Region | Iran

Iranians will continue uprising

Thousands take to the streets of Tehran to protest Ahmadinejad's win as media crackdown is imposed

  • By Duraid Al Baik, Associate Editor
  • Published: 12:52 June 16, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Javed Nawab/Gulf News
  • An anti-Ahmadinejad protest held by a group of Iranian students at the Knowledge Village campus in Dubai.
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Dubai: A rally by millions of supporters of Iran's reformist challenger Mir Hussain Mousavi, headed on Tuesday from Vali Asar Square in Tehran towards the north of the city.

They reached Iran's television station in an attempt to tell the local media to portray them as protesters and not as a bunch of thugs.

Omidian Mohammad, a political activist and a close aid of Mousavi, told Gulf News that the council in charge of Mousavi's campaign had no hopes of recount of votes in certain polling centres as they were decided by the election's Guardian Council.

The campaign council has decided to go on with the protests regardless of the outcome of the recount procedure.

He said a decision was taken by the reformists to have daily demonstrations in every city in Iran till the authorities come up with a solution to vote rigging.

"Tuesday's demonstration was to show the local media that the people of Tehran and the supporters of the majority are very upset of failure to report about the protest against rigging of the election by the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," Omidian said.

He said that Tuesday was the first day that the local TV referred to the protesters as a group of thugs. Additionally, protesters were described as a group of illiterates by the channel.

The group dispersed shortly after showing the strength of the uprising considered the strongest since the 1979 Revolution.

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Omidian said the local TV also failed to mention the death eight people in the demonstration.

Omidian said that snipers supporters of Ahmadinejad were stationed in a nearby buildings to shoot at the rally resulting in the death of eight supporters and scores injured.

"The Vali Asar rally is to show the snipers that Iranians will not be deterred from claiming their rigged votes regardless of the cost on their lives," he stressed.

He said the rally towards the TV station will give an opportunity to the international media to convey the message of the Iranian majority to the governments and the leaders of the world not to recognise or deal with Ahmadinejad's government.

"Iranians are upset of leaders of friendly countries who called on Ahmadinejad to congratulate him even before the Guardian Council confirmed the outcome of the election.

He said the leaders of Venezuela, Syria and Afghanistan called on Ahmadinejad to congratulate him even before the Guardian Council declared the results of the election.

"The majority of the Iranians are upset and would like to request the leaders of the world not to recognise Ahmadinejad," he urged.

He said that millions of Iranians say that they can't live with Ahmadinejad for four more years.

"In my opinion, the picture now is very clear. The religious and the executive authorities in Tehran are looking for a way out to defuse the current build up of tension on the streets. The situation is very serious and an uncontrolled eruption of violence can shake the pillars of the Islamic republic," he warned.

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