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The power of Internet videos - Will Neda Agha-Soltan's death bring down Iran's illegitimate regime?

Asked by mattbrowne (31732points) June 23rd, 2009

From Wikipedia: Neda Agha-Soltan was an Iranian woman whose killing, during the 2009 Iranian election protests, was captured on video by bystanders. The graphic videos were posted on the Internet, and her name quickly became a rallying cry for the opposition.

Twitter entries announced that Neda was buried at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery outside Tehran, where she was denied a proper funeral by government authorities. Their refusal was corroborated by a family acquaintance. The authorities had allegedly set aside empty graves for those killed during the protests. Time and other news sources have speculated that due to the widespread attention given to Neda’s story by social media networks and mainstream news organizations, she is already being hailed as a martyr. There is also speculation that the Shi’ite cycle of mourning on the third, seventh and 40th day after a person’s death may give the protests sustained momentum, in similar fashion to the Iranian Revolution, where each commemoration of a demonstrator’s death sparked renewed protests, resulting in more deaths, feeding a cycle that eventually resulted in the overthrowing of Iran’s monarchy. On 22 June, 2009, Iranian presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Moussavi, who are contesting the validity of the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called upon Iranian citizens to commemorate Agha-Soltan.

Will Neda become a symbol for change in Iran? Will her death inspire millions of people and enable them to bring down Iran’s illegitimate and cruel regime?

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