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The Sounds of Arab Silence on Iran

[Washington Post] Mona Eltahawy - Do you hear the silence from the Arab world over events in Iran? Let's start with Arab leaders, who are experts at vote rigging - if they hold elections at all. What could they possibly say about the Iranian election, or the allegations of vote fraud, without sounding hypocritical? It's likely that many young Arabs watching thousands of Iranians demanding to be heard, Arabs who are suffocating under dictators of their own, thought, "That's me." Let's look at the Arab world's legacy: A succession of Arab leaders were known simply for standing up to America and Israel. It did not matter what they did to their own people: the human rights violations, the mass graves, the stifling of the media and most forms of expression. But what's happening in Iran is not about the U.S. or Israel. It's about people who feel their will and voice have been disregarded. In Egypt, it's our secular dictator, in power for almost 28 years, who disregards our will. In Iran, it's a clerical regime in power for 30 years, hiding behind God.
2009-06-26 06:00:00
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