Iranians defy U.S. calls for boycott of elections - Polls all across of Iran flooded as voters turn

Many Iranian exile opposition groups have for more than 6 months now called on all Iranians to boycott the Iranian presidential elections. President Bush has as recently as only a couple of days ago urged the Iranian nation to boycott the elections and thereby show to the world that the Islamic Republic of Iran is "illegitimate". But Iranians as usual turned out in full force with a close to 70% voter turnout.

The exile opposition groups have for several months also called on Iranians living abroad to participate in anti-regime and anti-election demonstrations outside of Iranian embassies and Iranian consulates. Very few responded. In washington D.C. where more than 150,000 Iranians reside, around 12 people gathered outside the Iranian interest section shouting slogans at a steady flow of Iranians who arrived to cast their vote. The number of Iranians gathering at various other Iranian embassies and consulates was not much more impressive, with crowds of between 20-200 at the most, which is a very low number considering the very large number of Iranians who reside in all Western countries.

Does this say anything at all to Mr. Bush, Mr. Corsi, Michael Leeden, and other likeminded people? It certanly does! Do they care? They certainly don't! Because they don't give a damn about what the Iranian people want or don't want - They only care about what they want. It's shameful for them to interfere in the internal affairs of Iran - It's an insult against the Iranian nation and an offense against the independence of Iran. Iranians have showed the world what they think of Bush and the agression of the U.S. and of the corrupt and incompetent so called "opposition" in exile.

Originally posted by Siroos
Many Iranian exile opposition groups have for more than 6 months now called on all Iranians to boycott the Iranian presidential elections. President Bush has as recently as only a couple of days ago urged the Iranian nation to boycott the elections and thereby show to the world that the Islamic Republic of Iran is "illegitimate". But Iranians as usual turned out in full force with a close to 70% voter turnout.

I'm glad to hear that they turned out in great numbers.
I wish I could see the look on Jerome Corsi's face when he sees those numbers.

One has to look no further than the recent parliamentary elections, in which 2,300 candidates were arbitrarily disqualified by the Council of Guardians, to realize that true, free elections in Iran are stll a distant dream.

JSO
So they're only terrorists when they disagree with you? When they agree, they're righteous dissidents, political activists, freedom fighters hacking at the roots of opression?

Selective perception, to say the least.

Read my post. Then re-read it again. And please point out where I used the word terrorist.

What the hell are you talking about?

Originally posted by jsobecky
Read my post. Then re-read it again. And please point out where I used the word terrorist.

What the hell are you talking about?

Look at the cartoon in your post and then look at it again.

The person with that hammer, that is smashing the ballot box and the head of the government, is labeled 'dissident'.

Thanks Ace

JSO, you get it yet?

Dissident does not equal terrorist, now does it?

But then, maybe it your selective eyes it does, eh?

Thats great thing for Iran. Hope they don't ragged it... like the US election in 2004 lol

how many years does iran elect a new president again?

And siroos i can see your back on ATS after don't know how long to give more
Iran = Good
US = Bad
stuff

When did the U.S. call Iranians to boycott the elections???

I must have missed that statement...

Originally posted by djohnsto77
When did the U.S. call Iranians to boycott the elections???

I must have missed that statement...

Here:

WND

Iran's radical cleric-led regime is bolstering its efforts to jam satellite television signals from about 20 foreign TV channels beaming calls to boycott a nationwide election widely regarded as fraudulent.

A man who installs satellite dishes, which technically are banned by the regime but in wide use, told Agence France- Presse the microwaves used to block the signals "have never been so strong."

The move comes on the heels of coverage by foreign radio and TV channels of the "Iran Freedom Walk," from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., in which participants called for peaceful regime change and for Iranians to stay away from the polls June 17.

Originally posted by jsobecky
Dissident does not equal terrorist, now does it?

But then, maybe it your selective eyes it does, eh?

You just kind of proved the point made by WyrdeOne.

Someone committing a terrorist act is considered a dissident when they're doing it against people or Governments you don't like. The same act against the US or a US ally would be called a terrorist for doing the same things.

Ace,

Nothing in there says that the U.S. government is doing this or supporting it.

Originally posted by jsobecky
One has to look no further than the recent parliamentary elections, in which 2,300 candidates were arbitrarily disqualified by the Council of Guardians, to realize that true, free elections in Iran are stll a distant dream.

You are obviously privvy to information we are not.

Can you tell us why the candidates were disqualified? I would like to know.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Ace,

Nothing in there says that the U.S. government is doing this or supporting it.

Members of the US government participated in the Iran Freedom Walk or at least the expressed interest in it. The foreign TV channels that were referred to in the article are US channels, at least one of which is a US Government sponsored channel. Since sending sattelit broadcast isn't cheap, I wouldn't be surprised it the others are also getting US funding.

WND
.....Several members of Congress have expressed interest in participating in the rally, including Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.
--snip--

Their message and interactions are beamed back to Iran each day by the Voice of America's Iran service on both television and radio and by Radio Free Europe's Radio Farda, which has a reporter on the walk. Also, radio KRSI - a Farsi-language service in California that reaches Iran via satellite - is following it. The coverage includes profiles on American life as seen in the cities and towns on the route.

[edit on 18-6-2005 by AceOfBase]

In case there's any doubt who is sending the signals into Iran, here's an article on it and a link to the BBG.

payvand
Washington, DC, June 17, 2005 -- The Broadcasting Board of Governors today announced it is using a third satellite to help overcome jamming of Persian-language news broadcasts during Iran’s election period.

The broadcasts affected include Voice of America’s (VOA) direct-to-home Persian-language satellite television news programs, Radio Farda, and VOA English. The three are carried on the Eutelsat Hotbird satellite and Telstar 12. Today, the BBG Office of Engineering added a third satellite transmission. This additional signal makes it more difficult for Iranian authorities to block the broadcasts in many locations.

BBG Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson condemned Iranian attempts to jam satellite television and radio services that carry U.S. international broadcasting for Persian audiences: “That the government of Iran would jam Persian television and other U.S. international broadcasts illustrates how threatened the authorities are by truth.” Tomlinson said the BBG would continue to counter efforts to block open and free information by providing programs on multiple satellites and transponders.

Here's a link to the BBG:
www.bbg.gov...

Originally posted by AceOfBase
You just kind of proved the point made by WyrdeOne.

Someone committing a terrorist act is considered a dissident when they're doing it against people or Governments you don't like. The same act against the US or a US ally would be called a terrorist for doing the same things.

Excuse me? Are you referring to me when you say this? You don't know me well enough to make that statement, Ace. Don't label me when you don't know what you are talking about.

I could post the dictionary definitions of terrorist and dissident to rebut yours and WO's semantic arguments, but I think you know better.

By your logic and definition, political dissenters in the US that attend protests could be labeled terrorists. Is that what you want?

by Kriz_4
You are obviously privvy to information we are not.

Can you tell us why the candidates were disqualified? I would like to know.

Well, let's see:

The elections took place amidst a serious political crisis that developed due to the January 2004 decision of the conservative vetting body, the Council of Guardians, to ban thousands of candidates from running -- nearly half of the total. A vast number of reformists, including some of their leaders, and particularly members of the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), were barred from running. In many parts of Iran, there weren't even enough independent candidates approved, so the reformists couldn't form an alliance with them. Out of a possible 285 seats (5 seats are reserved for religious minorities: Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians), the participating reformist parties could only introduce 191 candidates.
:
The day before the election, the reformist newspapers Yas-e-no and Shargh were banned.
Farce

The conservatives were afraid of being voted out of office, obviously. Google it up; there are plenty of articles on it.

Elections in the middle east, are only to be taken seriously and lawful when the US is there to make sure of who the winners will be, Right?

So Iran is not a friendly country to the US so their elections are, wrong and against democracy.

Sometimes I wonder about what is going on with my elected officials.

Yay, yay, yay free democratic election in Iran yay. What's more democratic than Iranians voting for pre selected candidate picked by the Religious Clerics. What’s more democratic than voting for a president which has no authority over that counties military and nuclear program. Yay, yay, yay free democratic election in Iran.
Oh wait!

JSO
My argument had nothing to do with semantics, and everything to do with the seemingly unconscious way people twist their perceptions to suit their desires.

You see this group of revolutionaries as positive and noble because they oppose the regime you deem evil and corrupt. However, to the regime in place, and those who support it, the dissidents are nothing but terrorists, trying to unmake civilization, a dangerous, corrupting influence.

You are to them as they are to you.