Iran's bloggers fear clampdown
Most of us take what you are reading for granted. This is America; of course we can pontificate in whatever manner we deem appropriate. Guess what, y'all; that is really only a guarantee on these shores. There are places where maintaining a weblog is interpreted as a political statement, and as such a threat to the established regime. Take Iran. Please.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Take one exasperated Iranian woman. Add a computer. Hook it up to the Internet.
"And you have a voice in a country where it's very hard to be heard," said Lady Sun, the online identity of one of the first Iranian women to start a blog -- a freeform mix of news items, commentaries and whatever else comes to mind.
Initially created to defy the nation's tight control on media, these Web journals have turned into a cyber-sanctuary -- part salon, part therapist's couch -- for the vast pool of educated, young and computer-savvy Iranians.
As Friday's parliamentary elections approach, however, there's a distinct tone of worry that conservatives expected to regain control of parliament would step up pressure to censor the Internet.
"It will be the end of the blog era in Iran," said a Tehran-based blogger who operates pinkfloydish.com, the name indicative of her love of Western music.
But thus far, the Internet has managed to avoid the hardliners' choke hold on media, which has silenced dozens of pro-reform newspapers and publications since the late 1990s.
Given the nature of the Internet, cracking down on a blogger is not nearly as simple as cracking down on a newspaper. It can be done, however, and given the brutal nature of the current regime, it likely will be at some point. Absent a 1979-style revolution, it is likely that nothing will change anytime soon. Indeed, things could well become more dangerous for those who want true freedom in Iran.
This is not about religion generally, nor is it about Islam in particular. It is about political power, and those who use Islam as a means of maintaining control over the political fortunes of Iran. My hope is that those within Iran will continue to be able to give a voice to the movement for freedom. Given that there is no tradition of democracy or the rule of law in Iran, freedom may be little more than an abstract concept for the foreseeable future.
