It was around midnight. We were driving through the cemetery after spending an hour at my uncle's recently dug grave. It was his first night in the cemetery and his family did not want him to spend it alone. As we drove in silence, I stared out the window admiring the strange peacefulness of a cemetery at night. But in a moment the scene was disturbed by the sight of several men preparing graves. Twelve caskets whizzed by my eyes one by one. Twelve people dead from an explosion in Shiraz the day before. Young and pious, they had died while listening to the preachings of a supposed liberal-minded cleric (Mohammad Anjavinejad) who was very popular with the youth for daring to say that young people should make their own decisions on how to live their lives. During his sermon, an explosion went off bringing down the roof of the building. Two hundred people were rushed to the hospital with severe injuries.
I was in the airport that day trying to get a rush ticket to Shiraz. The airport was full of people trying to get on the same flight, and I wasted 5 futile hours at the airport unable to secure a ticket in the end. I spent my five hours roaming the airport staring at the big screen TVs. Not one showed coverage of the explosion. After arriving in Shiraz I checked the headlines at a newspaper kiosk, not one of the papers had mentioned the explosion on the front page. Later, I listened to some coverage and I got the feeling that the local media was talking about a bombing in some other country that had afflicted some other people.
Investigative police came to the conclusion that the explosion was the cause of left over explosives from the exhibition of the Sacred Defense (1980-88 Iran-Iraq War) that showcased explosive equipment a week before. Though I wouldn't be surprised at such ineptness, I find it difficult to believe that explosive material had just been lying around the building for a week without anyone noticing. Many in Shiraz were of the opinion that the hushing up of the incident meant that the government was behind the bombing. It seems unlikely because the cleric wasn't radical enough to deserve the attention of the religious establishment, but in any case the government did a good job of making itself look suspicious.
Anjavinejad was also an outspoken critic of both Wahabbi extremists and the Baha'i faith. It is possible that a radical Sunni group was behind the bombing, though they usually claim responsibility for terrorist actions soon afterwards. It would explain why the incident's being hushed up though, because Iran has recently been trying to make good with Saudi Arabia and letting the media carry on about a Wahhabi terrorist attack in Iran would put a halt to negotiations. While some are trying to pin it on Baha'is, I find this to be a ridiculous assertion. If Baha'is were going to start bombing people for discriminating against them, they would have far better targets than Anjavinejad.
Whatever the cause, since the incident two weeks ago, the investigation seems to be over and the government is probably hoping that it has been forgotten about. Supreme Leader Khamenei was supposed to go to Shiraz to show his support, but I doubt that he will actually make the trip.
A few days after the explosion a fighter jet crashed at Mehrabad Airport, and like the explosion in Shiraz, there was little to no mention of it in the news. There are no conspiracies behind the crash, but the government probably doesn't want to make a big deal out of the fact that our fighter jets are old and outdated, relics of the Shah's massive fleet from 30 years ago. I just find it disappointing that important news in this country is kept so hidden from public view. People are still able to get the information and illegally watch YouTube clips of the incidents taken with an onlooker's mobile phone. This obvious secrecy only increases the resentment and suspicion against the government. Therefore it hurts them to be so secretive in the long run, but government officials rarely take into account the long term effects of their actions.
I was in the airport that day trying to get a rush ticket to Shiraz. The airport was full of people trying to get on the same flight, and I wasted 5 futile hours at the airport unable to secure a ticket in the end. I spent my five hours roaming the airport staring at the big screen TVs. Not one showed coverage of the explosion. After arriving in Shiraz I checked the headlines at a newspaper kiosk, not one of the papers had mentioned the explosion on the front page. Later, I listened to some coverage and I got the feeling that the local media was talking about a bombing in some other country that had afflicted some other people.
Investigative police came to the conclusion that the explosion was the cause of left over explosives from the exhibition of the Sacred Defense (1980-88 Iran-Iraq War) that showcased explosive equipment a week before. Though I wouldn't be surprised at such ineptness, I find it difficult to believe that explosive material had just been lying around the building for a week without anyone noticing. Many in Shiraz were of the opinion that the hushing up of the incident meant that the government was behind the bombing. It seems unlikely because the cleric wasn't radical enough to deserve the attention of the religious establishment, but in any case the government did a good job of making itself look suspicious.
Anjavinejad was also an outspoken critic of both Wahabbi extremists and the Baha'i faith. It is possible that a radical Sunni group was behind the bombing, though they usually claim responsibility for terrorist actions soon afterwards. It would explain why the incident's being hushed up though, because Iran has recently been trying to make good with Saudi Arabia and letting the media carry on about a Wahhabi terrorist attack in Iran would put a halt to negotiations. While some are trying to pin it on Baha'is, I find this to be a ridiculous assertion. If Baha'is were going to start bombing people for discriminating against them, they would have far better targets than Anjavinejad.
Whatever the cause, since the incident two weeks ago, the investigation seems to be over and the government is probably hoping that it has been forgotten about. Supreme Leader Khamenei was supposed to go to Shiraz to show his support, but I doubt that he will actually make the trip.
A few days after the explosion a fighter jet crashed at Mehrabad Airport, and like the explosion in Shiraz, there was little to no mention of it in the news. There are no conspiracies behind the crash, but the government probably doesn't want to make a big deal out of the fact that our fighter jets are old and outdated, relics of the Shah's massive fleet from 30 years ago. I just find it disappointing that important news in this country is kept so hidden from public view. People are still able to get the information and illegally watch YouTube clips of the incidents taken with an onlooker's mobile phone. This obvious secrecy only increases the resentment and suspicion against the government. Therefore it hurts them to be so secretive in the long run, but government officials rarely take into account the long term effects of their actions.
No comments:
Post a Comment