Iran Election: Fraud Allegations Die Without A Trace

This situation can form the pretext for the next episode of the popular tv show “Without a Trace.”  This time, the agents will be looking for the allegations of fraud that had Iran in turmoil earlier this year.

In earlier posts, I covered the violent crackdown of the protestors, and the resilience of those people to continue to cry out, even as Ahmadinejad seemed to virtually ignore the situation as though the entire country was united behind him.  

I was in support of the country’s people rising up and making a claim that seemed legitimate and standing through “hell and high water” to confront what they believed was not the will of the people.

So you can imagine my disappointment when reading this article about the trial of about 100 Iran reformists who denounced their previous claims of fraud once the trial began.

In a bigger flip-flop than Brett Farve’s yearly NFL retirement discussions, these top leaders of Iran reform did everything from denounce their claims to announcing allegiance to the elected government of Ahmadinejad.

This is a major blow to those other Iranians still looking for reform.  Do I know that fraud took place?  No.  But the citizens had a grievance nonetheless and requested an investigation into the election, and I believe if a country claims democracy, then ignore the voice of the people, that it is an empty shell of a philosophy made strong by being conscious of the people.

With these leaders retracting their statements and becoming Ahmadinejad’s newest cheerleraders, any chance of getting to the bottom of the elections situation is disappearing faster than the victims in a TV primetime cop drama.

As late as this past week, people oceans away from Iran are showing solidarity and support for the reformists in Iran.  Too bad the leaders within the reformist movement are not of the same mind.  I can’t imagine what adversity they must face within the country being the face of opposition against a government claiming ultimate legitimacy.  However, their failure to stand by initial allegations raises the question of what will happen to the movement in Iran that arose from the people?

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