BBC and other reports are using "allegedly" and "alleged" to describe what happened to her: and it is possible that Neda doesn't really exist, or that she had some medical condition which convincingly mimicked being shot.
For the moment, until there's clear evidence that the enforcers of Iran's leadership didn't kill her, I'm assuming that she's
- Real
- Dead
- Killed by supporters of the ayatollahs
An excerpt:
"Amateur video apparently showing a young Iranian woman dying in Tehran after she was allegedly shot by pro-government militia on Saturday has caused outrage in Iran and abroad.I think this sort of news coverage may be what Iran's ayatollahs regard as meddling in their election. I get the impression that Iran's rulers are not accustomed to a press which doesn't politely look the other way when a young woman is gunned down.
"The woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, was buried on Sunday.
"Her fiance, Caspian Makan, told BBC Persian TV about the circumstances of Neda's death.
" 'She was near the area, a few streets away, from where the main protests were taking place, near the Amir-Abad area. She was with her music teacher, sitting in a car and stuck in traffic.
" 'She was feeling very tired and very hot. She got out of the car for just for a few minutes...'."
"...The authorities are aware that everybody in Iran and throughout the whole world knows about her story. So that's why they didn't want a memorial service. They were afraid that lots people could turn up at the event.
"So as things stand now, we are not allowed to hold any gatherings to remember Neda." (BBC)
Here in the west, things are different.
That prolific correspondent, Anonymous, responded to an earlier post about Neda's death:
"Anonymous said...My guess is that not every American would recognize the name Rachel Crow, in the context of "the poor Palestinians." There are around 307,000,000 of us at this point, and some of us don't keep up with the news.
"I feel so bad with this murder. But where was the media when a born American Rachel Crow was smashed under an Israeli bulldozer while she was showing her support for the poor Paelistine [sic] people. Do we American know this fact that Isarel dared to kill our daughter -not an Iranian?
"June 21, 2009 10:21 PM" (from coments on "'RIP NEDA, The World cries seeing your last breath ... We remember you.' " (June 21, 2009)
Anybody who was paying attention in March of 2003 could hardly have missed the case of Rachel Crow. CNN's "Israeli bulldozer kills American protester," CNN (March 25, 2003) gives a pretty good account of what happened.
I'm quite sure that the views of Anonymous will not change. For many people, gunning down a young woman is okay because an American student rather imprudently got in front of a moving bulldozer about six years ago.
Remembering Neda Agha-Soltan
Nothing can change the grief of Neda Agha-Soltan's family and friends. And, nothing can replace the memorial service they had planned to hold at a mosque.But perhaps they can get some comfort by knowing that Neda Agha-Soltan is not forgotten.
More-or-less related posts:
- "Iran's Election: The West Has been Meddling - Sort of"
(June 22, 2009) - " 'RIP NEDA, The World cries seeing your last breath ... We remember you.' "
(June 21, 2009) - "Win the Election, Lose the Country?"
(June 15, 2009) - "Carter Meetings Proof: Hamas a National Liberation Movement! Reality Check, Please"
(April 19, 2008) - "Starvation, Poverty, and Perceptions"
(July 18, 2007) - "Palestinian Plays Bocce Ball With Bulldozer and Police Car: Blast from the Past"
(March 5, 2009) - "Lebanon, Israel, Pakistan, India, and the Lizard People"
(January 14, 2009) - " 'Go Back to the Oven' Message to Jews: Not in the News"
(January 10, 2009) - "Look at the Poor, Pulverized, Palestinians!"
(January 6, 2009)
- "Death video girl 'targeted by militia' "
BBC (June 22, 2009)
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