Friday witnessed mass demonstrations and protest marches in Iran. Many observers had said that the opposition to the reelection of Ahamdinejad had died down. Even the American voice against the election, which Mousavi claimed to have been rigged by Ahmadinejad , had begun to fade.. Some had, from the beginning itself, dismissed the allegations of rigging as a ploy by the defeated leaders. They claimed that only the supporters of the defeated candidates, Mehdi Kharoubbi and Mir Housein Mousavi were convinced of the rigging. However, belying all such predictions supporters of the main opposition leader Mousavi held demonstrations on Friday defying government orders. The police had a tough time dispersing the angry protestors. They dispersed the demonstrators, who were chanting “Down with the dictator” with tear gas.
Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who spoke to the people, gathered for the Friday prayers at the Tehran University, said that “Iran was in a state of crisis”. He urged the government to release all those who were arrested for demonstrating against the authorities after the Council of Elders declared that though there were some irregularities during the election it did not affect the outcome.
When Ahmadinejad was declared elected the opposition leaders such as Mir Mousein Mousavi and Mehdi Kharoubbi and their supporters refused to accept the results and they alleged that there were large scale rigging by Ahmadinejad and demanded repelling. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme spiritual leader who wields immense power in the affairs of the country declared that there was no rigging in the elections. When the protestors refused to back down he asked the Council of Elders to look into the allegations, and offered to recount the votes. Mousavi stuck to his guns and demanded re-polling. After looking into the allegations the Guardian Council opined that, “In the recent presidential election we witnessed no major fraud or breech. Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place”.
The opposition leaders were not the only ones who questioned the results. Two of the prominent former Presidents of Iran also expressed their dissatisfaction over the results. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former President and the present Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, was very much disturbed at the election results. Rafsanjani spoke against, in a speech delivered on 17 July 2009, the restriction of media, and the police actions against the protestors. He said “We should open the doors to debates. We should not keep so many people in prison”. His daughter participated in the protest march and got arrested. Of course every one knows that there is no love lost between Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad had, during the election campaign, charged Rafsanjani with corruption. Rafsanjani never used harsh words against his opponents. He did not hide his dislike of Ahmadinejad though.
Rafsanjani is known as ‘pragmatic conservative’. During his presidency (1989-1997), Rafsanjani pursued a conciliatory approach to the US. He tried to avoid open confrontation with the US. He lost to Ahmadinejad in 2005.Aanother former President, Mohammad Khatami has also questioned the election results.
Shirin Ebadi, lawyer and human right activists and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace said on 18 July 2009, in an interview given to the GW-TV that “Iran is moving away from democracy”. She said that the lawyers in Iran dared not to question the prevailing conditions in the country. To the question what would happen if Israel attacked Tehran, she replied that then the people of Iran would forget the differences and join hands to fight Israel. She said that Germany should become more active and address the human right issues in Iran.
Although there have been many protests against the authorities in Iran and many in the West have expressed concern over the prevailing situation the authorities seem not to bother much.
Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who spoke to the people, gathered for the Friday prayers at the Tehran University, said that “Iran was in a state of crisis”. He urged the government to release all those who were arrested for demonstrating against the authorities after the Council of Elders declared that though there were some irregularities during the election it did not affect the outcome.
When Ahmadinejad was declared elected the opposition leaders such as Mir Mousein Mousavi and Mehdi Kharoubbi and their supporters refused to accept the results and they alleged that there were large scale rigging by Ahmadinejad and demanded repelling. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme spiritual leader who wields immense power in the affairs of the country declared that there was no rigging in the elections. When the protestors refused to back down he asked the Council of Elders to look into the allegations, and offered to recount the votes. Mousavi stuck to his guns and demanded re-polling. After looking into the allegations the Guardian Council opined that, “In the recent presidential election we witnessed no major fraud or breech. Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place”.
The opposition leaders were not the only ones who questioned the results. Two of the prominent former Presidents of Iran also expressed their dissatisfaction over the results. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former President and the present Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, was very much disturbed at the election results. Rafsanjani spoke against, in a speech delivered on 17 July 2009, the restriction of media, and the police actions against the protestors. He said “We should open the doors to debates. We should not keep so many people in prison”. His daughter participated in the protest march and got arrested. Of course every one knows that there is no love lost between Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad had, during the election campaign, charged Rafsanjani with corruption. Rafsanjani never used harsh words against his opponents. He did not hide his dislike of Ahmadinejad though.
Rafsanjani is known as ‘pragmatic conservative’. During his presidency (1989-1997), Rafsanjani pursued a conciliatory approach to the US. He tried to avoid open confrontation with the US. He lost to Ahmadinejad in 2005.Aanother former President, Mohammad Khatami has also questioned the election results.
Shirin Ebadi, lawyer and human right activists and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace said on 18 July 2009, in an interview given to the GW-TV that “Iran is moving away from democracy”. She said that the lawyers in Iran dared not to question the prevailing conditions in the country. To the question what would happen if Israel attacked Tehran, she replied that then the people of Iran would forget the differences and join hands to fight Israel. She said that Germany should become more active and address the human right issues in Iran.
Although there have been many protests against the authorities in Iran and many in the West have expressed concern over the prevailing situation the authorities seem not to bother much.
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