Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« Burning Question | "I don't even like to think of it a… »

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

International Lost in the Supermarket

Posted by Brendan Kiley on Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 11:36 AM

The "sea of green" will be going undercover, en masse, for a bazaar strike. Mousavi to Twitterland (via persiankiwi via Sullivan):

Mousavi - We will not expend any more energy talking to the Gov in the streets - we must change course #Iranelection breaking news RT RT RT

Mousavi - From Today every morning at 9am WE ALL travel to Tehran Bazaar - whatever reaction from Gov - Bazaar will close

Mousavi - stop all work and travel with friends & family toward Tehran Bazaar every day at 9am

Mousavi - do NOT wear green - dress normally - bring your children - if stopped u are ONLY going shopping

Mousavi - the objective is to bring Tehran to standstill - millions of people go shopping but NOBODY SHOPPING

Mousavi - There is nothing to fear - if asked - YOU ARE ONLY GOING SHOPPING

Mousavi - no matter what the reaction of the Gov - the Bazaar will close or be at standstill

Further instructions on this Facebook page:

Take everyone with you. Bring the children, too —without any slogans-without green signs-without sit-ins; pretending to go shopping but not buying anything. We will only think of shutting down the bazaar, but do not leave any traces, not even a victory sign by our hands. NOT AT ALL.

We will only think of victory. Bring the children, all the towns of Iran, without slogans, without slogans, without slogans, quietly, quietly, quietly, without greens, without sit-ins, without fighting. If anyone starts quarrels or shouts, we will not join because we pretend to be going shopping. There is no need to fear, and everyone will come.

No fights, no bloodshed, no slogans, no sit-ins. If they prevent us, we simply return because we mean to shut down the bazaar, not to assemble. If they shoot tear gas, the bazaar will close. We will act smartly and will not engage in any sort of fights although if any fighting happens the bazaar will close due to insecurity. But we will not engage in any fights, and calmly and solely think of victory.

Comments (12) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

Wow. Gandhi lives.

Posted by Zoroastronomer on June 23, 2009 at 11:46 AM

how will this be effective? will the goverment even care?

Posted by Andy_Squirrel on June 23, 2009 at 11:53 AM

goverment = government

Posted by Andy_Squirrel on June 23, 2009 at 11:54 AM

I dreamed once that we protested a dictatorship by flickering the lights in our house on and off at a pre ordained time in the evening. Shortly thereafter I was arrested. Although I knew my fate with the interragators was not good, I caught a glimpse of the capital from outside the holding cell: Every light in town flickering on and off.

Posted by sasha on June 23, 2009 at 11:55 AM

The good news is that they're actually targeting the low level functionaries that make up the government.

Classic tactics and strategy - and the most effective against a theocracy noone believes in any more.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on June 23, 2009 at 12:19 PM

@2:

Tehran's Grand Bazaar is the economic and financial center of the city, and by extension of the nation; shutting it down would effectively create a choke-point on a significant portion of Iran's day-to-day economic and financial activity, since it encompasses not simply retail establishments, but also banks, precious metals dealers, commodities traders, and the like. Think of it as akin to sending a million protesters into Manhattan's Financial District, and you get some sense of the scope of what this action potentially represents.

Shutting down the Bazaar also would have tremendous symbolic impact, since there has traditionally been a very strong cultural and political link between the conservative merchant-class that controls it and the ruling Islamic clergy. During the 1979 revolution, for example, much of the pro-Khomeini protests occurred in the Grand Bazaar district, so what Mousavi is proposing here is specifically intended to echo those previous protests.

If he and his followers can pull this off successfully (and at this early stage I admit that's questionable), they are going to literally drive a jambiya (look it up) into Iran's heart.

Posted by COMTE

on June 23, 2009 at 12:26 PM

It's not to be sniffed at, Squirrel. It was the revolt of the bazaars that was instrumental in bringing down the Shah.

Posted by Toe Tag on June 23, 2009 at 12:28 PM

Excellent, now we will have all of them in one central location. It will prove most easy to kill all of them with the mighty fist of Allah!!

Posted by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 23, 2009 at 12:45 PM

@7, and it was also instrumental that the Shah was intalled by the US after we overthrew the legitimatly elected leader of Iran in 1953.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on June 23, 2009 at 12:46 PM

Except @8, if Mousavi's followers execute this as he directs, it will be literally impossible to tell who are his supporters and who aren't. In which case, "kill 'em all & let Allah sort 'em out" would be a pretty piss-poor strategy on the part of the Revolutionary Guard and the Jaish al Mahdi, since they'd most likely end up taking out as many of their own as they would of the opposition, not to mention inflicting a huge amount of physical damage on the Bazaar itself, which would still have the intended effect of shutting down a significant portion of Iran's economic & financial infrastructure.

Posted by COMTE

on June 23, 2009 at 1:41 PM

Shit, I wish we'd done this after 9/11 when Gov encouraged everyone to "keep shopping".
Go Iran! Excellent tactic!

Posted by treacle on June 23, 2009 at 1:50 PM

The primary thing is not to play be their rules or engage them on their terms, but to redefine the battlefield AND the objectives.

Playing by their rules leads to defeat.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on June 23, 2009 at 1:55 PM