Region | Iran
Popular reformists flex muscles in Iran
In the final hours of Iran's fierce election campaign, the top pro-reform challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got a sharp warning that authorities would crush any attempt at a popular "revolution" inspired by the huge rallies and street parties calling for more freedoms.
- By Duraid Al Baik, Associate Editor
- Published: 23:04 June 11, 2009
- Image Credit: AP
- A supporter of leading challenger and reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, flashes the victory sign as thousands of supporters from both political groupings roam the streets of Tehran, late at night on Wednesday.
Dubai: In the final hours of Iran's fierce election campaign, the top pro-reform challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got a sharp warning that authorities would crush any attempt at a popular "revolution" inspired by the huge rallies and street parties calling for more freedoms.
The threat made Wednesday by an official of the powerful Revolutionary Guards reflected the increasingly tense atmosphere surrounding Friday's up-for-grabs election.
It also marked a sharp escalation by the ruling clerics against the youth-driven campaign of Mir Hussain Mousavi and its hopes of an underdog victory.
The Revolutionary Guards are one of the pillars of the Islamic establishment and control large military forces as well as a nationwide network of militia volunteers.
The message from the Guards' political chief, Yadollah Javani, appeared to have a dual purpose: to rattle Mousavi's backers just before the polls and to warn that it would not tolerate the formation of a post-election political force under the banner of Mousavi's "green movement" - the signature colour of his campaign.
In a statement on the Guards' website, Javani drew parallels between Mousavi's campaign and the "velvet revolution" that led to the 1989 ouster of the communist government in then-Czechoslovakia.
"There are many indications that some extremist [reformist] groups, have designed a colourful revolution ... using a specific colour for the first time in an election," the statement said.
Calling that a "sign of kicking off a velvet revolution project in the presidential elections," Javani vowed that any "attempt for velvet revolution will be nipped in the bud."
Javani also accused the reformists of planning to claim vote rigging and provoke street violence if Mousavi loses.
Ahmadinejad is believed to have wide support in the Revolutionary Guards and among Iran's ruling clerics, though neither have given public endorsements in a presidential race that has seen the sudden and unexpected rise of Mousavi, who served as prime minister in the 1980s.
Forming two-thirds of the electorates, the majority of the Iranian youths side clearly against Ahmadinejad.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators, who roamed the streets of the city till late in the night over the past two weeks chanted slogans against the current president. They said they will cast their votes for any one who can promise some improvement to the current unbearable situation.
Mousavi seems to be the favourite candidate for youths in this election. Many Iranians expressed their disappointment with the system that excluded hundreds of candidates to run for presidency. The current four are definitely not the best of them.
"The higher committee of presidential election excluded many candidates who appeal more to youth electorates and have the ability to help Iranians more in this economic crisis. Unfortunately, our democracy is still incomplete because it allowed a bunch of men to limit the contests to presidency among four candidates," a computer engineer who requested to be referred to by the name Anny Hashemipak, told Gulf News in a telephone interview from Tehran.
Anny is a 40-year-old woman, who works at a power company in Tehran. She said she would not like to reveal her true identity because she feels that supporters of Ahmadinejad might hurt her.
Anny, who lives in a small apartment in the capital along with her nephew, said working for 22 years in the government did not enable her to have her own apartment in this expensive city.
"People around the world believe that Iranians are rich because of oil, but unfortunately our country is very expensive and unsafe for women ... I am not a youth, but I might give my vote to Mousavi, because we are fed up from Ahmadinejad," she said.
She said a lot of her relatives believe Mousavi is not the best candidate for presidency, but he might be the one who has the best ability to take Iranians out of their miserable living conditions.
Azar K, another working woman in Tehran and a supporter of Mousavi, believes that the government of Ahmadinejad was a disaster for Iran and clouds of war are looming because of his irresponsible leadership.
"In my opinion, the president of my country should not be kind of adventurous. Such attitude by a president can send Iranians to hell. Ahmadinejad cannot let his people suffer while giving huge privileges to some countries just to get their support in his stand against the US," she said.
Azar also said the president's statements about the Holocaust offered Israelis the opportunity to play the role of victims and the results of his public relations campaign against Israel worked against the interests of Palestinians in particular and Muslims in general.
Ahmad Sepehar, 33, an Iranian engineer, said Mousavi has the best chance among other candidates to stand against Ahmadinejad, saying that he had experience as a leader in the war with Iraq.
Ahmad said he was not confident in Mousavi's ability to fulfil the promises he gave during the election campaign, because the president of Iran can not implement his policies unless being endorsed by the supreme leader.
"The conclusion to this is the one who is elected by people has someone on top of him who has spiritual power and can veto his decisions. In Mousavi's case we will have at least someone who is willing to initiate the plan that helps Iranians to overcome their economic difficulties. Otherwise, Iran will collapse even without the interference of the US," he said.
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