US Secretary of State backs protestors in Iran

Initial video pictures to emerge from Iran show some demonstrators taking to the streets of Tehran to call for the overthrow of the ruling government. These images which show tens rather hundreds of demonstrators have been posted on Youtube and have been seized upon by Hilary Clinton, who is arguing that this is latest episode in the wave of popular protests to have gripped the Middle East, and which has already seen the downfall of two tyrants, including that of Hosni Mubarak. The problem with these claims is that the government of Iran always manages to counter any such video images with their own counter demonstrations which are invariably far greater in size by a considerable amount. For the moment, it would be safe to say that based available online video footage, Hilary Clinton’s wishes may just be that, a wish, a shot in the dark. And further to this, available footage also reveals the limits of such citizen journalism, which whilst having its place in the online world is also severely hampered because unlike a work of journalism it can not be verified and thus can be called into question. One video shows a man who we believe may be a member of the secret police dressed in civilian clothes being attacked by a mob. No body can definitely say that this man was what is being claimed in the video. All we can see is a man being attacked by a crowd.

Posted by Nayab Chohan