Three years go...

Three years ago, on these days, I was sitting down with technical manager of Khordad newspaper which was just a street south of Asr-e Azadegan - the newspaper where I used to write a daily column. Khordad daily had the best website among all 15,16 newspaper that were being published in Iran those day. he was explaining how they upload the updated database very night and how the database is updated everynight.

Suddenly somebody called him, he left the room and got back a few seconds later. He apologized and continued to talk, but his face was wierd and he was acting strangely. I don't remember what I asked that he quietly told me that the newspaper is closed down and they don't need to worry about upload the new files. I was shocked. All 13 reformist papers were ordered to shut down in a single ungly letter that was faxed to all of them by the justice department of Tehran . Asr-e Azadegan was among them too.

Now after three years, everything has changed. People don't tend to buy papers, don't like to talk politics and don't like the man they voted anymore. Moreover, almost all of their top journalists, from the owners, editor-in-chief, columnists, satirists, cartoonists, reporters, stringers, and even some marketing agents, have been arrested and have spended some time in jail since then--from several decades to a few weeks.

Although many of them are free now, but virtually none of them are politically active. Since then, hardliners have made up huge files, containing every possible accusation they might have come up, for about every possible man or women who might have been of a little influence on the society, by his or her thoughts, writings, speeches and actions.

The last part is the worst of it, during all this time that handsome president thet we chose, two times, has been silently watched all this and have been kept giving all of them legitimacy. This is the most painful part...