection
- امشب همه از بالای پشت بام ساعت نه، مرگ بر دیکتاتور. EVERYONE: Tonight at 9pm Iran time from rooftops: "Death to Dictator". #IranElection
The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan (a fan of popular revolts) has been blogging nonstop about Friday's Iranian election and the chaotic, violent aftermath. Like many observers, Sullivan is trying to discern whether we're observing another Tianeman Square (protests crushed by government) or another Orange or Cedar revolution (ala Ukraine and Lebanon).
Here are some of Sullivan's "tweet captures" from the Green Revolution (followers of Mousavi wear green scarves, or green tape around their fingers):
- URGENT JUST IN, there r TANKS in front of the interior ministry of tehran in valiasr st. & fatemi CAREFUL I can't find my friends on streets.
- Rasht, glass splinters on the streets, riot police not hesitating to beat men, women and even kids
- From Enghelab Sq friend just call me, Police & unknown forces beating everybody for no apparent reason!
The Huffington Post is also provided some excellent coverage -- both breaking news, aggregated news and blog reports (Thanks for the tip, @aaronsdotson). Nico Pitney is doing a great job with his blow-by-blow accounts, including the text of this CNN interview with one of its Tehran-based journalists; it clearly paints a picture of the violence sweeping the Iranian capital:
Late last night, I went out to one area in Tehran and that one got a bit ugly. You had pro-Mousavi protesters moving out, smashing windows and facing off with a group of individuals who are described as vigilante because they were not wearing uniforms. They were plain clothes, carrying baseball bats. They were carrying metal pipes, and they were just beating up anyone that was that was in that area. Today, I went to a second protest...probably the most violent that I've seen, that we have seen. We went to an area in midtown, where we saw hundreds of pro-Ahmadinejad protesters. The difference here is that these protesters again did not wear any uniforms who identified they were except for the Iranian flag that they were waving. They were on motorcycles. There were some on foot but again, they had weapons. No uniforms but they had weapons such as metal pipes, and they were actually just driving around, intimidating people, beating up people, anyone that was in the street, anyone that was in the road, anyone that dared to chant "Mousavi, Mousavi," they were beating them senseless.
If you're interested in keeping tabs on one of the most poignant -- and potentially earth-shattering -- news stories of the year, Mashable has tips on tracking the Iranian election and its aftermath using social media tools.
Posted by: Aaron Dotson | June 14, 2009 at 20:55