In a scene recalling the 1979 Revolution, tens of thousands of black-clad mourners made their way silently through the streets of Tehran June 18, commemorating the lives of those slain in six straight days of protests since the announcement of President Ahmedinajad's election victory. At Imam Khomeini square, the huge plaza named for the founder of the revolution, where they were joined by defeated opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, the crowd broke into chants of "Death to the dictator!" and "Where are our votes?" Mousavi, addressing the crowd, repeated his call for new elections. (London Times [2], June 18)
Earlier this week, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, demanded that Mousavi stand beside him as he uses Friday prayers at Tehran University June 19 to call for national unity. An army of Basiji militiamen is expected to be bussed in to support the Supreme Leader. The demand was made at a meeting with representatives of all three candidates who claim that the poll was rigged. (London Times [3], June 19)
See our last post on Iran [4].
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