Iranian opposition plans new rallies - Moussavi dismisses claims of foreign influence

Iranian opposition plans new rallies - Moussavi dismisses claims of foreign influence
By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: June 17 2009 09:43 | Last updated: June 17 2009 14:05
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/60894a6a-5b17-11de-be3f-00144feabdc0.html


Iran’s reformist leader, Mir-Hossein Moussavi, on Wednesday responded to government allegations against his campaign by insisting that the street protests of his supporters were purely a domestic response, free of foreign influence.

A day after the government summoned European ambassadors to protest against “interference” in Iranian affairs, and imposed restrictions on the foreign media, Mr Moussavi, who says the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad was a fraud, warned that people were being pushed to seek information from outside the country’s borders.

“The government, in co-operation with the state television and radio, are trying to link the public green wave with foreign agents,” Mr Moussavi said in a statement posted on his website, referring to the colour sported by his supporters.

The presidential elections stand-off spilled over on to the football field on Wednesday as several players in the Iran team wore green wristbands during a crucial World Cup qualifier against South Korea.

“Our protests’ green wave reflects an independent and genuine domestic demand which does not welcome others’ interference,” Mr Moussavi said. “A government that cannot tolerate opponents’ few newspapers and websites is inevitably pushing the society towards media based outside its borders.”

In an effort to quell the protests, which were set to continue on Wednesday afternoon, with another rally also planned for Thursday, the government has severely restricted access to information, by blocking websites and text messaging, and jamming some satellite broadcasts, in a apparent effort to limit the organisational abilities of the opposition.

Mr Ahmadi-Nejad on Wednesday again defended the outcome of the election. Speaking at the start of a cabinet session, he said the poll was a referendum, with 40m people voting “for the very nature of the system.” He said 25m people had approved his management style and pointed to his foreign achievements, which he said were in defence of the honour of Iranians.

The foreign ministry also issued a statement on Wednesday saying western officials and media had adopted a “hasty, irresponsible and interfering” approach to the elections, deeming this an “insult to the understanding of the vote of the people”.

The state media, meanwhile, has been emphasising the violence which it says has been provoked by protesters

Eight people were killed, according to state media, after the opposition’s most dramatic rally held on Monday.

A pro-Ahmadi-Nejad newspaper on Wednesday splashed with images of destruction and the bloodied face of a dead young woman, with one of the headlines saying that a mother and daughter in Tehran had been “martyred by the rioters.”

The powerful Revolutionary Guard, meanwhile, has repeated its warning that the use of green – the colour of the Moussavi campaign – suggests that the reformist opposition’s intention was to create a “velvet revolution.”

In a second statement on Wednesday, Mr Moussavi called on all mosques and places of mourning to hold peaceful rallies on Thursday afternoon to express sympathy with the families of those who have been killed. He said he too would attend the ceremonies.

Mr Moussavi also denounced the arrests of reformists – which continued on Wednesday with one university professor and one political analyst detained – saying that the government did not understand “the reality of people’s protests,” which were spontaneous reactions and “would continue until people reach the goal.”

The stand-off in Iran shows no sign of abating. Earlier on Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, said that if there was a need to recount some ballot boxes, this should be done in the presence of representatives of the candidates.