Title: Growing dissent in Iran
Description: (re-titled thread)
Description: (re-titled thread)
MSantor - June 12, 2009 09:02 PM (GMT)
It's not really surprising that Ahmadinejad would want to cling to power. Still if the supposed reformist candidate Mousavi wins, will this mean a new beginning in relations between Iran and the US/the West?
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090612/...s_iran_election
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090612/...s_iran_election
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| Both sides claim victory in Iran election 39 minutes ago By Parisa Hafezi and Zahra Hosseinian TEHRAN (Reuters) - State media declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of Iran's election on Friday, but challenger Mirhossein Mousavi alleged irregularities and claimed victory for himself. The head of the state election commission said Ahmadinejad was leading Mousavi by 69 percent to 28 percent with about 19 percent of ballots counted. The official news agency IRNA said: "Dr Ahmadinejad, by winning most votes at the 10th presidential election, has secured his victory." Mousavi had earlier tried to pre-empt official announcements by calling a news conference at which he alleged there had been irregularities, including a shortage of ballot papers. "I am the definite winner of this presidential election," he declared. There was no immediate response from Mousavi to the election commission's figures. A bitterly fought campaign has generated intense excitement inside Iran and provoked strong interest around the world, with policymakers looking for signs of a change of approach by Tehran, whose ties with the West worsened under Ahmadinejad. A victory for Mousavi could help ease tensions with the West, which is concerned about Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and improve chances of engagement with U.S. President Barack Obama, who has talked about a new start in ties with Tehran. Mousavi, a former prime minister, said many people had not been able to cast their ballots even after voting was extended by four hours. Earlier, in Washington, Obama said his administration was excited about the debate taking place in Iran and he hoped it would help the two countries to engage "in new ways." Mousavi, at his news conference, listed problems with the voting process. "(We) are waiting for the counting of votes to officially end and explanations of these irregularities be given," Mousavi said. "We expect to celebrate with people soon." "We hope that authorities in charge do their work in this regard with the wisdom of the supreme leader this issue would end in a good way." Under the election rules, if no candidate wins 50 percent of the votes, a run-off will be held on June 19 between the two front-runners. VOTING QUEUES Long queues had formed at voting centers, both in northern, affluent areas of Tehran where Mousavi draws support and in southern, poorer neighborhoods seen as Ahmadinejad strongholds. High turnout could indicate voting by many pro-reformers who stayed away when Ahmadinejad won four years ago on a pledge to revive the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Political analysts have said they expect a close race. For Iranians it is a chance to pass judgment on his management of the Islamic Republic's oil exporting economy. Although Ahmadinejad, 52, says his government has revived economic growth and curbed price rises, inflation and high unemployment were the main campaign issues. Official inflation is around 15 percent. Social issues, such as strict dress codes for women, as well as Iran's ties with the outside world, also featured in the campaign but the outcome of the vote will not bring a major shift in Iran's foreign policy, which is determined by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The United States has had no ties with Iran since shortly after the revolution but Obama said in Washington that the United States had "tried to send a clear message that we think there is the possibility of change" in relations. Mousavi, 67, rejects Western demands that Iran halt uranium enrichment but analysts say he would bring a different approach to Iran-U.S. ties and talks on Tehran's nuclear program, which the West fears is a cover to build bombs. Iran denies this. "People's strong, revolutionary and clear decision will bring about a bright future for the nation," Ahmadinejad, a self-styled champion of the poor with strong support in rural areas, said while voting in a working class part of Tehran. The three-week election campaign was marked by mudslinging, with Ahmadinejad accusing his rivals of corruption. They said he was lying about the state of the economy. Ahmadinejad's election rivals, who also include liberal cleric Mehdi Karoubi and former Revolutionary Guard leader Mohsen Rezaie, have urged the Interior Ministry and Khamenei to ensure there is no vote rigging. Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard broke new ground in the conservative Islamic state by actively campaigning for her husband, a move hailed by women's rights activists. "I thank all the people for their green presence which created a miracle," Mousavi said, referring to the colors worn by his backers who thronged Tehran streets during the campaign, as he voted in Tehran with his wife at his side. (Additional reporting by Hossein Jaseb and Hashem Kalantari; writing by Fredrik Dahl and Dominic Evans; editing by Mark Trevelyan) |
MSantor - June 13, 2009 04:19 PM (GMT)
And this disputed election leads to violent clashes between supporters of both candidates after Ahmadinejad is declared the winner.
Link
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| Clashes erupt in Iran over disputed election Ali Akbar Dareini And Anna Johnson, Associated Press Writers – 8 mins ago TEHRAN, Iran – Supporters of the main election challenger to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with police and set up barricades of burning tires Saturday as authorities claimed the hard-line president was re-elected in a landslide. The rival candidate said the vote was tainted by widespread fraud and his followers responded with the most serious unrest in the capital in a decade. Several hundred demonstrators — many wearing the trademark green colors of pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign — chanted "the government lied to the people" and gathered near the Interior Ministry as the final count from Friday's presidential election was announced. It gave 62.6 percent of the vote to Ahmadinejad and 33.75 to Mousavi — a former prime minister who has become the hero of a youth-driven movement seeking greater liberties and a gentler face for Iran abroad. Mousavi rejected the result as rigged and urged his supporters to resist a government of "lies and dictatorship." "I'm warning that I won't surrender to this manipulation," said a statement on Mousavi's Web site. "The outcome of what we've seen from the performance of officials ... is nothing but shaking the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran's sacred system and governance of lies and dictatorship," it added. Mousavi warned "people won't respect those who take power through fraud." The headline on one of his Web sites read: "I won't give in to this dangerous manipulation." Mousavi and key aides could not be reached by phone. The clashes in central Tehran were the more serious disturbances in the capital since student-led protests in 1999. They showed the potential for the showdown to spill over into further violence and challenges to the Islamic establishment. Mousavi appealed directly to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to intervene and stop what he said were violations of the law. Khamenei, who is not elected, holds ultimate political authority in Iran and controls all major policy decisions. "I hope the leader's foresight will bring this to a good end," Mousavi said. But Khamenei closed the door on any chance he could use his limitless powers to intervene in the election dispute. He urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad in a message on state TV, calling the result a "divine assessment." The demonstrations began Saturday morning shortly before the government announced the final results. Protesters set fire to tires outside the Interior Ministry and anti-riot police fought back with clubs and smashed cars. Helmeted police on foot and others on buzzing motorcycles chased bands of protesters roaming the streets pumping their fists in the air. Officers beat protesters with swift blows from their truncheons and kicks with their boots. Some of the demonstrators grouped together to charge back at police, hurling stones. Plumes of dark smoke streaked over the city, as burning barricades of tires and garbage bins glowed orange in the streets. An Associated Press photographer saw a plainclothes security official beating a woman with his truncheon. Italian state TV RAI said one of its crews was caught in the clashes in front Mousavi's headquarters. Their Iranian interpreter was beaten with clubs by riot police and officers confiscated the cameraman's tapes, the station said. In another main street of Tehran, some 300 young people blocked the avenue by forming a human chain and chanted "Ahmadi, shame on you. Leave the government alone." There was no word on any casualties from the unrest. It was not clear how many Iranians were even aware of Mousavi's claims of fraud. Communications disruptions began in the later hours of voting Friday — suggesting an information clampdown. State television and radio only broadcast the Interior Ministry's vote count and not Mousavi's midnight news conference. Nationwide, the text messaging system remained down Saturday and several pro-Mousavi Web sites were blocked or difficult to access. Text messaging is frequently used by many Iranians — especially young Mousavi supporters — to spread election news. Mousavi's campaign headquarters urged people to show restraint. Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, who supervised the elections and heads the nation's police forces, warned people not to join any "unauthorized gatherings." The powerful Revolutionary Guard cautioned Wednesday it would crush any "revolution" against the Islamic regime by Mousavi's "green movement." The Revolutionary Guard is directly under the control of the ruling clerics and has vast influence in every corner of the country through a network of volunteer militias. Even before the vote counting began, Mousavi declared himself "definitely the winner" based on "all indications from all over Iran." He accused the government of "manipulating the people's vote" to keep Ahmadinejad in power and suggested the reformist camp would stand up to challenge the results. "It is our duty to defend people's votes. There is no turning back," he said, alleging widespread irregularities. Mousavi's backers were stunned at the Interior Ministry's claim that Ahmadinejad won after widespread predictions of a close race — or even a slight edge for the reformist candidate. Turnout was a record 85 percent of the 46.2 million eligible voters. "Many Iranians went to the people because they wanted to bring change," said Mousavi supporter Nasser Amiri, a hospital clerk in Tehran. "Almost everybody I know voted for Mousavi but Ahmadinejad is being declared the winner. The government announcement is nothing but widespread fraud. It is very, very disappointing. I'll never ever again vote in Iran." At Tehran University — the site of the last major anti-regime unrest in Tehran in 1999 — the academic year was winding down and there was no sign of pro-Mousavi crowds. But university exams, scheduled to begin Saturday, were postponed until next month around the country. Ahmadinejad planned a public address later Saturday in Tehran. In the capital, several Ahmadinejad supporters cruised the streets waving Iranian flags out of car windows and shouting "Mousavi is dead!" The election outcome will not sharply alter Iran's main policies or sway major decisions, such as possible talks with Washington or nuclear policies. Those crucial issues rest with the ruling clerics headed by Khamenei. But the election focused on what the office can influence: boosting Iran's sinking economy, pressing for greater media and political freedoms, and being Iran's main envoy to the world. Iran does not allow international election monitors. During the 2005 election, when Ahmadinejad won the presidency, there were some allegations of vote rigging from losers, but the claims were never investigated. _____ Associated Press reporter Nasser Karimi contributed to this report from Tehran. |
MSantor - June 15, 2009 06:00 PM (GMT)
And thousands continue to rally for Mousavi in spite of the ban imposed by Ahmadinejad on any opposition rallies:
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| http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090615/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election By ANNA JOHNSON and ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writers Anna Johnson And Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press Writers – 44 mins ago TEHRAN, Iran – Hundreds of thousands of opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defied an Interior Ministry ban Monday and streamed into central Tehran to cheer their pro-reform leader in his first public appearance since elections that he alleges were marred by fraud. Gunfire from a compound used by pro-government militia killed one demonstrator. The outpouring in Azadi, or Freedom, Square for reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi — swelling as more poured from buildings and side streets — followed a decision by Iran's most powerful figure for an investigation into the vote-rigging allegations. Security forces watched quietly, with shields and batons at their sides. But an Associated Press photographer saw one person shot and killed and several others who appeared to be seriously wounded in the square. The gunfire came from a compound for volunteer militia linked to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard. The chanting crowd — many wearing the trademark green color of Mousavi's campaign — was more than five miles (nine kilometers) long, and based on previous demonstrations in the square and surrounding streets, its size was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. Mousavi had paused on the edge of the square — where Ahmadinejad made his first postelection speech — to address the throng. They roared back: "Long live Mousavi." "This is not election. This is selection," read one English-language placard at the demonstration. Other marchers held signs proclaiming "We want our vote!" and raised their fingers in a V-for-victory salute. "We want our president, not the one who was forced on us," said 28-year-old Sara, who gave only her first name because she feared reprisal from authorities. Hours earlier, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directed one of Iran's most influential bodies, the Guardian Council, to examine the claims. But the move by Khamenei — who had earlier welcomed the election results — had no guarantee it would satisfy those challenging Ahmadinejad's re-election or quell days of rioting after Friday's election that left parts of Tehran scarred by flames and shattered store fronts. The 12-member Guardian Council, made up of clerics and experts in Islamic law and closely allied to Khamenei, must certify election results and has the apparent authority to nullify an election. But it would be an unprecedented step. Claims of voting irregularities went before the council after Ahmadinejad's upset victory in 2005, but there was no official word on the outcome of the investigation and the vote stood. More likely, the dramatic intervention by Khamenei could be an attempt to buy time in hopes of reducing the anti-Ahmadinejad anger. The prospect of spiraling protests and clashes is the ultimate nightmare for the Islamic establishment, which could be forced into back-and-forth confrontations and risks having the dissidents move past the elected officials and directly target the ruling theocracy. The massive display of opposition unity Monday suggested a possible shift in tactics by authorities after cracking down hard during days of rioting. Although any rallies were outlawed earlier, security forces were not ordered to move against the sea of protesters — allowing them to vent their frustration and wave the green banners and ribbons of the symbolic color of Mousavi's movement. State TV quoted Khamenei as ordering the Guardian Council to "carefully probe" the allegations of fraud, which were contained in a letter Mousavi submitted Sunday. On Saturday, however, Khamenei urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad and called the result a "divine assessment." The results touched off three days of clashes — the worst unrest in Tehran in a decade. Protesters set fires and battled riot police, including a clash overnight at Tehran University after about 3,000 students gathered to oppose the election results. Security forces have struck back with targeted arrests of pro-reform activists and blocks on text messaging and pro-Mousavi Web sites used to rally his supporters. One of Mousavi's Web sites said a student protester was killed early Monday in clashes with plainclothes hard-liners in Shiraz, southern Iran. But there was no independent confirmation of the report. There also have been unconfirmed reports of unrest in other cities. Most media are not allowed to travel beyond Tehran and thus can not independently confirm protests in other cities. The unrest also risked bringing splits among Iran's clerical elite, including some influential Shiite scholars raising concern about possible election irregularities and at least one member of the ruling theocracy, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, openly critical of Ahmadinejad in the campaign. According to a pro-Mousavi Web site, he sent a letter to senior clerics in Qom, Iran's main center of Islamic learning, to spell out his claims. The accuations also have brought growing international concern. On Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden raised questions about whether the vote reflected the wishes of the Iranian people. Britain and Germany joined the calls of alarm over the rising confrontations in Iran. In Paris, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to discuss the allegations of vote tampering and the violence. Overnight, police and hard-line militia stormed the campus at the city's biggest university, ransacking dormitories and arresting dozens of students angry over what they say was mass election fraud. The nighttime gathering of about 3,000 students at dormitories of Tehran University started with students chanting "Death to the dictator." But it quickly erupted into clashes as students threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, who fought back with tear gas and plastic bullets, a 25-year-old student who witnessed the fighting told The Associated Press. He would only give one name, Akbar, out of fears for his safety. The students set a truck and other vehicles on fire and hurled stones and bricks at the police, he said. Hard-line militia volunteers loyal to the Revolutionary Guard stormed the dormitories, ransacking student rooms and smashing computers and furniture with axes and wooden sticks, Akbar said. Before leaving around 4 a.m., the police took away memory cards and computer software material, Akbar said, adding that dozens of students were arrested. He said many students suffered bruises, cuts and broken bones in the scuffling and that there was still smoldering garbage on the campus by midmorning but that the situation had calmed down. "Many students are now leaving to go home to their families, they are scared," he said. "But others are staying. The police and militia say they will be back and arrest any students they see." "I want to stay because they beat us and we won't retreat," he added. Tehran University was the site of serious clashes against student-led protests in 1999 and is one of the nerve centers of the pro-reform movement. After dark Sunday, Ahmadinejad opponents shouted their opposition from Tehran's rooftops. Cries of "Death to the dictator!" and "Allahu akbar!" — "God is great!" — echoed across the capital. The protest bore deep historic resonance — it was how the leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini asked Iran to unite against the Western-backed shah 30 years earlier. In Moscow, the Iranian Embassy said Ahmadinejad has put off a visit to Russia, and it is unclear whether he will come at all. Ahmadinejad had been expected to travel to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg and meet on Monday with President Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of a regional summit. |
MSantor - June 16, 2009 05:38 AM (GMT)
And the violence continues as Ahmadinejad's security apparatus cracks down on Mousavi supporters:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090616/ap_on_...l_iran_election
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090616/ap_on_...l_iran_election
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| State radio: 7 killed in Tehran clashes TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's state radio says seven people died in clashes in Tehran after an "unauthorized gathering" following a mass rally over alleged election fraud. The radio report says the seven died in shooting that erupted after several people at the gathering Monday night in western Tehran "tried to attack a military location." More than 100,000 opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had marched through Tehran earlier Monday protesting alleged vote rigging in last week's elections. The report Tuesday gave no details. It was the first official confirmation of the shooting in Tehran's Azadi Square. Witnesses there saw at least one person shot dead and several others seriously wounded after shooting from a compound for volunteer militia linked to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard. |
MSantor - June 18, 2009 03:46 PM (GMT)
In spite of the violence, Mousavi supporters continue to stage massive rallies.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090618/ap_on_...l_iran_election
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090618/ap_on_...l_iran_election
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| By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writers Ali Akbar Dareini And Nasser Karimi, Associated Press Writers – 51 mins ago TEHRAN, Iran – Tens of thousands of black-clad protesters filled the streets of Tehran again Thursday, joining opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to mourn demonstrators killed in clashes over Iran's disputed election. Many in the massive crowd wore green wristbands and carried flowers in mourning as they filed into Imam Khomenei Square, a large plaza in the heart of the capital named for the founder of the Islamic Revolution, witnesses said. Demonstrators marched silently until they arrived at the square, where some chanted "Death to the Dictator!" and "Where are our votes!" The witnesses spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of government retaliation. Foreign news organizations are barred from reporting on Tehran's streets. The fourth consecutive day of protests openly defied Iran's supreme leader, who has urged the people to pursue their allegations of election fraud within the limits of the cleric-led system. Mousavi and his followers have rejected compromise and pressed their demands for a new election, flouting the will of a man endowed with virtually limitless powers under Iran's constitution. Trying again to satisfy the protesters' demands, Iran's main electoral authority invited Mousavi and two other candidates who ran against hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a meeting. Iran's al-Alam Arabic television channel said the three candidates would meet with the Guardian Council on Saturday. The unelected body of 12 clerics and Islamic law experts close to Khamenei has said it was prepared to conduct a limited recount of ballots at sites where candidates claim irregularities. Mousavi, who has said he won the vote, charges the Guardian Council is not neutral and supports Ahmadinejad and has demanded an independent investigation and a new election. The Council's spokesman, Abbasali Khadkhodaei, said Thursday that it received a total of 646 complaints from the three candidates who ran against Ahmadinejad in the June 12 election. The council provided few other details, but the large number of complaints raised the possibility that even a limited recount could turn into a far larger and messier exercise than the government desires. The regime has blocked communication channels, such as Web sites and mobile phone networks, to make it more difficult for Mousavi supporters to organize protests. The mobile phone network in Tehran appeared to go down at the start of Thursday's demonstration, as it has intermittently since shortly after the election results were announced. Text messaging has been blocked almost constantly since Friday. There have been widespread accusations of nighttime attacks on Mousavi supporters by pro-government militiamen, and protesters attacked a militia building after one rally, but both sides have been restrained, with uniformed police and other security forces standing by as protesters march calmly through the streets. On Monday, hundreds of thousands turned out in a huge procession that recalled the scale of protests during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Seven demonstrators were shot and killed that day by pro-regime militia in the first confirmed deaths during the unrest. The massive gathering was followed by three days of marches along main Tehran avenues, presenting one of the gravest threats to Iran's complex blend of democracy and religious authority since the system emerged out of the Islamic revolution that brought down Western-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The ruling clerics still command deep public support and are defended by Iran's most powerful military force — the Revolutionary Guard — as well as a vast network of militias. But Mousavi's movement has forced Khamenei into the center of the escalating crisis, questioning his role as the final authority on all critical issues. The wild card for Mousavi's movement is former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, who heads the Assembly of Experts — a cleric-run body that is empowered to choose or dismiss Iran's supreme leader. Khamenei is Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's successor, and the assembly has never used its power to remove Iran's highest authority. Rafsanjani was a fierce critic of Ahmadinejad during the election, but has not publicly backed Mousavi. It is not known whether Mousavi has actively courted Rafsanjani's support or if they have held talks. But Iranian TV has shown pictures of Faezeh Hashemi, Rafsanjani's daughter, speaking to hundreds of Mousavi supporters, carrying pictures of Khomeini. A group of hard-line students rallied outside the Tehran prosecutor's office Thursday, accusing Rafsanjani's daughter and his son, Mahdi, of treason, state radio reported. They said Rafsanjani supports these actions and shouted: "Shame on you, children of Hashemi!" For the moment, protesters have focused on the results of the balloting rather than challenging the Islamic system of government. But a shift in anger toward Iran's non-elected theocracy would sharply change the stakes. Instead of a clash over the election results, it would become a showdown over the foundation of Iran's system of rule — the almost unlimited authority of the clerics at the top. The Iranian government has directly accused the United States of meddling in the deepening crisis. A statement by state-run Press TV blamed Washington for "intolerable" interference. The report, on Press TV, cited no evidence. "Despite wide coverage of unrest, foreign media have not been able to provide any evidence on a single violation in the election process," state radio said Thursday. President Barack Obama said he shared the world's "deep concerns" but it was "not productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling." The two countries severed diplomatic relations after militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran following the Islamic Revolution. The government has blocked certain Web sites, such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites that are vital conduits for Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence. Many other sites, including Gmail and Yahoo, were unusually slow and rarely connect. Mousavi has condemned the blocking of Web sites, saying the government did not tolerate the voice of the opposition. In a statement, Google Inc.'s video sharing site, YouTube, said this week it would allow clips depicting violence in Iran because of their journalistic merit. "In general, we do not allow graphic or gratuitous violence on YouTube," the company said. "However, we make exceptions for videos that have educational, documentary, or scientific value. The limitations being placed on mainstream media reporting from within Iran make it even more important that citizens in Iran be able to use YouTube to capture their experiences for the world to see." Iranian Press TV said Khamenei would lead the weekly prayers ceremony on Friday. There was no immediate word whether Ahmadinejad would attend, but attends the service whenever Khamenei gives it. Al-Alam said the three presidential candidates also confirmed they would attend. |
MSantor - June 19, 2009 05:59 PM (GMT)
So will it be long before Iranian MBTs roll through Tehran to emulate what happened at Tiananmen Square 20 years ago?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090619/ap_on_...l_iran_election
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090619/ap_on_...l_iran_election
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| By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writers Ali Akbar Dareini And Nasser Karimi, Associated Press Writers – 42 mins ago TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's supreme leader sternly warned Friday of a crackdown if protesters continue their massive street rallies, escalating the government's showdown with demonstrators demanding a new presidential election. In his first response to a week of protests of the disputed election, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said opposition leaders "will be held accountable for all the violence, bloodshed and rioting" if they do not halt the rallies. Khamenei also said the balloting had not been rigged, and he sided with hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, offering no concessions to the opposition. He effectively ruled out any chance for a new vote, lauding the June 12 election as an expression of the people's will. "Some of our enemies in different parts of the world intended to depict this absolute victory, this definitive victory, as a doubtful victory," Khamenei said at a Friday prayer service at Tehran University attended by tens of thousands of people. "It is your victory. They cannot manipulate it." The speech created a stark choice for candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters: Drop their demands for a new vote or take to the streets again in blatant defiance of the man endowed with virtually limitless powers under Iran's constitution. Pro-Mousavi Web sites had no immediate reaction to Khamenei's warning. They did not announce changes in plans for a march at 4 p.m. Saturday from Revolution Square to Freedom Square, site of a massive rally Monday that ended with fatal clashes between protesters and a pro-government militia. "We are all feel a little angry, worried and disappointed after the speech," said one Mousavi supporter, responding by e-mail to The Associated Press. "We are waiting for Mousavi's reaction. He is our hope to protect our votes," added the Tehran resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government retaliation. Monday's demonstration was followed by three consecutive days of protest that have posed the greatest challenge to Iran's Islamic ruling system since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought it to power. So far, the government has not stopped the protests with force despite an official ban on them. But Khamenei opened the door for harsher measures. "It must be determined at the ballot box what the people want and what they don't want, not in the streets," he said. "I call on all to put an end to this method." And Khamenei added, according to Press TV, Iranian state television's English-language channel: "Extremism in the country, any extremist move, will fan another extremist move. If the political elite want to ignore the law or break the law then they are taking wrong measures, which are harmful, and they will be held accountable for all the violence, bloodshed and rioting." He accused foreign media and Western countries of trying to create a political rift and stir up chaos in Iran. Iranian leaders often blame foreign "enemies" for plots against the country, but Khamenei's comments suggest Iran could remain cool to expanding dialogue with the West and the offer of opening talks with Washington. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Friday to condemn Tehran's crackdown on demonstrators and the government's interference with Internet and cell phone communications. The resolution was the strongest message yet to Iran from the U.S. government and was initiated by Republicans as a veiled criticism of President Barack Obama, who has taken a cautious line on the election dispute, expressing sympathy with protesters but avoiding condemnation of the Islamic government. He said Tuesday that opposition to Ahmadinejad represented "a questioning of the kinds of antagonistic postures towards the international community that have taken place in the past, and that there are people who want to see greater openness and greater debate and want to see greater democracy." Khamenei reacted strongly, saying Obama's statements contradicted the president's stated goal of opening dialogue with Iran and the conciliatory tone of other recent American messages. "The U.S. president said 'We were waiting for a day like this to see people on the street,'" Khamenei said. "They write to us and say they respect the Islamic Republic and then they make comments like this. ... Which one should we believe? Khamenei remained staunch in his defense of Ahmadinejad, saying his views were closer to the president's than to those of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, a powerful patron of Mousavi. Ahmadinejad watched the sermon from the front row and conservative candidate Mohsen Rezaei could be seen in the audience. State television did not show Mousavi in the crowd of thousands, which spilled out of the open-sided campus pavilion and filled surrounding streets. Iran's Arabic-language state TV channel said before the service that Mousavi, Rezaei and reformist candidate Mahdi Karroubi would attend. Karroubi confirmed that but it was not clear from broadcasts of the sermon if he or Rafsanjani were in fact there. Khamenei said the 11 million votes that separated Ahmadinejad from his top opponent, Mousavi, were proof that fraud did not occur. "If the difference was 100,000 or 500,000 or 1 million, well, one may say fraud could have happened. But how can one rig 11 million votes?" Khamenei asked. Khamenei said Iran would not see a second revolution like those that transformed the countries of the former Soviet Union and pointed a finger at the U.S., Britain and what he called Iran's other enemies. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other European Union leaders expressed dismay over the threat of a crackdown. The British Foreign Office told Iran's charge d'affairs in London that Khamenei's comments were "unacceptable and had no basis in fact," a spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with policy. The Foreign Office summoned the Iranian ambassador but said that in the end, the more junior diplomat attended the meeting with political director Mark Lyall Grant. In Switzerland, Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi said Iran should hold a new election observed by international monitors, adding that more than 500 people have been arrested since the balloting. Her human rights office in Iran was raided last year, its files confiscated and several members subsequently arrested. Khamenei's address was his first since hundreds of thousands of Mousavi supporters flooded the streets, evoking the revolution that ended Iran's U.S.-backed monarchy. On Thursday, supporters dressed in black and green marched in downtown Tehran in a somber, candlelit show of mourning for those killed in clashes since the election. Khamenei said the street protests would not have any impact. "Some may imagine that street action will create political leverage against the system and force the authorities to give in to threats. No, this is wrong," he said. The supreme leader left open a small window for a legal challenge to the vote. He reiterated that he has ordered the Guardian Council, an unelected body of 12 clerics and Islamic law experts close to the supreme leader, to investigate voter fraud claims. The council has said it was prepared to conduct a limited recount of ballots at sites where candidates claim irregularities. Ahmadinejad has appeared to take the growing opposition more seriously in recent days, backtracking Thursday on his dismissal of the protesters as "dust" and sore losers. The crowds in Tehran and elsewhere have been able to organize despite a government clampdown on the Internet and cell phones. The government has blocked certain Web sites, such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites that are vital conduits for Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence. Text messaging, a primary source of spreading information in Tehran, has not been working since last week, and cell phone service in Tehran is frequently down. The government also has barred foreign news organizations from reporting on Tehran's streets. The BBC said it was employing two new satellites to help circumvent Iranian jamming of its Persian-language service. Google said it was launching a Persian-to-English translation service and Facebook said Iranian users could now use a Persian version of its site as a way of easing communication to the outside world. ___ Associated Press writer Michael Weissenstein in Cairo, Anne Flaherty in Washington and Raphael G. Satter in London contributed to this report. |
MSantor - June 20, 2009 04:36 PM (GMT)
Yikes. It appears the crackdown has begun.
| QUOTE |
Bomb explodes in Tehran as protests grow violent From here English-language state television in Iran is reporting that a bomb has exploded in Tehran at the shrine of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as anti-government protests on Saturday quickly turned violent. State television reported that two people were injured in the bomb blast. However, the report could not be independently verified due to a crackdown on both Iranian and foreign journalists. More at link. |
| QUOTE |
| By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writers Ali Akbar Dareini And Nasser Karimi, Associated Press Writers – 38 mins ago TEHRAN, Iran – Police beat protesters and fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands who rallied Saturday in open defiance of Iran's clerical government, sharply escalating the most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Eyewitnesses described fierce clashes after some 3,000 protesters, many wearing black, chanted "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to dictatorship!" near Revolution Square in downtown Tehran. Police fired tear gas, water cannons and guns but it was not clear if they were firing live ammunition. Some protesters appeared to be fighting back, setting fire to militia members' motorcycles, witnesses said. Helicopters hovered, ambulances raced through the streets and black smoke rose over the city. Police and militia were blocking protesters from gathering on the main thoroughfare running east from Revolution Square to Freedom Square, the witnesses said. A massive rally in Freedom Square Monday set off three consecutive days of protests demanding the government cancel and rerun June 12 elections that ended with a declaration of overwhelming victory for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi says he won and Ahmadinejad stole the election through widespread fraud. Mousavi has not been seen since or issued public comment since a rally Thursday. Web sites run by Mousavi supporters had said he planned to post a message, but there was no statement by the time of the planned street protests at 4 p.m. (7:30 a.m. EDT, 1130 GMT). Some pro-reform Web sites called for people to take to the streets. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sternly warned opposition leaders Friday to end street protests or be held responsible for "the bloodshed, the violence and rioting" to come. The statement effectively closed the door to Mousavi's demand for a new election, ratcheting up the possibility of a violent confrontation. As reports of street clashes became public, Iran's English-language state TV said that a suicide bombing at the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini about 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of central Tehran had killed one person and wounded eight. The report could not be independently confirmed due to government restrictions on independent reporting. The channel also confirmed that police had used batons and other non-lethal weapons against what it called unauthorized demonstrations. Amateur video showed dozens of Iranians running down a street after police fired tear gas at them. Shouts of "Allahu Akbar!" — "God is Great" — could be heard on the video, which could not be independently verified. The witnesses told The Associated Press that between 50 and 60 protesters were hospitalized after beatings by police and pro-government militia. People could be seen dragging away comrades bloodied by baton strikes. Police clashed with protesters around Tehran immediately after the presidential election. Gunfire from a militia compound left at least seven dead, but further force had remained in check until Saturday. Eyewitnesses said thousands of police and plainclothes militia members filled the streets to prevent rallies. Fire trucks took up positions in Revolution Square and riot police surrounded Tehran University, the site of recent clashes between protesters and security forces, one witness said. Tehran Province Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan said that police would "crack down on any gathering or protest rally which are being planned by some people." The head of the State Security Council also reiterated a warning to Mousavi that he would be held responsible if he encouraged protests. Tehran University, which sits in the heart of downtown Tehran, was cordoned off by police and militia while students inside the university chanted "Death to the dictator!" witnesses said. Shouts of "Viva Mousavi!" also could be heard. Witnesses said protesters wore black as a symbol of mourning for the dead and the allegedly stolen election, with wristbands in green, the emblem of Mousavi's self-described "Green Wave" movement. All witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared government reprisals for speaking with the press. Iranian authorities have placed strict limits on the ability of foreign media to cover recent events, banning reporting from the street and allowing only phone interviews and information from officials sources such as state TV. "I think the regime has taken an enormous risk in confronting this situation in the manner that they have," said Mehrdad Khonsari, a consultant to the London-based Center for Arab and Iranian Studies. "Now they'll have to hold their ground and hope that people don't keep coming back. But history has taught us that people in these situations lose their initial sense of fear and become emboldened by brutality," he said. Mousavi and the two other candidates who ran against Ahmadinejad had been invited to meet with Iran's Guardian Council, an unelected body of 12 clerics and Islamic law experts close to Khamenei that oversees elections. Its spokesman told state TV that Mousavi and the reformist candidate Mahdi Karroubi did not attend. The council has said it was prepared to conduct a limited recount of ballots at sites where candidates claim irregularities but Mousavi's supporters did not withdraw his demands for a new election. Both houses of the U.S. Congress approved a resolution on Friday condemning "the ongoing violence" by the Iranian government and its suppression of the Internet and cell phones. The government has blocked Web sites such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites that are conduits for Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence. Text messaging has not been working normally for many days, and cell phone service in Tehran is frequently down. In an interview taped Friday with CBS, Obama said he is very concerned by the "tenor and tone" of Khamenei's comments. He also said that how Iran's leaders "approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard" will signal "what Iran is and is not." A spokesman for Mousavi said Friday the opposition leader was not under arrest but was not allowed to speak to journalists or stand at a microphone at rallies. Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf told the AP from Paris it was even becoming difficult to reach people close to Mousavi. He said he had not heard from Mousavi's camp since Khamenei's address. ______ Associated Press Writer William J. Kole in Cairo contributed to this report. |
MSantor - June 21, 2009 02:06 PM (GMT)
As said, it is hard to verify the reported death tolls.
| QUOTE |
| http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090621/ap_on_...l_iran_election By NASSER KARIMI and WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writers Nasser Karimi And William J. Kole, Associated Press Writers – 7 mins ago TEHRAN, Iran – An eerie calm settled over the streets of Tehran Sunday as state media reported at least 10 more deaths in post-election unrest and said authorities arrested the daughter and four other relatives of ex-President Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran's most powerful men. The reports brought the official death toll for a week of boisterous confrontations to at least 17. State television inside Iran said 10 were killed and 100 injured in clashes Saturday between demonstrators contesting the result of the June 12 election and black-clad police wielding truncheons, tear gas and water cannons. Iran's regime continued to impose a blackout on the country's most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But fresh images and allegations of brutality emerged as Iranians at home and abroad sought to shed light on a week of astonishing resistance to hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (...) Thousands of supporters of Mousavi, who claims he won the election, squared off Saturday against security forces in a dramatic show of defiance of Khamenei. Underscoring how the protesters have become emboldened despite the regime's repeated and ominous warnings, witnesses said some shouted "Death to Khamenei!" at Saturday's demonstrations — another sign of once unthinkable challenges to the virtually limitless authority of the country's most powerful figure. Sunday's state media reports also said rioters set two gas stations on fire and attacked a military post in clashes Saturday. They quoted the deputy police chief claiming officers did not use live ammunition to dispel the crowds. Iran has also acknowledged the deaths of seven protesters in clashes on Monday. State media also reported a suicide bombing at the shrine of the Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Saturday killed the attacker and injured five other people. There was some confusion about the death toll. English-language Press TV, which is broadcast only outside the country, put the toll at 13 and labeled those who died "terrorists." There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy. Amnesty International cautioned that it was "perilously hard" to verify the casualty tolls. "The climate of fear has cast a shadow over the whole situation," Amnesty's chief Iran researcher, Drewery ****, told The Associated Press. "In the 10 years I've been following this country, I've never felt more at sea than I do now. It's just cut off." Iran has imposed strict controls on foreign media covering the unrest, saying correspondents cannot go out into the streets to report. Reporters Without Borders said 20 journalists were arrested over the past week. The British Broadcasting Corp. said Sunday that its Tehran-based correspondent, Jon Leyne, had been asked to leave the country. The BBC said its office remained open. Also Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki held a news conference where he rebuked Britain, France and Germany for raising questions about reports of voting irregularities in hardline Ahmadinejad's re-election — a proclaimed victory which has touched off Iran's most serious internal conflict since the revolution. Mottaki accused France of taking "treacherous and unjust approaches." But he saved his most pointed criticism for Britain, raising a litany of historical grievances and accusing the country of flying intelligence agents into Iran before the election to interfere with the vote. The election, he insisted, was a "very transparent competition." That drew an indignant response from British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who "categorically" denied his country was meddling. "This can only damage Iran's standing in the eyes of the world," Miliband said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, urged Iran anew to conduct a complete and transparent recount, and Italy called on the regime to find a peaceful end to the dispute. In Washington on Saturday, President Barack Obama urged Iranian authorities to halt "all violent and unjust actions against its own people." He said the United States "stands by all who seek to exercise" the universal rights to assembly and free speech. (...) Israeli President Shimon Peres applauded Iran's pro-reform protesters Sunday, saying the young should "raise their voice for freedom" — an explicit message of support from a country that sees itself as most endangered by the hard-line government in Tehran. (...) On Sunday, former reformist president Mohammad Khatami called for the formation of a board to decide the outcome of the disputed election, and urged the release of detained activists and an end to the violence in the streets. The government has blocked Web sites such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites used by Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence. Text messaging has not been working in Iran since last week, and cell phone service in Tehran is frequently down. (...) ____ Kole reported from Cairo. Associated Press Writers Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Sebastian Abbot in Cairo contributed to this report. |
MSantor - June 22, 2009 03:16 PM (GMT)
Iranian security officers pass burning debris on a Tehran street during clashes on Saturday. Photograph: Reuters
| QUOTE |
| Iran's revolutionary guards today threatened to crush any further opposition protests as the authorities admitted irregularities in the disputed presidential vote had occurred on a much wider scale than previously disclosed. The country's most powerful military force ordered demonstrators to "end the sabotage and rioting activities" and said their resistance was a "conspiracy" against Iran. A statement posted on the revolutionary guards' website warned protesters to "be prepared for a resolution and revolutionary confrontation with the guards, Basij and other security forces and disciplinary forces". Earlier, Iran's powerful guardian council – which last week agreed to investigate some voting complaints – admitted that irregularities were found in 50 constituencies, but claimed this had no effect on the result. A council spokesman, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, was quoted on the state TV website as saying the investigation showed more votes were cast in these constituencies than there were registered voters. But he denied this had any effect on the result, a landslide victory for the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, over the reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. "Statistics provided by the candidates, who claim more than 100% of those eligible have cast their ballot in 80-170 cities are not accurate – the incident has happened in only 50 cities," Kadkhodaei said. The admission that there were problems in "only 50 cities" was followed by today's strong warning from the revolutionary guard, who effectively dared protesters to show their faces on the streets after Mousavi continued to defy an injunction against street protests by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "The country belongs to you … protesting [against] lies and fraud is your right," Mousavi, who claims Ahmadinejad won re-election through fraud, said in a statement on his website. Speaking in support of Mousavi, the former president Mohammad Khatami said in a statement that "protest in a civil manner and avoiding disturbances in the definite right of the people and all must respect that". The opposition did not hold protests yesterday and will not do so tomorrow amid signs that it was either pausing for breath or running out of steam. (....) |
MSantor - June 22, 2009 10:45 PM (GMT)
Apparently like Tiananmen Square in China 20 years ago, this recent struggle by opposition supporters in Iran now has its own iconic symbol:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090622/worl..._violence_media
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090622/worl..._violence_media
| QUOTE |
| PARIS (AFP) - A video of a blood-drenched young woman, purportedly killed in the Tehran protests, has become an Internet symbol of the demonstrations and heightened pressure on Iran in its battle with foreign media. The video, showing blood pouring from the nose and mouth of the young woman, was placed online Saturday and has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times around the world. So far, she has only been identified on the Internet as Neda. International media have taken pictures from the film which has inspired an avalanche of blog and twitter comment, mainly against Iran's hardline government. After a call spread by Internet to rally at Haft-e Tir square in Tehran to pay tribute to Neda, police on Monday broke up a gathering of about 1,000 people there. Later Monday at a press conference in Washington, the son of the late shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, produced an image of the slain protester from his pocket alongside pictures of his family. "I have added her (Neda) to the list of my daughters. She is now forever in my pocket," the former crown prince of Iran told AFP, fighting back tears. The film reportedly shows Neda moments after she is hit in the chest by a shot while watching the protests on Saturday with her father on a Tehran street. Bystanders desperately tend to the woman who wears jeans, a black jacket and an Islamic headscarf. Her eyes roll back as blood spreads across her face. People around her scream and a white haired man desperately tells her: "Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid!" There have been mass protests in Tehran against the disputed president election victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The people who originally posted the video on Youtube and Facebook said Neda was shot by a pro-government militia member. That information, like the fate and the identity of the young woman in the video, cannot be independently verified. Iranian state TV has said that 10 people were killed and more than 100 injured during Tehran demonstrations on Saturday, the eighth day of the political crisis. Photos of Neda have been used at demonstrations around the world: from Istanbul to Los Angeles. A number of Twitter users have been tinting their profile pictures green in solidarity with Iranians in recent days. A Facebook page entitled "Angel of Iran" has been set up to honour her, bloggers and Twitter messages have called her: "Neda: Angel of Freedom." "Today people are in mourning for Neda. The whole world has seen Neda, a young woman full of life and hope. Her voice has been reduced to silence but now we will be her voice," wrote Cinderella777. Among those using the green tinted Twitter messages is singer Wyclef Jean, formerly of The Fugees, who sent a message of support to Iranians on his Twitter feed on Monday: "Support not interfere that's what I'm saying!" Craig Newmark, founder of the online classified ad service Craigslist, and Joe Trippi, campaign manager for 2004 Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean, are among others sporting green profile pictures. Foreign media have been banned from covering demonstrations and other public events and rely on witness accounts. Iran has accused Western media of interference and seeking to manipulate the protests. On Monday, Iran said broadcasters the BBC and Voice of America were trying to break up the country with their coverage. "The heads of VOA and BBC Persian are officially the spiritual children of (Benjamin) Netanyahu and (Avigdor) Lieberman and their aim is to weaken the national solidarity, threaten territorial integrity and disintegrate Iran," foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi told reporters. He was referring to the prime minister and foreign minister of arch-foe Israel. On Sunday, Iran expelled the BBC's permanent correspondent in Tehran, Jon Leyne, accusing him of "supporting the rioters." |
MSantor - June 23, 2009 06:57 PM (GMT)
And the Iranian government led by Khamenei and Ahmedinejad continues to dig a bigger hole for itself as it lives in denial.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090623/ap_on_...l_iran_election
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090623/ap_on_...l_iran_election
| QUOTE |
| By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer Karin Laub, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 19 mins ago CAIRO – Iran expelled two British diplomats Tuesday after bitterly accusing Britain of meddling and spying. The government also dealt a fresh blow to the opposition by making clear it will not hold a new vote despite charges of fraud. State TV said hard-line students protested outside the British Embassy in Tehran, where they burned U.S., British and Israeli flags, pelted the building with tomatoes and chanted: "Down with Britain!" and "Down with USA!" Witnesses said about 100 people took part. Iran's Foreign Ministry said it expelled the two Britons for "unconventional behavior," state television reported, and Britain announced it was sending two Iranian diplomats home in retaliation. Tensions between Iran and Britain, which has urged the Islamic regime to respect human rights, have soared in recent days. During Friday prayers at Tehran University, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out against Western countries he said were displaying their "enmity" against the Islamic state, "and the most evil of them is the British government." And Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has accused Britain of sending spies to manipulate the June 12 election. Iran's expulsions came a day after Britain sent home 12 dependents of diplomatic staff because the unrest had disrupted their lives. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi claims he was the true winner of the June 12 election, but the electoral commission declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won by a landslide. Mousavi has been out of sight in recent days and there were no reports of violent clashes Tuesday, possibly a measure of the effectiveness of the crackdown. However, protesters came up with new techniques, such as turning on the lights in their cars at certain hours of the day and honking their horns or holding up posters. "People are calmly protesting, more symbolically than with their voices," a Tehran resident said in a telephone interview, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of government retribution. In recent days, members of the elite Revolutionary Guard, the Basij militia and other security forces in riot gear have been heavily deployed across Tehran, preventing any gatherings and ordering people to keep moving. A protest of some 200 people Monday was quickly broken up with tear gas and shots in the air, while helicopters hovered overhead. A short message posted on Mousavi's Web site asserted that "all the reports of violations in the elections will be published soon." Another opposition figure, reformist presidential candidate Mahdi Karroubi, called for a day of mourning for the at least 17 people killed in protests since the election. Across the world, governments and diplomats were increasingly lining up on opposite sides in the Iranian showdown, the strongest challenge to the rule of Islamic clerics in 30 years. In a boost for the embattled regime, Russia said Tuesday that it respects the declared election result. But France summoned Iran's ambassador to express concern about what it called "brutal repression" of protesters in Tehran. The U.S. and many European countries have refrained from challenging the election outcome directly, but have issued increasingly stern warnings against continuing violence meted out to demonstrators. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has demanded an immediate end to "arrests, threats and use of force." In Washington, President Barack Obama said Tuesday the U.S. and the rest of the world was "appalled and outraged" by Iran's violent efforts to crush dissent. "I have made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not interfering in Iran's affairs," Obama said. "But we must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society. And we deplore violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place." Iran's official news agency, IRNA, reported that the Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected Ban's remarks and accused the U.N. chief of meddling. State television said Khamenei agreed to extend by five days a deadline for making election complaints. But overall, the Iranian regime appeared determined to crush the post-election protesters, rather than compromise. Mousavi has charged massive vote fraud and insisted he is the true winner. However, Iran's top electoral body, Guardian Council, found "no major fraud or breach in the election," a spokesman, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, was quoted by Press TV as saying Tuesday. "Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place." The 12-member council has the authority to annul or validate the election. On Monday, it acknowledged in a rare step that it found voting irregularities in 50 of 170 districts, including vote counts that exceeded the number of eligible voters. Still, it said the discrepancies, involving some 3 million votes, were not widespread enough to affect the outcome. Iran has 46.2 million eligible voters, one-third of them under 30. The final tally was 62.6 percent of the vote for Ahmadinejad and 33.75 percent for Mousavi, a landslide victory in a race that was perceived to be much closer. The huge margin went against the expectation that the record 85 percent turnout would boost Mousavi. In another sign of the regime's crackdown, Ebrahim Raisi, a top judicial official, confirmed Tuesday that a special court has been set up to deal with detained protesters. "Elements of riots must be dealt with to set an example. The judiciary will do that," he was quoted as saying by the state-run radio, which gave no further details. The judiciary is controlled by Iran's ruling clerics. Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, won crucial backing from Russia on Tuesday, with the Foreign Ministry in Moscow saying it respects the declared election result. In a statement on its Web site, the ministry said that disputes about the vote "should be settled in strict compliance with Iran's Constitution and law" and are "exclusively an internal matter." Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has longtime political and economic ties with Iran where it is helping build a nuclear power plan at Bushehr. In his only trip abroad since the vote, Ahmadinejad traveled to Russia last week for a conference where he was seen prominently shaking hands with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Many Western democracies, including the U.S., have criticized Iran's campaign to crush dissent. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Iran to recount the votes, but stopped short of alleging electoral fraud. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been outspoken in his criticism of Iran's response to the demonstrations, but said doors must remain open to continue talks on the country's nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a visit to Rome, praised the courage of Iranian protesters "in facing bullets in the streets." Two prominent Iranian opposition figures took their case to Europe on Tuesday. Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi asked EU officials in Brussels not to negotiate or hold meetings with Iranian leaders until the crackdown stops. In Rome, Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf held a news conference, saying he had been asked by Mousavi's aides to spread the word on what is happening in Iran. Makhmalbaf said that even if Ahmadinejad manages to govern for the next four years, "he will not have one day of quietness." He said protesters would resort to general strikes and what he called civil resistance. Iranian leaders have accused the West of meddling in its affairs. Press TV said Tuesday that despite such complaints, the government refused to grant a permit for a protest by university students outside the British embassy in Tehran. Opposition protests have become smaller, after a huge opposition rally a week ago, though demonstrators have been more willing to confront Iranian troops. On Monday, Tehran riot police fired tear gas and live bullets to break up about 200 protesters paying tribute to those killed in the protests, including a young women, Neda Agha Soltan, whose apparent shooting death was captured on video and circulated worldwide. Witnesses said helicopters hovered overhead. Caspian Makan, a 37-year-old photojournalist in Tehran who identified himself as Soltan's boyfriend, said she had not been deterred by the risk of joining protests. "She only ever said that she wanted one thing, she wanted democracy and freedom for the people of Iran," he told an Associated Press reporter during a telephone call from Tehran. Severe restrictions on reporters have made it almost impossible to independently verify reports on demonstrations, clashes and casualties. Iran has ordered reporters for international news agencies to stay in their offices, barring them from reporting on the streets. A number of journalists have been detained since the protests began, though there have been conflicting accounts. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders put the figure of reporters detained at 34. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said 13 were still in custody, including Newsweek correspondent Maziar Bahari. State-run TV on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of Iason Athanasiadis, a Greek national reporting for the Washington Times. The Iranian government must release all journalists and halt "unreasonable and arbitrary measures that are restricting the flow of information," the committee said. "Detaining journalists for reporting news and commentary indicates the government has something to hide." ___ Associated Press Writer William J. Kole in Cairo contributed to this report. |
MSantor - June 24, 2009 05:31 PM (GMT)
And the clashes re-ignite, this time close to the Iranian Parliament!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090624/ap_on_...l_iran_election
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090624/ap_on_...l_iran_election
| QUOTE |
| Witnesses report clashes around Iran's parliament By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN, Associated Press Writer Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press Writer 20 mins ago CAIRO – Protesters and riot police clashed in the streets around Iran's parliament Wednesday as hundreds of people converged on a Tehran square in defiance of government orders to halt demonstrations demanding a new presidential election, witnesses said. Police beat the protesters gathered on Baharestan Square with batons and fired tear gas canisters and rounds of ammunition into the air, the witnesses told The Associated Press. They said some demonstrators fought back while others fled to another Tehran plaza, Sepah Square, about a mile (2 kilometers) to the north. A helicopter could be seen hovering over central Tehran, where a witness told the AP that the area was swarming with hundreds of riot police who were trying to prevent people from gathering even briefly. Thousands more security officers filled the surrounding streets, said the witness, who declined to give his name for fear of government reprisals. Amateur video posted Wednesday on YouTube showed young men and women throwing rocks and pushing barricades, one blazing, in the street. Others shouted: "Death to the dictator!" The video could not immediately be verified due because of government reporting restrictions. Severe restrictions on reporters have made it almost impossible to independently verify reports on demonstrations, clashes and casualties. Iran has ordered journalists for international news agencies to stay in their offices, barring them from reporting on the streets. (...) |
C.C. - June 25, 2009 04:05 AM (GMT)
Kaawaawa naman ang kanilang sinasapit. :armycry: Down to Tyranny! :fire:
MSantor - June 25, 2009 03:03 PM (GMT)
Here's another update: Mousavi says he won't back down.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090625/worl...mousavi_threats
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090625/worl...mousavi_threats
| QUOTE |
| 1 hour, 28 minutes ago TEHRAN (AFP) - Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi said on Thursday that threats would not stop him from securing the rights of the Iranian people. "I won't refrain from securing the rights of the Iranian people... because of personal interests and the fear of threats," he said in a statement on his newspaper website, Kalemeh. Mousavi said earlier that he had come under pressure to withdraw his complaint over the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which he has branded a "shameful fraud" and demanded a new vote. The ex-premier said he was ready to show how those who violated the election process "stood beside the main instigators of the recent riots and shed people?s blood on the ground." Mousavi also reiterated his call for supporters to continue protests but in a way which would not "create tension." "The main strategy which will guarantee your objectives will be to continue with the protests within the framework of law and by observing the principles of the Islamic revolution," he said in a statement addressed to the people of Iran. |
MSantor - June 26, 2009 02:10 PM (GMT)
Another update: now at least one Iranian cleric is calling for the execution of the rioters.
| QUOTE |
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090626/...s_iran_election 1 hour, 15 minutes ago By Parisa Hafezi TEHRAN (Reuters) - A hardline Iranian cleric on Friday called for the execution of "rioters," in a sign of the authorities' determination to stamp out opposition to the June 12 presidential election result. (EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.) Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, said it had found no major violations in the election, which it called the "healthiest" vote since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The council had already rejected a call for the annulment of the vote by moderate former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, who has led mass protests since he was declared a distant second in the election behind incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "I want the judiciary to ... punish leading rioters firmly and without showing any mercy to teach everyone a lesson," Ahmad Khatami told worshippers at Tehran University. Iranian state television said on Thursday eight Basij militiamen were killed by "rioters" during the protests. State media previously said 20 people were killed in the marches. The Group of Eight foreign ministers, meeting in Italy, said they "deplored" the post-election violence and called on Iran to settle the crisis soon through democratic dialogue and peaceful means. "The crisis should be settled soon through democratic dialogue and peaceful means on the basis of the rule of law," said a final draft statement by the G8 ministers. "We call on the Iranian government to guarantee that the will of the Iranian people is reflected in the electoral process." HARSH PUNISHMENT Iranian authorities have accused Mousavi of being responsible for the bloodshed, while the moderate former prime minister says the government is to blame. Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts, said the judiciary should charge the leading "rioters" as being "mohareb" or one who wages war against God. "They should be punished ruthlessly and savagely," he said. Under Iran's Islamic law, punishment for people convicted as mohareb is execution. Mousavi's supporters plan to release thousands of balloons on Friday with the message: "Neda you will always remain in our hearts," in memory of Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman killed last week who has become an icon of the demonstrations. Khatami said Neda was killed by the rioters themselves for propaganda purposes. "By watching the film, any wise person can understand that rioters killed her," he said. Britain's Times newspaper quoted Dr. Arash Hejazi, an Iranian who appeared on Internet videos helping Neda, as echoing opposition charges the 26-year-old music student was killed by a government militiaman. "She was just a person in the street who was against the injustice going on in her country, and for that she was murdered," he said. Hejazi said that after the protest he left Iran for Britain, where he is resident, fearing arrest. The authorities have used a combination of warnings, arrests and the threat of police action to drive large demonstrations off Tehran's street since Saturday with small gatherings dispersed with tear gas and baton charges. Russia, which along with China congratulated Ahmadinejad on his re-election earlier this month, said on Friday it was seriously concerned by the use of force in Iran. "We naturally express our most serious concern about the use of force and the death of civilians," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the G8 meeting. Russia was among countries at the G8 anxious not to slam the door on possible talks with Iran, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, over its nuclear program. "I think there is unity here that it is for the Iranian people to choose their government but it is for the Iranian government to protect their people," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said after the foreign ministers' meeting. The 12-man Guardian Council's statement leaves little scope for more legal challenges to the election result, short of an attack on the position of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has expressed strong support for Ahmadinejad. "The Guardian Council has almost finished reviewing defeated candidates' election complaints...the reviews showed that the election was the healthiest since the revolution ... There were no major violations in the election," said Abbasali Kadkhodai, spokesman of the council. Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a Mousavi ally, chairs the Assembly of Experts which has the constitutional power to depose Khamenei. The assembly has never tried to do so and Rasfanjani is seen as unlikely to take such a radical step. Mousavi said he was determined to keep challenging the election results despite pressure to stop. He called on his supporters to continue "legal" protests and said restrictions on the opposition could lead to more violence. |
saver111 - June 26, 2009 03:06 PM (GMT)
A placard with a picture identified by protesters as Neda Agha Soltan, the woman shown on camera phone footage falling, apparently shot, during a mass protest following Iran's elections, is seen during a demonstration in support of the Iranian opposition opposite the Iranian embassy in central London, Friday June 26, 2009.
(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
A screen grab taken from a video posted on YouTube allegedly shows Iranian men trying to help a wounded woman named Neda after getting shot in the chest during a protest in Tehran on June 20. Iran's electoral watchdog insisted the disputed presidential vote was the cleanest ever, as G8 leading powers urged Tehran to halt post-election violence but without questioning the result. (AFP/YouTube/File)
A demonstrator holds a picture of slain Iranian icon Neda Agha-Soltan during a protest to coincide with a G8 foreign ministers' summit in Trieste. The Group of Eight leading powers called on Iran to immediately put a halt to post-election violence but refrained from calling into question the poll result. (AFP/Giuseppe Cacace)
Demonstrators join hands during a protest against the Iranian election results in Trieste where G8 foreign ministers are gathering. The spokesman of Iran's electoral watchdog, the Guardians Council, Abbasali Kadkhodai said that there was no fraud in the June 12 presidential election that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win a new four-year term (AFP/Giuseppe Cacace)
A demonstrator holds a photo of dead icon Neda Agha Soltan during a protest of the Iranian election results in Union Square June 24, 2009 in New York City. An Iranian doctor who claims he tried to save Neda Agha-Soltan said Thursday she was apparently shot by a member of the Islamic Basij militia. (AFP/Getty Images/File/Mario Tama)
A woman holds placards showing a woman identified by protesters as Neda Agha-Soltan during a demonstration in support of the Iranian opposition in Berlin June 25, 2009. Identified on the photo-sharing Web site flickr as Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman shown on cameraphone footage falling, apparently shot, on the edges of a protest at Iran's disputed elections has drawn a passionate response worldwide. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (GERMANY POLITICS CONFLICT)