Mousavi statement on the regime & possibility of future protests

Opposition leader: Dictatorial "cult" rules Iran
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer, 27 February 2010,

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's opposition leader said Saturday that a dictatorial ''cult'' was ruling Iran in the name of Islam -- his strongest attack to date on the country's clerical leadership.

Mir Hossein Mousavi also challenged the government to let his supporters take to the streets freely, saying that would allow it to gauge the opposition's true strength. On Thursday, Iran's supreme leader, the Aytollah Ali Khamenei, charged that the country's opposition had lost its credibility and its right to participate in politics by not accepting the results of June's presidential elections. Khamenei's comments suggest that Iran's opposition will be barred from running in any future elections.

''This is the rule of a cult that has hijacked the concept of Iranianism and nationalism,'' Mousavi said in an interview published on his Web site, kaleme.com. ''Our people clearly understand the difference between divine piety and thirst for power in a religious style ... our people can't tolerate that (dictatorial) behaviors are promoted in the name of religion.''

He said the opposition aims to effect reform by raising the consciousness of the Iranian people. ''Spreading awareness is the movement's main strategy,'' he said.

Iran's opposition alleges President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the June vote through fraud and that Mousavi was the rightful winner. A massive wave of protests provoked a bloody government crackdown, during which more than 80 demonstrators were killed and hundreds of rights activists, journalists and pro-reform politicians were arrested.

The government, which puts the number of confirmed deaths at 30, has accused opposition leaders of being ''stooges of the West'' and of seeking to topple the ruling system through street protests.

Meanwhile, the country's hardline leaders have put more than 100 people on a mass trial that began in August. Eleven people have been sentenced to death, and more than 80 others have received prison terms ranging from six months to 15 years.

Iran's rulers point to several recent pro-goverment rallies as an indication that the opposition has lost popular backing.

But Mousavi rejected that claim, and accused the state of busing people in to Tehran to inflate the crowds at Feb. 11 celebrations marking the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

''It was an engineered rally ... the biggest number of buses and trains were employed for this rally,'' he said. He added that there is ''no pride'' in holding such a rally, and charged that resorting to such tricks is similar to ''a dictatorial mentality and methods employed before the revolution.''

However, Mousavi acknowledged that the government's bloody crackdown has made it impossible for the opposition to publicly engage in political activities.

He urged the clerical leaders to let opposition supporters take to the streets without being attacked by security forces, saying ''how people respond will put an end to all speculation'' about the opposition's strength.

Mousavi also warned that shutting down newspapers and blocking Web sites won't help the ruling system silence opposition voices, and asked that his newspaper be allowed to reopen.

Iran's hardline government has closed down dozens of pro-reform papers, including Mousavi's Kalame Sabz, or Green Word, and blocked hundreds of reformist Web sites as part of its efforts to clamp down on opposition activities.

Despite the government's efforts to control the opposition, Mousavi said repression won't stop people from demanding change.

''Tens of millions of Iranians who face censorship, obstruction of their freedoms and repressive measures ... and the spread of corruption and lies, want changes,'' Mousavi said. ''Repressive measures will distance us from a logical solution.''


Credits: AP & New York Times: Opposition leader: Dictatorial "cult" rules Iran
Photo: pbs.org


Iran's Mousavi Hints At Fresh Protest
RFE/RL, 27 Feb 2010.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Musavi (left) and Mehdi Karrubi (with glasses and white turban) at a funeral procession for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri in Qom in December.

(RFE/RL) -- Opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi has urged Iranians to stage a fresh antigovernment rally in the capital, Tehran, in order to highlight the continued strength of his Green Movement.

Musavi's statements, his first extensive comments since opposition street protesters were beaten back with tear gas and police batons on February 11, came in an interview posted to his "Kaleme" website.

He appeared to hint that authorities would not prevent his and fellow opposition leader and cleric Mehdi Karubi's supporters from gathering at an unspecified date.

"I and Mr. Karubi think the Green Movement will be allowed to stage a rally...in order to put an end to all speculation," AFP quoted Musavi as saying in the posting.

Musavi also emphasized the importance of free elections in Iran, according to Radio Farda.

The Islamic republic has seen unprecedented unrest since conservative Mahmud Ahmadinejad was awarded reelection by a landslide in a June presidential election, followed by security roundups and disappearances, mass trials, and a clampdown on dissent and the media.

Musavi on his website warned that he "do[es] not think that such treatment of people will simply be relegated to a memory," according to Radio Farda.

He accused the government of engineering massive pro-regime demonstrations on February 11 in an effort to discredit the opposition. 

Musavi condemned the use of government resources -- including buses and trains -- "to gather people for that rally," which marked the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

Musavi compared it to "the authoritarian mentality and practices before the revolution," under the Pahlavi dynasty, Radio Farda reported.

Opposition leaders had urged their supporters to use that day to demonstrate their continued desire for increased transparency and democratic reform.

compiled from Radio Farda and agency reports

Credits: Radio Free Europe: Iran's Mousavi hints at fresh protest