Tehran rising

Protests in Iran

Tehran rising
Jun 15th 2009
From Economist.com

Huge protests erupt in Iran, and are met with violence, after a disputed election

 

 

 

AT LEAST one protester was reported to be dead, and many others injured, after shots were fired, apparently by security forces, into a huge crowd of demonstrators in Tehran on Monday June 15th.

 

Three days since officials announced the result of a presidential election in which the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was handed an implausible landslide victory, furious residents took to the streets and the rooftops of the capital city. Protesters shouted that the election result was fraudulent.

 

Hundreds of thousands of people ignored government orders to disperse, putting on a display of anger and defiance not seen since the revolution of three decades ago.

 

Protesters cried “Allahu Akbar!” and “death to the dictator!”. Although the government attempted to ban public protest on Monday, the streets of Tehran thronged with angry citizens. Many wore bright green clothing that has become the symbol of the campaign of Mir Hosein Mousavi, the main opposition leader. His supporters say that he was cheated either of outright victory or at least of a chance to compete in a second round run-off against Mr Ahmadinejad. The government also tried to stop Mr Mousavi, a moderate former prime minister, from attending the protest. But he, along with another moderate opposition candidate, nonetheless appeared. Mr Mousavi told supporters that he is ready to take part in a new poll.

 

For several hours on Monday, as demonstrators waved placards asking “where is my vote?”, police stood by inactive. But in an increasingly fraught atmosphere, shots were heard later on Monday. In the past few days violent clashes between police and protesters did occur, but this appears to be the first occasion in which live ammunition has been used. Protesters have burned cars and braved beatings as police on motorcycles surged into crowds. Further protests are reported outside of Tehran. Over 100 opposition politicians and activists are said to have been arrested.

 

The protests faded late on Monday, with many riot police appearing in Tehran after dark, but more confrontation was expected on Tuesday. The authorities have tried to isolate protesters by disrupting phone networks, blocking text-messaging services, closing access to many news websites and making it difficult for reporters inside Iran to transmit to other countries. But so far the protesters' organisation, whether by word-of-mouth or other means, has proven resilient.

 

Mr Mousavi claimed that he was told that he had won the election late on Friday, the day of voting, only to be greeted on Saturday morning with news of Mr Ahmadinejad’s official victory. Although Mr Ahmadinejad undoubtedly continues to enjoy considerable support, for example among conservatives and rural voters, the claimed scale of his triumph is unconvincing. It looks doubtful, for example, that Mr Mousavi and a fellow candidate, Mehdi Karoubi, would have received the few votes that were recorded in their respective home provinces. Mr Mousavi and Mohsen Rezai, another of Mr Ahmadinejad’s challengers, have lodged an official complaint about the results to the Council of Guardians, an unelected but powerful group of clerics that was supposed to oversee the polls.

 

That complaint has had some success. Immediately after Mr Ahmadinejad’s victory was announced, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, praised the high turnout and described the election as fair. His endorsement came with unusual speed. The electoral commission is meant to wait for three days before presenting the results to the supreme leader to allow time for any objections to be heard.

 

Now Mr Mousavi’s complaint and the rising tide of protests seem to have forced Mr Khamenei to change his tune. on Monday, in an apparent volte-face, he called on the council to investigate allegations of electoral fraud. The council has ten days to decide whether to accept the results or call another election.

 

Mr Ahmadinejad’s hardliners may, by attempting to rig the election, end up weakening the system that they are trying to control. Mr Mousavi has given warning that stealing the elections would damage the foundations of the Islamic republic. As the protests grow the authority and legitimacy of the regime is bound to be questioned.

 

So far international reactions have been cautious, as outsiders watch developments on the ground. Hillary Clinton, the American secretary of state, has said blandly that America is hoping for an outcome that “reflects the genuine will and desire of the Iranian people.” European foreign ministers want more investigations into the results. However Barack Obama and others now face a dilemma: it may soon become necessary to condemn vote rigging and violent repression in Iran, but where would that leave a strategy of engaging the Iranian regime which, according to Mr Obama, is in the interest of the Western world?