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TEHRAN: 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. |
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