Fresh violence in Iran after warning
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Daily News with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 23, 2009 00:00
TEHRAN - Iranian police attack hundreds of protesters with tear gas and fire live bullets in the air to disperse a rally in Tehran. Fresh violence comes after the country’s most powerful security force threatens to crush any further protests over the disputed vote, warning a ’revolutionary’ response
Iranian police fired tear gas on Monday as about 1,000 opposition demonstrators gathered in central Tehran, witnesses said. Demonstrators defied a warning from the Revolutionary Guards that it would crush further protests as the regime battles to contain an escalating crisis over the disputed presidential election.
Witnesses said about 300 to 400 police and members of the Islamic volunteer Basij militia were preparing to confront the protesters in the central Haft-e Tir square, as Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press yesterday. An Iranian woman who lives in Tehran said there was a heavy police and security presence in the location where an opposition march was slated to take place Monday. She asked not to be identified because she was worried about government reprisals. "There is a massive, massive, massive police presence," she told the Associated Press in Cairo by telephone. "Their presence was really intimidating."
The warning came after state radio said at least 457 people had been detained in street clashes in Tehran on Saturday that left 10 people dead, bringing the overall toll from a week of violence to at least 17.
The Guards said it strongly condemned the "illegal path" taken by "deceived elements" and demanded an end to "rioting and vandalism," in a statement quoted by the Mehr news agency. "If not, they should expect a decisive and revolutionary confrontation from the children of the Iranian nation in the Guards, the Basij militia and other police and security forces to end the mutiny and riots."
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has led a wave of massive protests over what he says was a rigged election that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, urged supporters to continue demonstrating but to adopt "self-restraint" to avoid more bloodshed, according to an account by Agence France-Presse.
Mousavi vowed Sunday night to keep up the protests, charging the election was a fraud. "The country belongs to you," Mousavi's latest statement said. "Protesting lies and fraud is your right."
Brutal crackdown
Mousavi's latest statements posted on his Web site also warned supporters of danger ahead, and said he would stand by the protesters "at all times." But he said he would "never allow anybody's life to be endangered because of my actions" and called for pursuing fraud claims through an independent board.
The former prime minister also called the Basij and military "our brothers" and "protectors of our revolution and regime." He may be trying to constrain his followers' demands before they pose a mortal threat to Iran's system of limited democracy.
Since the turmoil began, Iranian security forces have cracked down on demonstrators and many hundreds of protestors as well as prominent reformists, journalists and analysts have been arrested. Footage broadcast on the Internet has shown scenes of brutal violence in Tehran, with one video viewed by hundreds of thousands around the globe purportedly showing a bloodstained young woman named Neda reportedly killed when hit by a bullet in Tehran.
Meanwhile, the 12-member Guardians Council, which has said it would consider a partial recount, said its preliminary investigation revealed that the number of ballots cast in 50 of the total 366 electoral districts exceeded the number of eligible voters. But spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said there were "no irregularities" and insisted any recount "will not change the election outcome much."
U.S. President Barack Obama said he does not want to become a scapegoat for Iran's leadership."The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States," Obama said.
Witnesses said about 300 to 400 police and members of the Islamic volunteer Basij militia were preparing to confront the protesters in the central Haft-e Tir square, as Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press yesterday. An Iranian woman who lives in Tehran said there was a heavy police and security presence in the location where an opposition march was slated to take place Monday. She asked not to be identified because she was worried about government reprisals. "There is a massive, massive, massive police presence," she told the Associated Press in Cairo by telephone. "Their presence was really intimidating."
The warning came after state radio said at least 457 people had been detained in street clashes in Tehran on Saturday that left 10 people dead, bringing the overall toll from a week of violence to at least 17.
The Guards said it strongly condemned the "illegal path" taken by "deceived elements" and demanded an end to "rioting and vandalism," in a statement quoted by the Mehr news agency. "If not, they should expect a decisive and revolutionary confrontation from the children of the Iranian nation in the Guards, the Basij militia and other police and security forces to end the mutiny and riots."
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has led a wave of massive protests over what he says was a rigged election that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, urged supporters to continue demonstrating but to adopt "self-restraint" to avoid more bloodshed, according to an account by Agence France-Presse.
Mousavi vowed Sunday night to keep up the protests, charging the election was a fraud. "The country belongs to you," Mousavi's latest statement said. "Protesting lies and fraud is your right."
Brutal crackdown
Mousavi's latest statements posted on his Web site also warned supporters of danger ahead, and said he would stand by the protesters "at all times." But he said he would "never allow anybody's life to be endangered because of my actions" and called for pursuing fraud claims through an independent board.
The former prime minister also called the Basij and military "our brothers" and "protectors of our revolution and regime." He may be trying to constrain his followers' demands before they pose a mortal threat to Iran's system of limited democracy.
Since the turmoil began, Iranian security forces have cracked down on demonstrators and many hundreds of protestors as well as prominent reformists, journalists and analysts have been arrested. Footage broadcast on the Internet has shown scenes of brutal violence in Tehran, with one video viewed by hundreds of thousands around the globe purportedly showing a bloodstained young woman named Neda reportedly killed when hit by a bullet in Tehran.
Meanwhile, the 12-member Guardians Council, which has said it would consider a partial recount, said its preliminary investigation revealed that the number of ballots cast in 50 of the total 366 electoral districts exceeded the number of eligible voters. But spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said there were "no irregularities" and insisted any recount "will not change the election outcome much."
U.S. President Barack Obama said he does not want to become a scapegoat for Iran's leadership."The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States," Obama said.