“When a regime turns off the Internet during mass killings, and at the same time the leaders of the same regime [use] the privilege of freedom of speech on social media to mislead the rest of the world, it is not about restoring order. It is about destroying the evidence.” —from Masih’s speech below
In a comment this morning, Norman Gilinsky linked to the speech below given to the UN Security Council by anti-Iranian-regime activist Masih Alinejad. Norman called it amazing, forceful, unrelenting, and powerful. As a huge fan of Masih, I of course had to listen to it, and yes, it’s forceful, passionate, and ineffably sad given the UN’s inaction. I’ve put it below for your edification: it’s 15½ minutes long.
So far the UN hasn’t issued any statements criticizing the behavior of the Iranian regime in massacring thousands of protestors.
Masih calls out the UN for failing to respond to the massacres, sending a message to Iran that what it’s doing is pretty much okay. She argues that “it will get much worse if the world does not take serious action”, and that all Iranians are united in calling for the freeing of Iran from the present regime. (This is in sharp contrast with the UN’s repeated criticisms of Israel during the war with Gaza, apparently sending the message that massacres are okay with the UN so long as they don’t involve Jews)
Masih probably knows more about what’s going on in the streets of Iran than anybody else, as she has lines of communication with the protestors that others don’t have. (Iranians are using Starlink satellite phones.)
A representative of Iran was among the listeners, but I wonder if any of them really took to heart what Masih says. Particularly moving is her description of some of the young protestors who were killed, which she does to personalize and drive home the regime’s brutality, and she breaks down in tears at 11:35, unable to give more names of the slaughtered.
What is she asking the UN to do? She’s not explicit, but something to stop the killing—perhaps to stop treating Iran as a “legitimate government”. The UN of course cannot do that, though it can help. I hope that after hearing the list of murders and murderers, the listeners absorb the same lesson George Patton imparted to his soldiers from his real speech of June 5, 1944 (not the movie speech):
“When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt from your face and you realize that it’s not dirt, it’s the blood and guts of what was once your best friend, you’ll know what to do.”
She looked directly at the Iranian ambassador to the U.N. and named names, not only the names of victims but the names of the perpetrators, including the names of top-level Iranian officials. She was brazen and fearless.
But what can the UN actually do? The body is a powerful symbol in the world, but it is a limp noodle when it comes to dissuading authoritarians.
In an alternative history, now fading since the mass protests seem to be in recession, if the US and especially if Israel had dropped one bomb on Iranian Guard headquarters (or headquarters of those who are conducting the slaughter), one can bet the Security Council would Condemn it. In very strong terms.
I don’t think they can do much other than pass a resolution that will idle in perpetuity.
In my view, the substance of her speech is more important than the venue, particularly if it is widely heard by the general public and by world leaders. Both are capable of influencing events even beyond the auspices of the U.N.
I don’t think the UN will do anything at all. They listened politely and then when she finished her magnificent speech, it was, “Thank you Ms. Alinejad. Don’t call us. We’ll call you. Now….where were we?”
I’m inclined to agree with you. And anyway, she may be the loudest, but she definitely ain’t the only activist in the Iranian diaspora. I also think that the videos of Iranians putting up Trump signs (in country) were AI fakes.
Thanks Norman, your finger on the pulse as always.
What a great speech from a woman they actually tried to kill (as the I.R.I. do often and have since 1979).
Reminded me of the Israeli Ambassador a few years ago there asking (nearly all) Arab reps “WHERE ARE YOUR JEWS?” with the horrible demographics of Jews in the Islamosphere.
I’ve lost a boat load of faith in the UN in recent years but as a venue for roasting tyrants…. it is nice to see their embarrassment when confronted.
keep well Norman,
D.A.
NYC/FL
Thank you for the kind words, David.
For the antisemitic Left, the fall of the Islamofascist theocratic regime would be their worst nightmare because the dominant threat to Israel would then be gone. A case in point is that shrieking harpy she-demon of the modern SS, Anna Kasparian, who was ridiculing and shouting down an Iranian refugee on Piers Morgan recently on the basis that to Kasparian the protests in Iran are nothing more than an evil Zionist plot conducted by the Mossad.
Let me rise in partial defense of Ana Kasparian. The following is a tweet from her.
“I’m a woman. Please don’t ever refer to me as a person with a uterus, birthing person, or person who menstruates. ”
This isn’t a joke. I once typed her name into Google and got back “birthing person”. I was so amazed by this, that I tried it again. Same result. Note that Google later fixed this.
Sorry Frank I can’t help but respond that this is a “Hitler made the trains run on time” type argument given that Kasparian is an especially vicious Jew-hater.
The cliché is about Mussolini, not Hitler. The trains were already running on time (in Germany) when Hitler took power.
I stand corrected. How about “Hitler had the autobahns and VWs built” then?
I said it there in comments and I will repeat here. She is one hell of a brave woman, but her audience is a bunch of powerless bureaucrats. As long as the UN is an organization of states but contains no World Parliament, it has no democratic legitimacy at all. The world leaders just do what they want and can get away with. The rules that govern world politics are those of a mafia.