Watching the world change

Thousands upon thousands of iranians took to the streets yesterday to protest the rigged elections. I'm consumed by these events; obsessed with watching the Twitterverse fill up with snippets of real time news, reading calls to action as the protests took shape, trying to spot the misinformation cluttering the feeds, and being amazed by people sharing tips on how to get round the blocks that the iranian government are trying to enforce on the internet in Iran. Iran is so pivotally important in the delicate web of Middle Eastern politics, and these protests at once bring together the reality of democracy to a region that has never embraced the concept, under one of the most insane of modern rulers, placing the country once again in the leading spot for forging change in the Middle East.

Actually, Iranians would probably disagree that they're in the Middle East, so I will swop to Asia. However, they can't get away from the fact that they're a part of the political jigsaw in the region, and a rather critical one.

These elections were so important. If democracy had effected change, I would have been astounded (pleased, but shocked), as Mousavi at least had an olive twig to hold out to the Americans, and was open to starting talks. Even if he does stand behind things like nuclear development, and was a part of the government that issued the fatwa on Rushdie, amongst other rather insane actions. He doesn't delight in mental rhetoric, as Ahmadinijad (or his buddy Chavez) seem to do.

It's just such a critical time for this region. Obama's message for change, his speech in Egypt, Netanyahu's rebuttal speech, Iraq's emergence from a decade of horror... so much hangs in the balance.

All I can be thankful for is that Bush isn't still in charge. We'd have jets overhead already heading to "bomb the shit out of the ragheads" - and hey presto, we've got another Iraq, another Afghanistan, more death and destruction and hatred. Obama's comments included: "We resepct Iranian sovereignty, we will continue to pursue tough direct diplomacy" and his message to the protesters: "The world is watching, and is inspired by your participation, regardless of the ultimate outcome".

I just hope it doesn't turn in to another Tianemen.