Moussavi joins mourners in Tehran - Iran watchdog calls emergency meeting

Moussavi joins mourners in Tehran - Iran watchdog calls emergency meeting
By Najmeh Bozorgmehr and Roula Khalaf in Tehran
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: June 18 2009 12:07 | Last updated: June 18 2009 16:26
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c27b9166-5bf7-11de-aea3-00144feabdc0.html


Mir-Hossein Moussavi, Iran’s defeated reformist presidential candidate, joined tens of thousands of Iranians on Thursday at a square in central Tehran to mourn those killed in Monday’s mass protest against the alleged rigging of the election.

The demonstrators gathered in Imam Khomeini Square, clad in black and carrying candles, to show solidarity with the victims and their families. Mr Moussavi addressed people in the crowd with a loudspeaker, Reuters news agency reported.

Iran’s Guardian Council, the constitutional watchdog comprised of hardliners, has asked the three candidates who dispute the results of Friday’s presidential election to attend an “emergency meeting” on Saturday in an apparent effort to help contain the biggest popular outcry since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Mr Moussavi, whose supporters have taken to the streets since the hardline incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad was declared to have won a landslide victory on Saturday, has vowed not to compromise on his demand for a re-run of the election.

Mehdi Karroubi, the other reformist candidate, has also rejected the results and supported Mr Moussavi’s calls for a continuation of the protests until the election is held again.

Listen to Roula Khalaf’s account of the situation from Tehran
Analysts and western diplomats still think it is unlikely for the regime to accept this demand, after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei immediately congratulated Mr Ahmadi-Nejad and described the election a “great epic”. Ayatollah Khamenei has asked the Guardian Council instead to recount ballot boxes that are disputed.

Meanwhile, the arrest of reformists goes on. Ebrahim Yazdi, the head of the outlawed but so far tolerated Liberation Movement, and Mohammad Atrianfar, a senior political analyst, were arrested on Wednesday. The number of detainees is now suspected to have reached about 200 people, apparently on allegations that they masterminded the street protests.

Though the regime may be looking for a compromise, even as it cracks down on its opponents, there is no sign the size of the mass crowds at street rallies in Tehran is shrinking. There has, however, been less violence on the street since Monday, when the biggest demonstration since 1979 revolution was held, leading to clashes that left at least 8 people deaths, according to official reports.

Amnesty International said “around” 15 people were killed and hundreds injured.

Mr Moussavi has called on followers to attend another rally and flock to mosques today to “mourn” the dead. He has promised to join his supporters .

Many Iranians are waiting for Friday’s address by Ayatollah Khamenei, who will lead Friday prayers, for an indication of the mood within the regime, and the direction that it might take.

Supporters of Mr Moussavi and Mr Karroubi are planning to attend the prayers to ensure that the leader hears their voices. Those supporting Mr Ahmadi-Nejad, however, are also expected to show up en masse.

The crackdown, however, has not dented the protestors’ determination.

The Combatant Clerics Association, led by Mohammad Khatami the former reformist president and the main supporter of Mr Moussavi, has applied for a permit to organise a demonstration on Saturday in which Mr Khatami and Moussavi will take part.

The two men in a joint letter on Thursday backed the protesters’ “completely civil behaviour” and urged the judiciary to deal with those who resort to killing or beating them up in the streets and in universities.