Topic: 2009 Iranian presidential election
Thousands of Iranians held a large-scale "solidarity rally" in the center of the capital Tehran on the afternoon of 16th to express their desire for national stability and unity. They and former Prime Minister Mousavi supporters held rallies and parades in different regions at the same time. Western media believe that Iranian officials intentionally organized some demonstrations that day to weaken the momentum and protest effect of Mousavi camp.
An Iranian official warned on the 17th that the mastermind behind the illegal protest may face the death penalty.
Ten thousand people took part in the "unity rally"
On the afternoon of 16th, thousands of Iranians held a large rally in Varyasir Square in the center of Tehran, calling for national unity and urging Mousavi to admit defeat.
The pictures broadcast by Iranian state television show that a large number of people have blocked the square. Many people waved national flags and shouted slogans such as supporting Ahmadinejad’s re-election as president and calling for national unity. Former Speaker Adler delivered a speech at the rally, calling on Mousavi, who lost the presidential election, to "listen to the advice of the supreme leader" and admit defeat.
Iranian official media reported that the government arranged the rally and called it a "solidarity rally".
Mousavi supporters said that after successfully organizing a protest rally of 10,000 people on the 15th, they planned to continue the rally in Valyasir Square on the 16th afternoon, but a large number of Ahmadinejad supporters occupied the square ahead of schedule that day, which prevented the original plan from being implemented smoothly. In addition, the government also shut down SMS communication to prevent protesters from exchanging information.
Opponents are brewing new demonstrations.
Thousands of Mousavi supporters gathered in Vanacker Square in northern Teheran on the afternoon of 16th to continue their protest. Television pictures showed that many people wore green headscarves and held up Mousavi’s head, demanding re-election. Some witnesses said that thousands of Mousavi supporters left Vanacker Square at 17: 00 on the same day and went to the office building of Iranian Broadcasting Bureau and National Television Station. The procession was about 1.5 kilometers long.
As of 10 pm, about 100 demonstrators still gathered around the national television station. During the procession, the police kept alert around, but there was no direct conflict with the demonstrators.
In addition, a number of Iranian protest rally notices appeared on social networking site Facebook and microblog site Twitter: Mousavi supporters intend to continue gathering in the capital city center on the 17th.
Armed forces warning website
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement on the 17th, warning Iranian domestic blog websites not to publish "creating tension", otherwise they may face legal proceedings.
Since the Iranian government has banned foreign media reporters in Iran from reporting on the streets, non-traditional media such as social networking site Facebook and micro-blog site Twitter have become the main tools for protesters to send messages and communicate with each other.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement through the state media on the 17th, saying that all websites and bloggers in Iran must delete all content that "creates tension".
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is an armed force independent of the Iranian army, directly under the orders of Supreme Leader Khamenei, and has extensive influence on Iran’s domestic defense and security affairs.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 17th, accusing some foreign media of being "the microphone of rioters" and defaming Iran’s national image.
The government ordered an investigation into the conflict.
Iranian state television English channel reported on the 17th that the Ministry of Interior has ordered an investigation into an alleged attack on a Tehran University student. The students claimed that they were attacked in the university dormitory on the evening of the 14th. The report said that the Ministry of the Interior has asked the Tehran municipal government to find out the people involved in this incident.
On 16th, Larijani, Speaker of the Islamic Parliament of Iran, made a speech in the parliament, accusing the Ministry of Interior of being responsible for attacks on civilians in demonstrations, including attacks on college students. Reuters quoted the students as saying that the militia organization "Mobilizing the Poor" and plainclothes policemen participated in the attack and caused casualties.
Reformers were arrested.
Reuters and AFP quoted sources as saying that reformist Jalaipur and political commentator Lairaz, who supported Mousavi, were arrested one after another on the morning of 17th. Among them, newspapers under the name of Lairaz have been criticizing the economic policies of current President Ahmadinejad.
Habibi, Attorney General of Isfahan province in Iran, warned on the 17th that there were a few lawless elements behind the large-scale demonstrations, who were controlled by forces outside Iran. According to Islamic law, these people may face the death penalty at the highest. Habibi warned these people to stop "criminal activities". Habibi said: "We warn a few lawless elements controlled by foreigners that they will face the death penalty for trying to disrupt national security by inciting personal sabotage and arson. Therefore, before being brought to justice, they should return to the embrace of the motherland and avoid any more criminal acts."
> > observe
The differences between the two factions of the political veteran "reform" are open.
Western observers believe that this election dispute has made the internal differences of the Iranian ruling group "unprecedented" open.
Some western observers believe that this election dispute has exposed the internal differences among Iran’s domestic political and religious elites. Many heavyweights and major forces in Iranian politics "stood in line" with Nejad and Mousavi as the core respectively, forming a confrontation situation.
According to Lyon, a journalist from Reuters, Mousavi’s side includes reformists, including former President Khatami, and some moderate conservatives who are regarded as Ahmadinejad’s political opponents, while the latter includes former President Rafsanjani and Speaker of the Islamic Parliament Larijani.
Rafsanjani, who is currently the chairman of Iran’s National Interest Committee and the chairman of the expert meeting, is one of the core figures of "anti-Ahmadinejad". He said on the 6th of this month that he would sue Ahmadinejad for libel.
Ahmadinejad is supported by forces such as the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the "Mobilizing the Poor" militia. More importantly, he is supported by Khamenei, while Mousavi is considered to be at odds with Khamenei’s political views.
A western diplomat in Teheran told Reuters that the differences within the Iranian ruling group have never been so open as they are today. "Previously, these disputes occurred in a secret room." The current situation is the biggest political crisis facing Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
These observers believe that reformists are dissatisfied with Ahmadinejad’s economic and foreign policies, and at the same time hope to restrain the president’s power.
> > focus people
Ahmadinejad approves the United States in Russia
Despite the unstable domestic situation, Ahmadinejad went to Yekaterinburg, Russia, as the head of the observer government on the 16th to attend the ninth meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
In his speech, Ahmadinejad continued his previous tough argument: "It is the United States that caused the current economic and political crisis, and its solution is hopeless … American allies will not help alleviate the crisis." He made no mention of the domestic situation or the presidential election in his speech.
The former prime minister has no hope.
Mousavi said that he did not have much hope for the outcome of the appeal, because "many members of the Constitutional Supervision Commission supported the government candidates".
On the 16th, Iranian Constitutional Supervision Commission spokesman Kadhodayi said that if irregularities are found, the Constitutional Supervision Commission will recount the votes in some disputed ballot boxes, but will not vote in the new presidential election. Analysts here believe that according to this position of the Constitutional Supervision Commission, it is difficult to overturn the result of Ahmadinejad’s election by partial recount.
In addition, on the 17th, Mousavi called on supporters to hold a large rally on the 18th through his personal website to protest the results of the presidential election and the attacks on demonstrators. A statement published on the website said: "Several of our compatriots were injured or died. I ask people to go to the mosque together or express their support to their families by participating in peaceful demonstrations."
The Associated Press said that this appeal can be seen as a direct challenge to the Iranian ruling group by Mousavi. Just one day ago, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly stated that Mousavi should make demands through legal channels, but Mousavi obviously did not compromise.
The supreme leader is the key.
The supreme leader is the supreme leader of Iran, who has the final say in administrative, legislative and judicial affairs, and is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Many analysts believe that the ruling style of the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is to seek the consensus of the ruling class, rather than "centralized". He often exercises power behind the scenes and occasionally gives orders directly on major policies. To a certain extent, this style allows different political forces to have room for activities.
Some analysts pointed out that the crisis pushed Khamenei to the forefront of power struggle, which affected the authority of the supreme leader to some extent. The New York Times correspondent Mike Farquhal pointed out that Khamenei congratulated Ahmadinejad as soon as the election results announced by the Ministry of Interior were announced. When the protesters took to the streets, Khamenei changed his mind and asked the Constitutional Supervision Committee to investigate the counting of votes. Spencer, head of the Middle East project at the Royal Institute of International Studies in London, England, also believes that since Khamenei is the highest arbiter of all important issues in Iran, his concession this time will probably undermine his authority.
Khamenei still hopes to solve the problem through peaceful mediation. On the one hand, he will still maintain the legitimacy of the election results, on the other hand, he may meet some demands of Mousavi camp, such as making concessions on the formation of a new government.
> > background
Iranian power structure
Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, Iran has practiced the rule of combining politics with religion. Among them, the supreme leader is at the top of power.
Supreme Leader: The Supreme Leader is elected by the expert meeting. In June 1989, after the death of supreme leader Khomeini, the expert meeting elected Khamenei as the supreme leader. The supreme leader has the final say in all state affairs in Iran, and directly controls the army and intelligence agencies.
President: Iran’s 1989 constitution abolished the post of prime minister and expanded the authority of the president. The president is elected by the people for a term of four years and can be re-elected once. The president is mainly responsible for the management of domestic daily affairs such as economy, and also has the right to sign agreements with foreign governments.
Parliament: The Islamic Parliament is the highest national legislature in Iran, but the laws passed by the Parliament can only take effect after being approved by the Constitutional Guardian Council. In addition, Parliament has the power to subpoena and impeach the President. These powers are subject to review by the Constitutional Commission.
Constitutional Guardian Council: The Constitutional Guardian Council is the authority to safeguard Islamic teachings and the Constitution, with a total of 12 members, six of whom are directly appointed by the supreme leader and the other six are Islamic jurists. Presidential candidacy and election results must be recognized by the Constitutional Supervision Commission. The Constitutional Supervision Commission has the right to cancel the election results.
Expert meeting: The Iranian expert meeting is the authority to elect, supervise and recall the supreme leader, and consists of 86 senior religious figures. Voters elect members of the expert meeting according to the population proportion of each province and city. Expert meetings are held once a year to discuss state affairs and leaders’ behaviors. The current chairman is former President Rafsanjani.
Determine the National Interest Committee: The main responsibility is to assist the supreme leader in supervising and implementing various major policies. When the Parliament and the Guardian Council of the Constitution disagree on the bill, it is determined that the National Interest Council has the right to arbitrate. The current chairman is Rafsanjani.
This edition is based on Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Mo Xu Chao Feng Wuyong.
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