Posted on 06/20/2009 11:00:31 AM PDT by Steelfish
Mir-Hossein Mousavi 'ready for martyrdom' as Iranians defy Supreme Leader
Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi on Saturday night told his supporters he was ready for martyrdom, and demanded that the entire disputed election be annulled.
By Angus McDowall 20 Jun 2009
He dramatically raised the stakes in the standoff with Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after publishing a letter to the country's highest electoral authority in which he cited examples of electoral fraud to support his "undeniable right" to call for a re-run of the election.
Mr Mousavi made his defiant call during a speech delivered in southwest Tehran, according to an ally, who telephoned a western news agency shortly afterwards to report: "Mousavi said he was ready for martyrdom and that he would continue his path."
A witness told Reuters that Mr Mousavi had called for a national strike if he was arrested.
It was an unprecedented act in defiance of Ayatollah Khamenei, who has declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of the June 12 election and on Friday ordered an end to protests by demonstrators who say Mousavi was the winner.
It came as a few thousand protesters defied threats of bloodshed from Iran's rulers and attempted to march through central Tehran - only to be beaten back by riot police. Heavily armed police and militia flooded the streets and used tear gas and batons to attack them.
Only an estimated 3,000 dared to show themselves, far fewer than the hundreds of thousands who filled the streets during the last few weeks.
The two main protest leaders, Mr Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who were beaten by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the disputed poll nine days ago, had both called off their official rallies.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
He’s playing golf. Leave him alone! It’s Saturday.
O = ZERO
9 minutes ago
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Police beat protesters and fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands who rallied Saturday in open defiance of Iran’s clerical government, sharply escalating the most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Witnesses described fierce clashes after some 3,000 protesters, many wearing black, chanted “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to dictatorship!” near Revolution Square in downtown Tehran. Police fired tear gas, water cannons and guns but it was not clear if they were firing live ammunition.
Mousavi doesn’t have a good track record for the US. Who is the worse Mousavi or the Ayotollah. Both are dictators & neither are going to give the people the freedom the people seeks. As long as islamic law, sharia, is in place there isn’t any freedom.
A new, freer Iranian government will likely result in more economic growth than the Cleric run government. Even with the fall of the Cleric government, Iran is going to remain highly Muslim, and thus a likely participant in the Grand Jihad ~50 years from now. In the shorter term, Mousavi has stated he will continue Iran’s nuclear program. Isn’t it foolish to then hope for the fall of Ahmadinejad and the Clerics?
I hope Ahmadinejad remains in power and continues to listen to his buddy Hugo Chavez. I also hope Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities get bombed soon.
In the face of such courage, Obama silently whimpered behind his teleprompter.
Oh please, Obama is America’s first metrosexual president. He thinks that whole tetosterone thing is way over-rated.
Something good is likely to happen.
He’s irrelevant. The Hell w/im.
I think leaders who emerge from a bloody revolution unlike through peaceful elections could end up themselves as dictators or, might change to heed the voices of freedom in the new information age. History is not a useful precedent here. What we have here is a revolt by a predominantly young and educated group yearning to break loose from the iron boot of religious dictatorships that cramp their impulse for personal autonomy.
Well Mr. Musavi....it could be coming pretty soon
Of course he’s silent - he’s like many/most muzzies ... waiting to see who wins before he takes sides.
If he is assassinated I believe that what we are seeing in Iran now will be like child’s play.
Obama's position is simple domestic politics. He prefers Al Franken, so the Iranian people will just have to wait.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.