The last few days, following the anniversary of the disputed elections in Iran, have been far from quiet. On Sunday, there were attacks by plain-clothed militia (bassij) against Grand Ayatollah Sane’i, the family of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, and Mehdi Karroubi in Qom. On Sunday and the better part of Monday, the atmosphere inside Iran was one of fear and almost open civil strife.
Yesterday, Mir Hossein Mousavi condemned these attacks:
The attacks on citizens and university students on the anniversary of last year’s election, as well as the attacks on Hojatoleslam Karoubi and on the Grand Ayatollah’s offices, reveal a crisis of opinion among the attackers. June 12 of this year did not allow the government an excuse to cover all the incompetencies, among them the sanctions of the security council that are imposed on our nation because of the mismanagement and hypocritical policies of our government to trick the people. The totalitarians have not made amends; people will not forget the treacherous and oppressive incidents that occurred on the anniversary of Imam [Khomeini’s] death.
Today, Mousavi went one step further, drafting a “charter” stating the goals and demands of the Green Movement. He called for the prosecution of those who have committed election fraud, the freeing of political prisoners, and “end to the involvement of police and military forces in politics, the independence of the judiciary, and prosecution of those in plainclothes (basij forces loyal to Khamenei and Ahmadinejad).”
In the declaration, Mousavi links the desire for sovereignty and personal freedom, pillars of the Green Movement, with the continuation to fruition of the goals of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Interestingly, the L.A. Times is reporting that a whole section that appears in the PDF of the declaration is missing from the website Kaleme, closely linked with the Mousavi campaign. In the section, Mousavi describes the necessity to separate the powers of church and state, a main tenant of the Islamic Revolution. Such a belief would be a clear break with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic.
So why the two different versions?
It is a possibility that Mousavi is attempting to gain favor with those who seek to overthrow the current regime (revolutionaries) while still maintaining his position as the leader of those who wish to operate within the legal limits of the current system (reformers). Since Mousavi and Karroubi cancelled the June 12 rally to commemorate the anniversary of the election (out of concerns for the safety of the protesters), they have received heavy criticism from some who would dissolve the theocratic system of government in Iran. Always toting a fine line between leading an opposition movement and being thrown in prison, this is yet another sign of the growing tensions between the revolutionaries and the government, with the reforms stuck somewhere left of middle, in danger of becoming obsolete, becoming outlaws, or becoming the next victims of an already bloody struggle.
Unrest in Recent Days
The opposition to the Iranian government seems to be as re-energized as the basij paramilitary thugs, as scattered protests have continued since Saturday. The following is a report we received today (and have confirmed) from a source inside Iran:
On June 14 about 200 family members of detainees of June 12 Uprising gathered in front of Evin Prison demanding the freedom of their beloveds. They unanimously said that their beloveds have been arrested without reason:
Father of Porya Ali Akber 25 having his son medicine in his hand said that Porya has epilepsy and wanted the medicine to be given to his son if he is transferred to Evin.
Families of Farnoosh Vefghi and Azam Akhlagi were looking for their daughters who were lost on June 12 but they received no answer.
Family of Daryoush Ebadi who was arrested groundlessly in Enghelab Ave. was looking for him in Evin.
A 45 years old man was looking for his 65 years old mother and her daughter. He said they were just walking in the street but they were arrested on no reason and taken to unknown location.
A young man said that his fiancé and sister have been arrested arbitrary in the street on June 12. He too received no answer from the henchmen of Evin.
Some families said that their children of their friends have been beaten and arrested just because they had taken their cell phone out to talk.
The gathering lasted till after dark.
Also, as many as 300 gathered at Beheshte Zahra Cemetery at the grave sites of Green martyrs Sohrab Arabi and Ramin Ramezani, both killed in the post-election unrest. There have been at least 8 confirmed arrests at this event. There are also unconfirmed reports that a large crowd gathered at the home of Kianoosh Asa, killed a year ago today, but according to the reports large amounts of security prevented people from chanting or recording the event.
Yesterday, there were reports of large protests inside Tehran University (VIDEOS), adding to the atmosphere of unrest. Today, there were unconfirmed reports of sporadic protests, security forces harassing students near Vanak Square, and random arrests.
All these events make Mousavi’s words, yesterday, seem more poignant:
Posted in Featured, Foreign Policy, Iran, Middle EastToday, those in power need crises more than anything to conceal the hardships they have created for us. Attacks on a prominent Source of Immolation and on one of Imam [Khomeini]’s beloved students are a new way of creating crises. What these people must know is that attacking, pressuring and insulting religious figures only de-legitimizes the establishment.
Have they forgotten that attacks on the office of Imam [Khomeini] were the basis for the fall of the [Shah’s] despotic system on June 7, 1961 and later in February, 1978? Do they not learn these lessons from history? Surely, they are aware of them. So why are they destroying themselves with this absurdity by cutting the branches of the tree they are themselves sitting on?
