Merkel Stands Besides Demonstrators – “in Iran”

June 25, 2009

Key Western powers urged Iran’s leaders anew to ease up on the protesters and review the disputed election results.

“We stand beside you,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in remarks directed to “all in Iran who seek to demonstrate peacefully.”
Iran reform leader says he won’t end his challenge

Notice that Merkel said “in Iran”. She did not say “everywhere”. She did not say “in Germany”.

Last weekend in Berlin:

After a public referendum Tempelhof, the famous air-bridge airport in Berlin closed down last year. The buildings are now empty and the four square kilometer airfield is no longer in use. Business interests supported by Merkel’s party want to reopen the airport, in the middle of the city, with public money but for private use only. Other plans, currently not fundable, include new public housing and a public park.

On Saturday 2,000 young people held a peaceful demonstration for an immediate opening of the empty and unused outdoor airfield space for public use. When they tried to rush the fence that encloses the airfield, 1,500 policemen attacked and used water-cannons, batons and teargas to disperse the demonstrators. A policeman in civil cloth threw one of the demonstrators on the ground. When other people rushed to help the policeman in civil cloth drew his weapon and threatened to shot them. In total 102 demonstrators were detained, many more got hurt.

But sure, Merkel is really concerned. She stands beside people who seek to demonstrate. “In Iran”.

All these pictures are from the event at Tempelhof.

Posted by b on June 25, 2009 at 15:54 UTC | Permalink

Comments

Page 189 of Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein, we find Kissinger, in 1989 refering to Tianamnen saying the following:
‘No govt in the world would have tolerated having thr main square of its capital occupied for 8 weeks by tens of thousands of demonstrators…A crakdown was therefore inevitable’
So Irania govt is justified in this regard,,,Dont be fooled those demonstrators are not acting or the mass of iranians.

Posted by: brian | Jun 25 2009 16:39 utc | 1

Sounds like Chancellor Merkel has taken the NIMBY pledge when it comes to protesting — it’s okay for people to protest, just so long as they’re not doing it in her country.

Posted by: Cynthia | Jun 25 2009 16:41 utc | 2

I wonder how Merkel feels about people demonstrating in the UK?
Arrested for asking a policeman for his badge number

Posted by: Colin | Jun 25 2009 16:42 utc | 3

well, Margaret Thatcher would disagree …
fair enough Merkel said peacefully
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brixton_riot_(1981)

Posted by: outsider | Jun 25 2009 17:00 utc | 4

Yet more stark, rank, gratuitous hypocrisy from the UK, French & German Governments (Vassals ?) …

Posted by: Outraged | Jun 25 2009 17:01 utc | 5

oh and this did not really bring the French government down
link

Posted by: outsider | Jun 25 2009 17:06 utc | 6

Well, it’s OK if our side does it. Right?
Lefty blogs here in the US used to use IOKIYAR–It’s Ok if you are Republican–to mock the MCM* and Repubs. Now that Obama is doing many of the same things Bush and Cheney did, that acronym seems to used much, much less. And has lost its punch.
*MCM–Mainstream Corporate Media

Posted by: jawbone | Jun 25 2009 18:12 utc | 7

in the last 40 years the west has both jurisprudentially & on the street used the repressive state apparatus in attempts to extinguish resistance in western countries. as outraged has pointed out long ago – their tools of surveillance on the street & in our homes & at work have been exacerbated to such a degree that it makes a mockery of these western states feeling they have a right to criticise other nations
& their utter contempt of the people is reveal in blair anti socail orders in england – where first you rip apart all loval industry, you destroy the community & what is left is almost inherently dependant on an ever decreasing & crueler social welfare. these towns & cities from hell – where if someone is brave enough to express their proper subjectivity they are incarcerated very quickly & a disproportionate number of police actions & privatised security are used against these people
the underclass is immobilised in the west through many means but the repressive state apparatus is key to that immobility – because if that power within the underclass was given a real voice – it would burn the whole town down
in the coming years as the middle class are being forced into the underclass – i am frightened by a mad max scenario – precisely because this class only believes a subjectivity emitting from the malignancy of so called popular culture

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 25 2009 19:31 utc | 8

@r’giap – in the coming years as the middle class are being forced into the underclass – i am frightened by a mad max scenario
That’s the realistic scenario. Me? I am frightened too.

Posted by: b | Jun 25 2009 20:33 utc | 9

(b this actually belongs on the lenin thread but it doesn’t post)
b
i am not surprised in the least that the so-called left that parviz wants to demonise – are foolishly follwing the affairs using only the iran desks of foxcnnbbcaljazeera
the philosopher zizek who normally has much interesting to say has also written a hysteric response to the events in iran which i will not bother linking to – because it is written deep from vanity’s corruption
the so called left especially in the west has been especially vicious in relation to the ‘people’ annexed by political islam. the left through being liquidated by empire & its agents , through making thoughtless alliances & for allying themselves to the soviet union when their realities were substantially different – lost space to political islam & instead of analysing that defeat – they make alliances that are built on sand
there is something else which is just as worrying – for all the lipservice to the palestinian people – the left has done close to fuck all & a large reason behind this until recently is that iintellectual elites especially of the so called left have a phobia of the arab & persian people & this phobia riddles the thoughts of even a possibly great thinker like zizek
what i do not understand really is the hysteria – like our own slothrop – their shameless sourcing of cnn who no one in their right or left mind would do – even on a bad day
i think both you & i as individuals are prepare to say we are wrong, if we were wrong – but we aren’t wrong & the preponderance of evidence supports that

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 25 2009 20:46 utc | 10

(this also belongs on the lenin thread)
as i mentioned in another thread watch how the emergent countries interprets events in iran & in their vast majority they support the government of iran while the oppressors in their vast majority have aligned themselves aganst iran
that a so called lenininst can cry to high heaven based on nothing than a tweet – is a sad testimony to the loss of analysts on the left in the west
& the context – the immeadiate context is from 1991 to today – the middle east has been the site of the worst crimes of empire & the government of iran & the masses have every right to fear destabilisation & worse. iran possesses enemies who wish her ill & have proved it. she has even made alliances with the empire (in iraq & afghanistan) to prevent harm coming to her immediately but i believe there is overwhelming evidence that the empire is practicing the darkest arts
lenin’s tomb & i start from diametrically opposed positions – it regards cnn as a reliable source – i regard cnn as one of the chief operators of inverting & fabricating reality – both for entertainment & for the cheneyian notion of creating history outside of history
the masses of the iranian people will make the real decisions
there is not, even in the slightest degree – the masses on the streets of iran. there iare considerable number of people who are supporting putchists within the elite
if you remember 2002 in venezuela – the hysteria of the privatised television tried to create the basis of support by the putchists there – but were defeated by the people – but in the moments leading to that putsch demonstrations of a considerable number of people never represented the masses in their vast majority. the immediate defeat of the putsch was more than proof of that

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 25 2009 21:28 utc | 11

with the death of michael jackson we’ll see how quick huffington post changes their priorities

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 25 2009 22:09 utc | 12

really, really, the ghouls have no shame

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 25 2009 22:24 utc | 13

but if i was khamenei’s publicist i’d advise him to do the moonwalk at this mornings prayer

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 25 2009 23:13 utc | 14

If you haven’t read it recently, Tolstoy’s letter to liberals is always worth a read. He offers some real guidance as to how to avoid the depredations of corrupt institutions.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/snyder/snyder14.html

Posted by: scott | Jun 26 2009 0:28 utc | 15

And it happened even worst in France, 3 days ago, where a 69 years old man as been beaten to death by policemen, just because he was not “cooperative enough” during a car paper control.
Government and MSM are trying to cover up the story. Ans no news has been casted about possible sanctions for the policemen.
In France too we have our “martyr” but it looks that french martyr is lees interesting for the french medias, and its so called intellectuals, than iranian martyr.
Martyrs are always bloodiest in neighbours police cells.
And fascism always happens to other countries.
link for those able to read French

Posted by: laurent | Jun 26 2009 0:44 utc | 16

here is the link :
http://escalbibli.blogspot.com/2009/06/controle-net-et-sans-bavure.html

Posted by: laurent | Jun 26 2009 0:47 utc | 17

Thanks, laurent.

Posted by: china_hand2 | Jun 26 2009 13:28 utc | 18

The West needs / wants control of Iranian oil fields, in one way or another.
That could be just Foreign cos. managing, investing, etc. In fact not more is desired or required. Sanctions, blame, repression, are all designed to have Iran give up /share / unblock its resources.
Mousavi would have privatized (?), with justifications for the public, with blurbs about modernity, income for all, trickel (sic) down, better organization, more democracy, more jobs (not realised), etc.
The revenue stream would have increased (ok lots of dodgy issues like world demand, price of oil manipulated by speculators, OPEC policy, a long list), new refineries would have been built.
Basically what we are discussing here is who gets the moolah?
Who can come out top of the heap in the Iran Mullocracy and f*k everyone else over? Who can control that huge flow of money? Sit on the power throne while declaiming he/they has the power of the ppl behind him?
The West wants a compliant stooge who is paid up…but right now they don’t know who that is or in which direction to go. Mealy-mouthed support of the ppl is always safe, so they go ahead, full blast.

Posted by: Tangerine | Jun 26 2009 17:02 utc | 19

That could be just Foreign cos. managing, investing, etc.
You forgot slant-drilling.

Posted by: china_hand2 | Jun 26 2009 17:36 utc | 20

Also, i’m not going to blame Mousavi as a sell-out. Not yet, at least. I haven’t seen the evidence.
I really do believe he was a child of the revolution; he was close to Khomeini, he’s close to Montazeri, and he led Iran through a war where it fought off an Iraq armed and managed by the US military.
As that judge who just ruled on the Gitmo Habeas Corpus case just said:
Saying someone’s “part of” something requires you to prove that s/he actually is, and without any evidence to support that someone’s really joined up with a crew — and a lot of it weighted against it — there’s no reasonable justification for believing s/he’s actually a participant.

Posted by: china_hand2 | Jun 26 2009 17:40 utc | 21

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