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Ahmadinejad, Musavi Supporters Stage Rival Rallies In Tehran
16.06.2009 16:24
By Golnaz Esfandiari
Supporters of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and his main reformist rival, Mir Hossein Musavi, have staged rival rallies in central Tehran.
Iranian state television broadcast live pictures of thousands of what it said were Ahmadinejad supporters gathered in Tehran's Vali Asr Square.
It also reported that the "main agents" in the unrest had been arrested with explosives and guns. It gave no further details.
Meanwhile, thousands of Musavi supporters are marching toward the state television building, which is ringed by riot police. Reuters reports that the demonstrators are carrying Musavi's picture and flashing victory signs but are largely marching in silence. Musavi himself said he would not attend any rallies on June 16.
His supporters are disputing June 12 election results that show Ahmadinejad winning decisively. They allege massive vote fraud, and Musavi has called for a new election.
Iran's Guardians Council, the country's top legislative body, announced on June 16 that it is ready to partially recount disputed votes, after a massive opposition protest in Tehran on June 15 ended in violence with the deaths of seven protesters.
A spokesman for the powerful Guardians Council has said that the legislative body is "ready to recount the disputed ballot boxes claimed by some candidates, in the presence of their representatives," but rejected annulling the vote.
Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodai is quoted by Iran's state news agency as saying that "it is possible that there may be some changes in the tally after the recount."
After the announcement, Reuters quoted a senior ally of reformist candidates Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi as saying they wanted new elections held rather than a recount of "a few ballot boxes."
Musavi has described the poll -- which saw Ahmadinejad win 62 percent of the vote, enough to prevent a second round -- as a "charade" and has called for an annulment. Karrubi has called the results "illegitimate" and said that he doesn't recognize Ahmadinejad as Iran's president.
Both candidates sent a letter of complaint to the Guardians Council. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei met with Musavi on June 14 and told him that he had asked the council to consider his concerns carefully.
Massive Rally In Tehran
The announcement by the Guardians Council comes a day after Tehran witnessed its biggest popular rally since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
According to eyewitnesses and media reports, some 1 million people marched in the capital, Tehran, to protest the results of the vote and to express their support for Musavi.
Musavi, who spoke at the protest, reportedly said that he was ready for a new election.
The rally, however, was marred by the deaths of the seven people, allegedly shot to death by Basij forces, near the site of the rally.
Witnesses at the scene said the Islamic militiamen opened fire when people in the crowd attacked a post of the Basij militia.
One man explained to RFE/RL's Radio Farda how his brother was seriously injured as they walked near the site of the shootings.
"We were walking together," he said. "My brother is 15 years old. I was on my way from work when [I saw] there was unrest. The Basijis were there. They fired shots and [my brother] was hit in the kidney."
Over the past three days, protesters have called for President Ahmadinejad to be removed from office and have also challenged Iran's supreme leader.
Protests have been also reported in other major cities, including Tabriz, Shiraz, Urumyeh, Karaj, and Ahvaz.
Arrests have been reported in Tehran and other cities since the release of the election results. Former vice president and blogger cleric Mohammad Ali Abtahi, who was actively involved in Karrubi's campaign, was reportedly arrested early on June 16.
Later in the day, according to AFP, a founding member of Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi's human rights group was arrested. Lawyer Abdolfatah Soltani was arrested in the afternoon in his office, the news agency quoted Mohammad Seifzadeh, another founder of the Human Rights Defenders Center, as saying.
Since the election, more than 150 people have been arrested, but it is unclear whether all of them were still in jail or released.
Witnesses have told RFE/RL that many Iranians in Tehran and other cities -- including Mashhad and Isfahan -- have been going on rooftops at night and chanting "Allah Akbar" and slogans in support of Musavi. Last night, chants of "We don't want a midget dictator" were reported in a neighborhood in northern Tehran.
A citizen of Karaj spoke to Radio Farda as chants of "Allah Akbar" could be heard in the background.
"Right now in Karaj, [many] people are on their rooftops," he said. "You can hear them. They are all saying, 'Allah Akbar.' This is going on every night from 10 to 10:30 p.m."
Repressive Measures
Musavi supporters are protesting against what they believe is massive vote fraud. One of the issues that has been raised is the speed of the vote count and also results that show Ahmadinejad beating Musavi even in the ethnic-Azeri candidate's hometown.
Their protests are being met with repressive measures by the Iranian establishment, which has blocked the SMS text-messaging system and a number of websites, as well as social-networking sites.
Iran has also banned foreign media journalists from leaving their offices to cover protests on the streets. The Culture Ministry said journalists could continue to work from their offices but that it was canceling press accreditation for all foreign media.
"No journalist has permission to report or film or take pictures in the city," a Culture Ministry official told Reuters.
New arrests are being reported in Tehran and other cities. Among those arrested is former vice president and blogger cleric Mohammad Ali Abtahi. Abtahi had been actively involved in Karrubi's campaign.
Fars news agency quotes Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie as saying that security forces have arrested another 26 "masterminds" suspected to be involved in postelection unrest.
Over the past three days more than 150 people have been arrested, but it is unclear whether all of them are still in jail or have been released.
Amnesty International has warned that those arrested are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
Meanwhile, some Iranians have launched a campaign on Facebook and are calling on the world not to recognize Ahmadinejad as Iran's president.
Ahmadinejad, who was in Russia on June 16 to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, has called the June 12 vote free and fair and said that it reflects the will of the people.
U.S. President Barack Obama said in Washington that he is "deeply troubled by the violence" in Tehran and called on Iran's leaders to respect the democratic process and the right of people to peacefully dissent.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has questioned the legitimacy of the vote, saying the "extent of the fraud" was "proportional to the violent reaction" there.
"These elections are dreadful news," Sarkozy told reporters on June 16. "The Iranian people deserve something else."
Radio Farda 's Mahin Gorji contributed to this report
Copyright (c) 2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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