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A Minute's Silence for a Despot

(18 Posts)
Jaberwok Wed 22-May-24 16:57:34

Churchill was diplomatically friendly with Stalin in the war years as was Roosevelt. Come the end of the war and the start of the cold war, friendship soon evaporated!

petra Wed 22-May-24 16:07:32

I for one rejoiced with these beautiful women. I was literally dancing with them.
At least there is now one less evil bastard stealing oxygen. 😡

x.com/mersedeh_eye/status/1792274450722791904

Callistemon21 Wed 22-May-24 15:42:20

nanna8

Stalin was very friendly with Churchill back in the day. Just saying.

Allies in WW2 fighting Hitler.
Expediency.

Callistemon21 Wed 22-May-24 15:40:18

TerriBull

...and if the League of Nations predecessor to UN had been expected to show such deference to Hitler? Or did the UN do the same on Stalin's death?. Diplomacy it might well be but its also hypocracy and demonstrates a disregard for the victims of appalling regimes.

👏👏👏

TerriBull Wed 22-May-24 14:50:03

Yes it's sad that Iran is so closed in on itself. The Iranians I've met have been very interesting people, it's a fascinating country that has so much to offer, amazing history, with wonderful buildings, culture and cuisine, if the political landscape were different it would be a winner of a place to visit.

nanna8 Wed 22-May-24 14:27:50

We had some Iranian friends,too. They used to visit Iran every year and the wife would wear the full gear when she went there. She said everyone was ‘normal’ at home. Very poetic, well educated people with a long and fascinating history. What has happened is not good, I feel sorry for the women in particular.

TerriBull Wed 22-May-24 14:05:32

Yes I agree biglouis, life was certainly a lot better for women under the Shah. I had some relatives that lived in Tehran in the '70s, they said it was pretty similar to living in a western European country. There was also freedom to practice religions other that Islam, all that's gone. The Iranian neighbours who lived next door to us in our previous house were Zoroastrian the ancient religion of Persia and their followers are a persecuted minority now, they managed to get out around the time of the Revolution.

biglouis Wed 22-May-24 13:56:48

This regime has killed and tortured far more people than the Shah did. Evil in the name of religion.

I visited Iran in the 1970s and then again in the early 1990s to see how things had changed. Not for the better. Some of the neighbours I have now fled the country.

TerriBull Wed 22-May-24 13:52:11

Russia were allies during WW2, did everyone know about the gulags and how many people perished during Stalin's tenure back then?

Sago Wed 22-May-24 13:42:00

nanna8

Stalin was very friendly with Churchill back in the day. Just saying.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Maremia Wed 22-May-24 13:23:27

It's a diplomatic gesture, no more, no less. Showing respect for the Nation. As GrannyGravy says, thoughts can be elsewhere. I hope the Iranians are subtle in any rejoicing, to avoid more punishment.

TerriBull Wed 22-May-24 10:07:37

Maybe the protocol around diplomacy should change, why should that be set in stone in a rapidly changing world.

nanna8 Wed 22-May-24 10:01:35

Stalin was very friendly with Churchill back in the day. Just saying.

fancythat Wed 22-May-24 09:58:46

MaizieD

I know it feels horrific and hypocritical, but it's part of diplomacy, isn't it?

Diplomacy should stretch that far?
I am assuming he did what he is accused of, but of course people can get things wrong.

What else may the UN be doing for "diplomacy", I now wonder.

TerriBull Wed 22-May-24 09:47:26

...and if the League of Nations predecessor to UN had been expected to show such deference to Hitler? Or did the UN do the same on Stalin's death?. Diplomacy it might well be but its also hypocracy and demonstrates a disregard for the victims of appalling regimes.

MaizieD Wed 22-May-24 09:25:30

I know it feels horrific and hypocritical, but it's part of diplomacy, isn't it?

GrannyGravy13 Wed 22-May-24 09:18:43

I would observe the minutes silence, but direct my thoughts and prayers towards all who have been murdered, suppressed, tortured and forced to flee their homes by this tyrannical regime…

TerriBull Wed 22-May-24 09:15:49

President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran died a few days ago in a helicopter accident and the UN respectfully marked his death with a minute's silence. A minute of silence for a man who was known for his brutality in meting out imprisonments, torture, hangings, deaths by stoning, all of which he presided over. We all know how women who don't observe the head covering edicts are dealt with there. Right now there is a rapper who has been sentenced to death for supporting the women of Iran and criticising the ruling theocracy. If something untoward happened to Putin or Kim Jong, would they also get the same posthumous gesture, should the UN instead be focusing on the victims of Iran's human rights abuse, rather than some lame, abhorrent buffoonery for one of the world's tyrants?