Voices for change echo in Iranian tweets

Dubai: Something powerful is brewing in Iran.

Voices, so far unheard in the nation's most recent elections, are blazing through the internet at 140 characters a message.

In a volatile landscape of unrest and protest, the youth of Iran have taken to social messaging websites such as Twitter to unveil the ground reality.

And the scene is far from pleasant.

Videos, photographs and soundbytes of violence in the country are rapidly making their way onto the internet.

Attacks on Tehran University dormitories for instance, have left shattered windows and student casualties - but the first on the scene were amateur Iranians who clicked images on their mobile phones and uploaded them to the Twitter sister site, twitpic.com.

An independent online magazine about Iran and the Iranian diaspora, TehranBureau writes: “Tear gas was used inside the girls dorm and motorbikes ridden into the boys dorm… the deaths have been confirmed by classmates who have named them all.''

Commenting on one of the largest demonstrations since the country's revolution, Mousavi-supporter persiankiwi wrote: “Tehran is full of rumours like 1979 again - can't say what will happen but public dissent is not stopping.''

Some, like Change_for_Iran, have not tweeted for an entire day. The Iranian student's ominous last message reads: “It's worth taking the risk, we're going. I won't be able to update until I'm back.''

The tweet was posted only a couple of hours before the massive rally in Tehran yesterday, which drew in hundreds of thousands of people protesting against president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Seven people were killed.

Even as the internet is serving as the modus operandi of the tweeters, freedom of expression - even 140 characters long - is not easy to get away with.

According to persiankiwi, “anyone with camera or laptop is attacked in street… most roads out of Tehran blocked… Tehran hotels under high security to stop Iranians from contacting foreign press.''

The tension is swinging both ways, as hackers have taken over official websites, including the president's, writes smileofcrash.

In the wreckage of violence, the youth of Iran are ringing in change. But some semblance of peace still remains.

parhamdoustdar, who describes himself in his Twitter bio as a “blind computer geek'', writes: “Going to take a break and have a look at my Physics notes for the exam tomorrow.''

As tweets flow back and forth, video messages of peace and strength are being linked to YouTube, expanding the call for change.

The video posted by iranartexile is titled “Open Letter to the World'' and has a visual background of the ongoing protests in Iran.

Strong words break loose across the web: “Friends, we ask you not to let 70 million people in Iran be taken hostage. Any government that accepts Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the new president of Iran has betrayed the Iranian people, endangered world peace, and has no sympathy for human pain.''