tulad ni reynz over at barrio siete, i’m impressed and overwhelmed by the sight of tehran’s streets teeming with protesting citizens, in the tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, and talaga naman, nakaka-wonder if this is iran’s EDSA moment, sabay merong touch of inggit, kasi, wow, we havent been able to raise such a crowd since edsa 1986 (i don’t know that edsa 2001, a poor sad crass imitation, drew as huge a sea of humanity).
but as the days go by, sa kakabasa at kakarinig ng tungkol sa sitwasyon sa iran, it’s looking more like a prospective tienanmen than an EDSA. sana hindi. but unlike EDSA, there is no split in the military, hardline authoritarianism rules, and soldiers seem prepared to shoot and kill if when ordered. already there’s been some bloodshed but thank god not too much, not like tienanmen, not when the world is watching, thanks to the internet and tehran’s brave bloggers and tweeters.
for the latest news, i’ve been checking out huffington daily post where nico pitney is live-blogging the uprising. ang daming nangyayari. the street protests continue, the ayatollah will again address the nation on friday, and opposition leader mousavi threatens national strikes.
5:03 AM ET — Khamenei to deliver another address on Friday. That news comes via a very reliable Iranian on Twitter, who cites Iran’s state television. The same Twitter user also wrote earlier today about apparent plans for a broad strike being organized by reformists:
“Soon Mousavi will announce full national strikes, probably starting with Petrochemical – prepare for this… Expect food shortage – transport stoppage – money shortage in bank… Gov will respond with electric power cuts – prepare and have gas cylinders at home or gasoline for light/cooking… People of Iran – THIS IS THE DAWN – This is the new begining – have hope and prepare.”
biglang, uy, national strikes, just like cory’s civil disobedience campaign right after marcos was declared winner of the snap elections. i wonder, will it get to that, or will the ayatollah blink and bend some to prevent the crisis from worsening. whichever way it goes, nakaka-tense na nakaka-thrill, watching history in the making. again, naunahan lang ako ni reynz.
… I cannot contain my apprehensive excitement, I have been glued to the monitor on my computer scanning every available news coming from Iran. Sometimes it makes me wonder if what’s going on in Iran is a prelude to what’s going to happen come 2010 Presidential Elections in the Philippines.
what’s going on in iran is certainly worth watching and learning from, so we know what our options are, not only in 2010, in case there’s also a failure of elections, but next month as well, in case gma bestows a kiss on PALAKA and the lower house transforms into acon-ass. maghanda tayo. at humanda sila!