Huge pro-reform rally defies crackdown threats
More than 100,000 opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defied an Iranian Interior Ministry ban today 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.
Security forces watched quietly, with shields and batons at their sides.
The outpouring for reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi – swelling as more poured from buildings and side streets, and wearing the trademark green of his campaign – followed a decision by Iran’s most powerful figure for an investigation into the vote- rigging allegations.
Mr Mousavi paused on the edge of Tehran’s Azadi, or Freedom, Square – where President Ahmadinejad made his first post-election speech – to address the crowd, which was more than five miles long.
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 raising 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 of fears of reprisals 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 Ayatollah Khamenei – who had earlier welcomed the election results – had no guarantee it would satisfy those challenging President 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 Ayatollah 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 President 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 the Ayatollah could be an attempt to buy time in hopes of reducing the anti-Ahmadinejad anger.
The prospect of spiralling 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 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 colour 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, Ayatollah Khamenei urged the nation to unite behind the president 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 Mr Mousavi’s websites said a student protester was killed this morning in clashes with plainclothes hard-liners in Shiraz, southern Iran. 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 Terhan 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 centre of Islamic learning, to spell out his claims.
The accusations also have brought growing international concern.
Yesterday, US 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.
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 today with President Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of a regional summit.
