Iranian protest
At the end of 2009 (beginning of 1431 AH), there were still signs of serious dissent in Iran, nearly 6-months after a presidential election widely regarded as illegitimate.Aides to Iran’s Opposition Leaders Said to Be Arrested
The Iranian authorities arrested a number of opposition figures on Monday in the wake of violent protests a day earlier, Web sites reported, including three top aides to the opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi and Ibrahim Yazdi, leader of the banned Iran Freedom Movement.
The opposition cleric and reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi also lashed out at the authorities for using deadly force during Sunday’s nationwide protests, in which 10 people were reported to have been killed...
On Sunday, thick crowds marched down a central avenue in Tehran, defying official warnings of a harsh crackdown on protests as they chanted “death to Khamenei,” referring to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has expressed growing intolerance for political dissent in the country.
They refused to retreat even as the police fired tear gas, charged them with batons and fired warning shots. The police then opened fire directly into the crowd, opposition Web sites said, citing witnesses. At least five people were killed in Tehran, four in the northwestern city of Tabriz, and one in Shiraz in the south, the Web sites reported. Photographs of several victims were circulated widely...
The turmoil revealed an opposition movement that is becoming bolder and more direct in its challenge to Iran’s governing authorities. Protesters deliberately blended their political message with the day’s religious one on Sunday, alternating antigovernment slogans with ancient cries of mourning for Imam Hussein.
“This is the month of blood, Yazid will fall,” the protesters shouted, equating Ayatollah Khamenei with Yazid, the ruler who ordered Imam Hussein’s killing...
In another sign of the breadth of the crackdown, security forces on Sunday raided the offices of a clerical association in the holy city of Qum that has supported the opposition since the June election, the Jaras Web site reported. Guards surrounded the house, and members of the association and their families — who had gathered inside the association’s headquarters for an Ashura mourning ceremony — were not allowed to leave, the site reported...
'Mousavi nephew' among Iran dead
The nephew of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is reportedly among eight people killed in continuing clashes between police and protesters.
An aide to the leader said on Sunday that Seyyed Ali Mousavi died after being shot by the police, but the claim could not be independently verified as foreign news organisations are barred by the authorities from covering street unrest.
Iranian state television, however, confirmed that several people were killed in clashes...
- Timeline: Iran after the election
- Iran's slow revolution
- Iran's bitter political divide
- Mousavi and the Masses
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Labels: dissent, Iran, politics
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:42 AM
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Pro-government rallies reported across Iran
"A representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday opposition leaders were “enemies of God” who should be executed under the country’s sharia law.
"The statement by cleric Abbas Vaez-Tabasi coincided with rallies by tens of thousands of government supporters calling for opposition leaders to be punished for fomenting unrest after June’s disputed presidential election, state media said...
"On Tuesday, state TV showed footage of huge pro-government rallies in various cities, with demonstrators carrying pictures of the late founder of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"The crowed chanted: “The blood in our veins is a gift to our leader Khamenei” and “Death to hypocrites“..."
Iran says more than 500 protesters arrested
"Iran's police chief says more than 500 opposition protesters have been arrested since clashes on Sunday that left at least eight dead, as Washington prepares for fresh sanctions against Tehran.
"Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam said Wednesday the number of arrests may be higher because Basij members and intelligence agents may have apprehended more people on their own..."
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