It is restless in Tehran tonight. Students demonstrate and demand the resignation of the highest leaders, the police use tear gas. Thus ends a day that began just as strikingly: with the confession of the Iranian government that it is indeed behind the downing of flight PS752. Something that was previously denied.
Iranian TV journalist Ghanbar Naderi is stunned by the sudden confession. “I was on the spot in the early morning of that fateful day. I spoke to many international media and told them that the crash was the result of a technical problem. I believed the aviation authorities.”
But Iran still blamed today. “I now realize that the aviation authorities also heard lies from security officers, especially from the Revolutionary Guard. I apologize for what I believed and for what the authorities said. I was shocked and with me the whole country.”
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Days of secrecy are over
On board the Boeing 737 of Ukraine International Airlines were not only more than eighty Iranians, but also dozens of Canadians and Ukrainians. The Air Force Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard admitted today that the plane was accidentally shot from the sky.
The commander said he informed the authorities about the disaster the same day. But Iran strongly denied in recent days that it was responsible for the plane crash. Come with proof, it was said. Naderi calls the Iranian authorities incompetent.
“They better understand that the days of secrecy are over. This is the age of social media. You can’t keep anything more secret. Not like in the 80s or 90s. Everything is open and exposed. In the end, they could only but admit that this terrible tragedy was their own fault. “
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The last thing the Iranians want in these economically awful times is a war.
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Today, protests against the liquidated General Qassem Soleimani, who was previously buried as a hero, are also being protested in Iran. “Remember that a few days ago millions of people took to the streets to show their solidarity and pay tribute to Soleimani. Is this their gratitude? Lies and untruths?”
The Iranian journalist speaks of a gross scandal. “My own government has been telling lies for three days. Until finally there was such overwhelming evidence from Iran and from the international community that they had to open up and tell the truth.”
Naderi does not think that the demonstrations will stop soon, because many compatriots no longer support the regime. “People want normal relations with the West again. They can no longer afford conflict or war in the region. The last thing they want in these economically awful times is a war.”
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Innocent deaths
Former Iran correspondent Carolien Omidi, who lived and worked in the country for more than seventeen years, emphasizes that there was already much anger and frustration in Iran towards the government. “The Iranian population has been suffering from sanctions and a hugely deteriorated economy for years.”
According to her, the lies of the government about the crash are the proverbial drop that makes the bucket overflow. “That is why the protests in Tehran, and also in other Iranian cities, are now so fierce. I think these protests would not have broken out if it had happened in another country.”
There is also a lot of anger about the hard fall of the protests in November. 1500 people were killed. “Many people hold Soleimani responsible for that. Protesters now also make that link explicitly. They are also angry that the death of one general results in so many innocent deaths.”
Under a magnifying glass
Protests are predicted for tomorrow again, Omidi says. “It is feared that the Iranian government will shut down the internet now, just like in November. That makes such protests harder to organize and harder to follow for the rest of the world.”
“Perhaps the government now doesn’t dare to intervene very hard, because they are under a magnifying glass because of the crash and the whole world is watching. But if the internet comes to a halt again, then there is a chance that the protests will become hard-handed again knocked down.”
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