Furious Iranians have been on to the streets for days to protest against their government. Where it began as protests against the economic malaise, it ended up in protests against the regime led by Ali Khamenei (Iran’s top spiritual leader) and President Hassan Rohani. The supreme leaders are facing growing opposition from the Iranian population. The Iranians aim to overthrow the political system in Iran. 100 people were said to have been killed and more than 1,000 people were arrested. To suppress the protests, the Iranian government has denied access to the Internet. Iranians no longer have a voice and cannot be kept informed of the cases that occur in their country. And the media remain silent.
The protests began a few days ago when the prices of petrol were raised by ten cents by the Iranian government. This amounts to a 50% increase for the first 60 litres refuelled by a motorist monthly. The first protesters went on the streets this weekend. Al Khamenei called the protesters “criminals” on state television and called the authorities to intervene, leading to hard order services in Iran.
Moreover, the authorities have completely denied internet access to the people of Iran. Thus, the Iranian people cannot be kept informed of the circumstances and the advancement of the protests. CNN calls it Iran’s largest internet shutdown ever.
On Twitter, denying the Internet led to a hashtag to break the media silence. With the hashtag #Internet4Iran, information is slowly but surely being distributed to the rest of the world about the circumstances that are now taking place in Iran. The intervention of authorities appears to be much more persistent than is thought:
Protests in Iran could lead to tougher interventions by the Iranian authorities, as the Iranian people want to overthrow Iran’s political system. The Iranian government is trying to push these protests by denying internet access. The media are a mean of capturing major events like this one. Millions of Iranians have been cut off from the Internet for nearly four days and denied their right to information. The international community is being asked for help and support in their fight for freedom and democracy. The protesters must be heard and the mass silence must be broken. World, are you watching?
Photo in header by: mostafa meraji via Pixabay
