On the eve of Neda's birthday

Saturday would have been the 27th birthday of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman who’s become the poster-child martyr of Iran’s opposition Green Movement.

Her fiancé, Caspian Makan, told Channel 4 News that he wants Iranians to commemorate the occasion.

“Neda pursued neither peace nor war,” he said, speaking from Canada where he has fled.“She was a thinker. And with the extraordinary capacity that she had in spirit and thought – without seeking any attention for herself – she was able to affect the opinions of people worldwide.”

Neda’s death on the streets of Tehran, allegedly at the hands of a basij militiaman during an opposition protest on 20 June, was filmed on a mobile phone and broadcast round the world.

Mr Makan spoke about her death to the international media and was subsequently imprisoned. On his release, he fled Iran.

Mr Makan said, “I learnt many things from Neda and I think that, with all her courage and bravery, she made us all more determined.”

Although Iranian exiles are expected to gather in London, Toronto and other capitals, 23 January is not expected to be a big day for protest in Iran. Instead, the Green Movement is gearing up for street gatherings on 11 February, the 31st anniversary of the Iranian Revolution.

The last major protests were on 29 December, during the Shi’a festival of ashura.

Several people were killed as demonstrators clashed with basij. The Iranian government has been trying to crush further protest.

On Saturday 9 January, 33 women known as “the mourning mothers” who meet weekly to discuss the plight of their imprisoned children, were reportedly arrested.

Last week, Majid Tavakoli, a student who had criticised President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, was sentenced to eight years in prison. 

The authorities had published pictures of him wearing hijab, the headscarf which is compulsory for all women in Iran, which they said he had donned in an attempt to evade arrest.

In response, men in the Green Movement, both in Iran and abroad, dressed up in hijab.

But wit and determination do not topple governments. In a recent article, British/Iranian academic Ali Ansari analyses how the Revolutionary Guard are consolidating their hold on Iran’s economy, making them even more determined to stop any dissent which might threaten their hold on power.