by Wilhelmina S. Orozco
International news is focused on what is happening in Iran where Iranians have gone on street protests over alleged fraudulent elections, reseating Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president. With 65 million population like the Philippines, the youth of Iran are now at the forefront questioning the results of the elections with vehemence.
BBC reports: Earlier on Monday, hundreds of thousands of people, some shouting "death to the dictator", marched through the streets of Tehran to protest against the re-election of Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
AT THE SCENE
Jon Leyne, BBC reported from Tehran: "It was an incredible sight. A huge crowd, hundreds of thousands of people maybe even millions of people there in defiance of open threats from the government that they should not assemble.
The security forces were staying well away - we were even able to film and usually the secret police come in straight away and stop you.
But the crowds were so enormous they were stepping back."
Iran's conservative-dominated Guardian Council is considering complaints filed by Mir Hossein Mousavi and fellow defeated candidate Mohsen Rezai, alleging that the poll was rigged.
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Tehran, says the rally was the biggest demonstration in the Islamic republic's 30-year history and described it as a "political earthquake".
The government had outlawed any protest following two days of unrest, with the interior ministry warning that "any disrupter of public security would be dealt with according to the law".
Despite this, correspondents said riot police had been watching the rally during the afternoon and had seemed to be taking no action.
The first indications of trouble came at about 2045 local time (1615 GMT), when protesters were beginning to disperse from Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square.
An Iranian photographer told AFP news agency that the shooting happened outside a base of the Basij volunteer militia, which was set on fire. The dead man had been shot in the head.
Pictures of the incident showed armed men, in civilian clothes but wearing helmets, pointing guns at the crowds from the roof of the base. The photographer said the protester had been killed by shots fired by the armed men.
"I think that the democratic process, free speech, the ability for folks to peacefully dissent, all those are universal values and need to be respected," President Obama commented on what is happening in Iran, short of mentioning allegations of fraud in the elections.
What are the implications for us here in the Philippines? It is now apparent that even in highly conservative countries like Iran, moves for equal and honest elections are being hammered against the establishment. No longer are the young people easily duped into believing that they will just grow up inheriting a society with all the unjust structures in place. Now, they want to belong, to be part of shaping a society that considers individual rights, the right to vote their own leader/s.
Hence, those forces that are trying to subvert democratic processes in our country better take heed that the 2010 elections will not be the same as the past ones. The people have matured, and are bracing ourselves for more difficult to bear but honest elections. We know now that the transition from Marcos to democratic rule did not usher in a new dispensation, except for our having a more vibrant free media. Rather the old came back, recycled anew only to continue the oppression and sufferings that the people had before. Worse yet, the sophistication of oppression is difficult to glean right away. Some so-called intelligent sectors are wont to write about the tenacity to hold on to power no matter how strongly negative the reaction of the people is to her administration, and even predict that she will win again. So instead of strengthening the people's resolve to counter all forms of shenanigans, this sector is even predicting a continuation of the present dispensation. Shameless.
Hence, this time around, in 2010, the challenge for all of us is to see to it, that our moves do not end with the results of the elections, but even afterwards, whereby we shall be eyeing, combing through every policy, program and practice of governance of the next set of officials, together with other government employees. No longer will the people tolerate corruption and all forms of bigotry. We shall be ushering in a new era of politics in the Philippines, one that is for all and not a few.
"Lightning" Art Print by Ralph Wetmore
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