Posted June 14, 200916 yr Iran reformists held after street clashes Source BBC News Up to 100 members of Iranian reformist groups have been arrested, accused of orchestrating violence after the disputed presidential election result. Backers of defeated reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi were rounded up overnight, reports said, including the brother of ex-President Khatami. Mr Mousavi's whereabouts are unknown but he is thought to remain free. There were reports of new small-scale clashes on Sunday ahead of a planned victory rally by President Ahmadinejad. While the streets of Tehran were largely calm, the BBC's Jon Leyne, in the city, reports that clashes broke out by the office of Irna, Iran's official news agency, and also in one suburb. IRANIAN ELECTION Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 62.6% Mir Hossein Mousavi: 33.8% Mohsen Rezai: 1.7% Mehdi Karroubi 0.9% Turnout: 85% Source: Interior ministry The offices of the Saudi-funded Arabic TV station al-Arabiya were shut down for "unknown reasons", the channel said. Mobile phone service was restored but there were reports that text messaging remained restricted and curbs continued on access to popular internet sites, including the BBC. Mr Ahmadinejad is due to hold a news conference on Sunday before attending what is expected to be a huge victory rally. Lock down Details of latest arrests remained sketchy, but reports said those detained were members of pro-reformist political parties which had backed Mr Mousavi during the election campaign. The reformists - said to include Mohammad Reza Khatami, brother of former President Mohammad Khatami, a former government spokesman and a former deputy speaker of parliament - were reported to have been taken from their homes by security forces overnight. Jon Leyne Reporting from Tehran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has always seen himself as more than just a politician. Sometimes he speaks, and is treated, more like a seer prophesying the death of capitalism and liberal democracy. With this victory, however secured, he will feel emboldened in this global vision. At home, many Iranians will fear a clampdown on society and cultural life. Mr Ahmadinejad knows that many even within the political establishment oppose him, which might increase his tendency towards authoritarianism. All those young people who were out campaigning against him so recently will be nervous about their future, and even more disillusioned with the Islamic Republic. Then there is foreign policy and the nuclear issue. How can US President Barack Obama open negotiations with a president whose legitimacy and human rights record is even deeper under question? It is a political earthquake that will shake Iran, and could shake the world. Iran's state news agency, Irna, said those arrested were involved in orchestrating Saturday's protests in Tehran. Angry crowds took to the streets to protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, in spite of Mr Mousavi's post-election call to avoid violence. He has refused to accept the election result, calling it a "dangerous charade" and alleging wide-scale irregularities The BBC's foreign affairs editor John Simpson, in Tehran, says that while the protests appeared to an upsurge of anger amongst ordinary people and did not appear to be arranged, it is an instinctive reaction by the authorities to see a hidden hand. Senior Iranian political figures have offered their backing to Mr Ahmadinejad, among them parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani and the head of the judiciary. One of his defeated rivals also congratulated Mr Ahmadinejad. Mohsen Rezai, who won just 1.7% of the vote, declared that Mr Ahmadinejad had been elected president by "legal procedures". "I will support him in a bid to prevent any delays in the provision of services to the people," Mr Rezai said in a statement. The president already has the backing of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who endorsed his election win on Saturday. Our correspondent says the expressions of support for Mr Ahmadinejad could be an attempt to "lock down" support for the president within Iran's divided political establishment. Murky truth The controversy over Iran's election flared after high turnout and long queues at polling stations on Friday led Mr Mousavi's supporters to expect a strong showing from their candidate and a close result. Turnout was estimated at 85%, with voting extended in many places. Streets in Tehran were set alight as protesters burned barricades But official results on Saturday gave the incumbent, Mr Ahmadinejad, a landslide victory. His final share of the vote was almost 63%. Despite a rapid endorsement of the result from Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, Mr Mousavi issued a statement denouncing the verdict and alleging widespread voting irregularities. Our correspondent John Simpson, in Tehran, says the truth about this election may never be known. But many observers in Iran feel that the final result did not reflect the extraordinary numbers of people who turned out to vote, he adds. World reaction has been muted, with major powers slow to welcome the Iranian result. The European Union and Canada have voiced concern about allegations of irregularities, while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said only that Washington hoped the result reflected the "genuine will and desire" of Iranians. Long-time allies such as Venezuela and Syria, as well as neighbours Iraq and Afghanistan, are among those who have recognised Mr Ahmadinejad as the winner. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ahmadinejad is a fukkin' disgrace.... Another Robert Mugabe without question... I frankly dont doubt for a minute that the election results have been manipulated... You're talking about a country which has very deep divisions and we're expected to believe that Ahmandinejad gets about two thirds of the vote despite an absolutely massive moblisation of support for his reformist rival, Mousavi, the vote wasn't even close even though young Iranians are more and more rejecting the restrictions of the Ayatollahs.... The young of Iran clearly want change, there was a MASSIVE voter turnout, over 85% which shows a lot more interest in democracy amongst Iranians than voters in Britain seem to hold, with absolutely p*** poor election turnouts in this country last week by comparison..... By the way, this isn't a call from me for an invasion of Iran, which would be the absolute WORST thing that could happen and would do more to kill genuine democratic change from within stone dead..... What there needs to be in Iran, is another revolution.... Here's hoping for more riots....
June 14, 200916 yr Author OOOOOOOhkayyyy.. So nobody wanting to discuss this potentially incredibly explosive issue that if it really kicks off could make Iraq look like the Chimps tea party...... :rolleyes:
June 14, 200916 yr Before the results were declared both parties were claiming victory, that usually means too close to call. So how come the gap in the victory was so large, very suspicious if you ask me. Mousavi must have believed that what he was hearing on the ground and the huge support he seemed to get in the run up to the vote pointed to a very close vote which erred in his favour. But then nothing susprises me in Iran, where Ahmadinejad and his cronies would never give up power and allow their country to embrace a most western style of life.
June 14, 200916 yr Before the results were declared both parties were claiming victory, that usually means too close to call. So how come the gap in the victory was so large, very suspicious if you ask me. Mousavi must have believed that what he was hearing on the ground and the huge support he seemed to get in the run up to the vote pointed to a very close vote which erred in his favour. But then nothing susprises me in Iran, where Ahmadinejad and his cronies would never give up power and allow their country to embrace a most western style of life. Gotta agree with this! It must have been rigged, no? There is no way the result can go from 50/50 to 60/30 just like that. But if it can, I've never seen it happen before! :o Ahmadinejad really ticked me off when he said "Iran doesn't have Gay people". As a straight liberal person, I was kind of pissed off. Denying that Homosexuality and Bisexuality exists in a country of over 70 million people is just plain silly. The only thing Iran "doesn't have" is a good leader. :rolleyes:
June 15, 200916 yr dont know enough about it ..... nor atm care enough, to comment. should i?....... maybe....
June 15, 200916 yr Author should i?....... maybe.... Considering that the US probably still has Iran in their crosshairs despite the change at the Whitehouse, you probably should care Rob..... I can see them using this as a possible excuse for invasion, which would, in reality, be the very worst thing for ordinary Iranians..... It hardly did much good in Iraq... In Iraq you replaced one leader who was incredibly hostile to the Iranian Govt and the Clerics, with another leader whose actually recognised the legitimacy of the result..... How ironic..... :rolleyes: These election results are about as legit as the Zimbabwean poll......
June 15, 200916 yr George Galloway has written a piece about the election in the Daily Record today Link here http://blogs.dailyrecord.co.uk/georgegallo...-fact-elec.html
June 15, 200916 yr Er...... isn't Press TV, which Mr Galloway works for, Iranian sponsored? One has to wonder why the Ayatollah at first welcomed the result and now is encouraging Mousavi to pursue his claims with the Guardians. Is the scale and passion of the popular uprising of concern. Remember the might of the people tearing down the Berlin wall, the swell of the masses who gave Boris Yeltsin their support in Moscow, the overthrow of the Shah in Iran all those years ago. Common people aroused and sure that justice is on their side get great strength in numbers and don't give a toss about breaking petty laws.
June 15, 200916 yr I saw this on the news a while ago, got to say the country is always in one big mess
June 15, 200916 yr Surely George isn't being impartial here? :o :P The result is dubious in the extreme. But I would say this. Across the world (and not just the Islamic World), rural dwellers tend to be a lot more conservative. The people we are seeing demonstrating are in the main the educated urbanites. If Ahmadinnerjaiket's power base largely comes from the rural poor (of which there are probably millions more than there are the Teheran reformist types) then maybe he did indeed win. But I do hope to God (of whichever variety) that the reformers succeed here. :huh:
June 16, 200916 yr The elections were a sham, they have been for YEARS. In fact, most Iranians boycotted elections in years past, which is why what occurred this year is so astonishing. And after the result was announced, I was worried that they'd all become jaded and boycott elections again in the future and nothing would ever change. But I was wrong - Iranians have taken to the street in the most inspiring way. I honestly wish I could go there and march with them. It's remarkable. Iran is so little-understood in the West. In '79 a myriad of different groups all united against the corrupt Shah - the Marxists, the intelligentsia, the clerics and everyone in between. But in the power vacuum that occurred afterward, Khomenei took power and instituted a draconian, horrendous and backward theocracy that most of the revolutionaries never wanted. Brain drain has been the biggest threat to Iran, most of the young and educated left and continue to leave in astonishing numbers. But it's a country with enormous potential, a rich culture of science and philosophy and the arts. Until these Muslim clerics banned dancing, music, and everything else traditionally Persian. Don't get me wrong, the majority of the country is Muslim but there is a culture and history that predates Islam by centuries and Iranians have always been worldly, tolerant Muslims (much like Turks)... however the medieval, backward theocracy that governs them has tried again and again to regress the country back to the stone age to further their own political and pseudo-religious interests. This is a perfect example of PEOPLE taking back what is rightfully theirs - truly inspiring. The mullahs who rule this enormous, young country at the very breaking point... their time is limited and they're starting to panic. I say let them rot, let's see a another revolution!!! I love the images of women in hijabs leaping fearlessly at the brutal riot police... really challenges our stereotypical image (in the West) of the subservient, Muslim woman in a headdress.
June 16, 200916 yr And I just found a fantastic article basically repeating what I said but in a much more articulate manner :lol: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...threw-away.html
June 16, 200916 yr Author George Galloway has written a piece about the election in the Daily Record today Link here http://blogs.dailyrecord.co.uk/georgegallo...-fact-elec.html This would be the same George Galloway who pretended to be a cat on Celebrity Big Brother and made an almighty tit of himself wouldn't it....? The man pretty much lost all credibility when he did that..... :rolleyes:
June 16, 200916 yr Now now Scott, I would have thought you of all people would have realised the weakness of an ad hominem response! :P
June 19, 200916 yr I'm highly sceptical of an 85% turnout in ANY election - it's now looking like anyone who didn't vote was counted as a vote for Ahmadinnajacket or Ramalamadingdong or whatever he's called this week. I see the Ayatollah's fully on his side - well, that's all very well and good then....call off the dogs and let's go and denounce the Western world once again.
June 21, 200916 yr I suppose there isn't much discussion here since, well, what can really be argued? I can't imagine anyone here supporting the "other side" (an undemocratic, radical Muslim dictator and his crony who denies the holocaust and the very existence of gays in his country)! What can we do in the West? It's troubling because much of the reason for the anti-Ahmadinejad support has been the fallout from years of brutal sanctions from the West (economic and social). So we can't just punish them with further sanctioning, it's hurting the people who support reform. But what else can the West do? If leaders speak out against the Islamic Republic, it will just further their claim that the West has instigated the whole problem from the outside.
June 24, 200916 yr Author I'm highly sceptical of an 85% turnout in ANY election - it's now looking like anyone who didn't vote was counted as a vote for Ahmadinnajacket or Ramalamadingdong or whatever he's called this week. I see the Ayatollah's fully on his side - well, that's all very well and good then....call off the dogs and let's go and denounce the Western world once again. Well, it certainly wasn't the Western world who closed down the TV station was it....? It certainly wasn't the West who shot a totally unarmed woman in cold blood.. <_< Ahmadinejad must think that all Iranians are stupid..... Mind you, a lot of them are tbh, especially those r*t**** who chucked petrol bombs at the UK embassy..... And George Galloway has the nerve to call himself a "socialist" when he defends such naked, brutal fascism in the guise of "religion"......
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