maven
07-01-2009, 01:42 PM
Opposition leaders court arrest by defying 'unlawful Iranian regime'
(Hasan Sarbakhshian/AP)
Martin Fletcher Three of Iran’s most prominent opposition leaders flagrantly courted arrest today by denouncing President Ahmadinejad’s government as illegitimate one day after the regime said it would tolerate no more challenges to the election result.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, the former Prime Minister who lost the hotly-disputed vote, said the regime’s crackdown on dissent was tantamount to a coup.
“It’s not yet too late,” he declared in a defiant statement on his website. “It is our historical responsibility to continue our protests to defend the rights of the people... and prevent the blood spilled by hundreds of thousands of martyrs from leading to a police state."
Ayatollah Mohammed Khatami, 65, a popular former president, accused the regime of mounting a “velvet revolution against the people and democracy” and called the security crackdown “poisonous”.
Mehdi Karroubi, 72, another defeated presidential candidate, declared that “visible and invisible forces blocked any change in the executive power”. He added: “I will continue the fight under any circumstances and using every means.”
The regime responded by shutting down his newspaper.
One Iranian analyst expressed astonishment at their audacity. “It looks like they’re trying to become living martyrs,” he said. “At the very least they will be put under house arrest. At worst they will be taken to jail and charged with threatening national security.”
The one reason the regime might hesitate to lock them up is the very real prospect of hundreds of thousands of incensed supporters taking to the streets again. “The only question is how big the demonstrations would be, and how long the people could fight the might of a military state,” said the analyst.
Since yesterday, when Iran’s Guardian Council declared that a partial recount had confirmed Mr Ahmadinejad’s hotly-disputed re-election, regime hardliners have all but accused Mousavi of treason.
Mr Mousavi’s statement said he was forming a political group to defend citizens’ rights and votes, which suggested he is preparing a campaign of political resistance against Mr Ahmadinejad and his patron, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader.
He still has powerful supporters including two former presidents, Mr Khatami and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani, the Mayor of Tehran Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf and several leading clerics.
Forced from the streets by the security forces, Mr Mousavi’s supporters are also preparing a campaign of civil disobedience. They are talking of strikes, boycotting goods advertised in the state-controlled media, moving their money out of government-controlled banks, and giving money directly to the needy instead of government-controlled charities.
Analysts say the people’s anger will grow, not fade, and could suddenly erupt at football matches, prayer meetings or anywhere else that large numbers of people gather. They say that opposition supporters will go underground and stage lightning demonstrations. They also expect some elements to start launching violent attacks on government targets at some point.
In a possible sign of the regime’s anxiety Mr Ahmadinejad abruptly cancelled a visit to Libya for an African Union summit today.
Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moghaddam, Iran’s police chief, said the authorities were seeking Arash Hejazi, the doctor who tried to save the life of Neda Soltan after she was shot dead during a street demonstration. She rapidly became a global symbol of the regime’s brutality.
Dr Hejazi fled to Britain last week and told The Times how Miss Soltan had been shot by a basij. Mr Ahmadi-Moghaddam accused him of encouraging Western media hype.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6618756.ece
(Hasan Sarbakhshian/AP)
Martin Fletcher Three of Iran’s most prominent opposition leaders flagrantly courted arrest today by denouncing President Ahmadinejad’s government as illegitimate one day after the regime said it would tolerate no more challenges to the election result.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, the former Prime Minister who lost the hotly-disputed vote, said the regime’s crackdown on dissent was tantamount to a coup.
“It’s not yet too late,” he declared in a defiant statement on his website. “It is our historical responsibility to continue our protests to defend the rights of the people... and prevent the blood spilled by hundreds of thousands of martyrs from leading to a police state."
Ayatollah Mohammed Khatami, 65, a popular former president, accused the regime of mounting a “velvet revolution against the people and democracy” and called the security crackdown “poisonous”.
Mehdi Karroubi, 72, another defeated presidential candidate, declared that “visible and invisible forces blocked any change in the executive power”. He added: “I will continue the fight under any circumstances and using every means.”
The regime responded by shutting down his newspaper.
One Iranian analyst expressed astonishment at their audacity. “It looks like they’re trying to become living martyrs,” he said. “At the very least they will be put under house arrest. At worst they will be taken to jail and charged with threatening national security.”
The one reason the regime might hesitate to lock them up is the very real prospect of hundreds of thousands of incensed supporters taking to the streets again. “The only question is how big the demonstrations would be, and how long the people could fight the might of a military state,” said the analyst.
Since yesterday, when Iran’s Guardian Council declared that a partial recount had confirmed Mr Ahmadinejad’s hotly-disputed re-election, regime hardliners have all but accused Mousavi of treason.
Mr Mousavi’s statement said he was forming a political group to defend citizens’ rights and votes, which suggested he is preparing a campaign of political resistance against Mr Ahmadinejad and his patron, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader.
He still has powerful supporters including two former presidents, Mr Khatami and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani, the Mayor of Tehran Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf and several leading clerics.
Forced from the streets by the security forces, Mr Mousavi’s supporters are also preparing a campaign of civil disobedience. They are talking of strikes, boycotting goods advertised in the state-controlled media, moving their money out of government-controlled banks, and giving money directly to the needy instead of government-controlled charities.
Analysts say the people’s anger will grow, not fade, and could suddenly erupt at football matches, prayer meetings or anywhere else that large numbers of people gather. They say that opposition supporters will go underground and stage lightning demonstrations. They also expect some elements to start launching violent attacks on government targets at some point.
In a possible sign of the regime’s anxiety Mr Ahmadinejad abruptly cancelled a visit to Libya for an African Union summit today.
Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moghaddam, Iran’s police chief, said the authorities were seeking Arash Hejazi, the doctor who tried to save the life of Neda Soltan after she was shot dead during a street demonstration. She rapidly became a global symbol of the regime’s brutality.
Dr Hejazi fled to Britain last week and told The Times how Miss Soltan had been shot by a basij. Mr Ahmadi-Moghaddam accused him of encouraging Western media hype.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6618756.ece