.Opposition Leader Strikes Back in Iran
DUBAI -- Iran's most prominent opposition leader launched a defiant broadside at the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday, striking back after two days of heavy criticism by supporters of the regime.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, the former presidential candidate who has become the opposition movement's de facto leader, criticized a harsh government crackdown on protesters Sunday, and said he was willing to die in the fight to allow the Iranian people to express their religious and civic rights.
Mr. Mousavi, in his Internet posting Friday, said he "has no fear of becoming one of the martyrs" for the cause, and he challenged regime officials who have threatened to prosecute him and other leaders of the opposition.
The statement comes after two days of outpourings by government supporters against the opposition and Mr. Mousavi personally. On Wednesday, tens of thousands of regime backers demonstrated, sometimes raucously, in solidarity with Mr. Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During some rallies, government supporters chanted against Mr. Mousavi and his opposition partner, Mahdi Karroubi, another unsuccessful candidate in the June 12 presidential elections, calling for Mr. Mousavi's death and the execution of protesters.
On Thursday, Iran's state prosecutor warned that opposition leaders could face charges if they didn't renounced recent protests.
On Friday, Iran's deputy head of the judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, called pro-opposition protesters enemies of God, or mohareb in Farsi, a crime punishable by death under Iranian law, according to the Associated Press.
"Those who riot ... insult sanctities ... this is undoubtedly proof" of defying God, AP reported Mr. Raisi as saying, citing Iranian state radio.
State media also said Wednesday that two top opposition leaders had fled Tehran, triggering speculation that Messrs. Mousavi and Karroubi had buckled under pressure from that day's progovernment demonstrations. People close to both men quickly denied they had left the capital.
On Friday, Mr. Mousavi appeared eager to make clear he hadn't been cowed. "By ordering the execution, murder or imprisonment of Karroubi, Mousavi and those close to them, the problem won't be solved," Mr. Mousavi said in his statement posted on his Web site, Kaleme.
Mr. Mousavi was Mr. Ahmadinejad's toughest challenger in the June polls, but election results showed he lost to the president in a landslide. That triggered accusations by Messrs. Mousavi and Karroubi of vote-rigging, and set off violent protests in the streets of Tehran.
Tehran officials have treaded carefully with Mr. Mousavi. His movements are closely circumscribed, and authorities have rounded up many of his top aides, sometimes on more than one occasion. But Tehran hasn't yet taken legal action against him, a move that could further inflame street protests.
WSJ
This guy better watch it, or he might inspire a real freedom movement, not just his stupid shades of green movement.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, the former presidential candidate who has become the opposition movement's de facto leader, criticized a harsh government crackdown on protesters Sunday, and said he was willing to die in the fight to allow the Iranian people to express their religious and civic rights.
Mr. Mousavi, in his Internet posting Friday, said he "has no fear of becoming one of the martyrs" for the cause, and he challenged regime officials who have threatened to prosecute him and other leaders of the opposition.
The statement comes after two days of outpourings by government supporters against the opposition and Mr. Mousavi personally. On Wednesday, tens of thousands of regime backers demonstrated, sometimes raucously, in solidarity with Mr. Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During some rallies, government supporters chanted against Mr. Mousavi and his opposition partner, Mahdi Karroubi, another unsuccessful candidate in the June 12 presidential elections, calling for Mr. Mousavi's death and the execution of protesters.
On Thursday, Iran's state prosecutor warned that opposition leaders could face charges if they didn't renounced recent protests.
On Friday, Iran's deputy head of the judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, called pro-opposition protesters enemies of God, or mohareb in Farsi, a crime punishable by death under Iranian law, according to the Associated Press.
"Those who riot ... insult sanctities ... this is undoubtedly proof" of defying God, AP reported Mr. Raisi as saying, citing Iranian state radio.
State media also said Wednesday that two top opposition leaders had fled Tehran, triggering speculation that Messrs. Mousavi and Karroubi had buckled under pressure from that day's progovernment demonstrations. People close to both men quickly denied they had left the capital.
On Friday, Mr. Mousavi appeared eager to make clear he hadn't been cowed. "By ordering the execution, murder or imprisonment of Karroubi, Mousavi and those close to them, the problem won't be solved," Mr. Mousavi said in his statement posted on his Web site, Kaleme.
Mr. Mousavi was Mr. Ahmadinejad's toughest challenger in the June polls, but election results showed he lost to the president in a landslide. That triggered accusations by Messrs. Mousavi and Karroubi of vote-rigging, and set off violent protests in the streets of Tehran.
Tehran officials have treaded carefully with Mr. Mousavi. His movements are closely circumscribed, and authorities have rounded up many of his top aides, sometimes on more than one occasion. But Tehran hasn't yet taken legal action against him, a move that could further inflame street protests.
WSJ
This guy better watch it, or he might inspire a real freedom movement, not just his stupid shades of green movement.
posted by madtom at 9:51 PM
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