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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians ask: Where is my vote?'
2009-06-16
TEHRAN, Iran -- Violence flared across Iran on Monday with the first reported death from anti-government riots, as hundreds of thousands of defiant Tehranis took to the streets demanding "Where is my vote?" after Friday's disputed presidential election.

The unrest, possibly Iran's worst political crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution, confounded predictions that the regime would be able to contain the fallout from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's unexpected claim of a landslide victory. Iranians who were feeding the Twitter online social-networking service reported clashes between Mousavi supporters and security forces and the Basij militia in Shiraz, Mashad, Babool and Tabriz.

Unknown gunmen killed one person and wounded others in Azadi (Freedom) Square, the Associated Press reported, citing a photographer who witnessed the shooting. Photos posted on the Internet showed that at least four people had been shot, and there were reports that clashes were spreading across Tehran and raging in other cities, including Isfahan.

Dramatic video aired by Britain's Channel 4 television showed a crowd throwing rocks and setting fire to a building that belonged to the pro-government Basij militia. A helmeted militiaman on the roof fired his AK-47 rifle into the air before retreating from a shower of stones. As flames licked from the building's windows, the militiaman returned to the front of the roof and fired multiple shots into the screaming crowd. The video showed at least one young man, reportedly dead, being carried from the scene.

The bulk of the protests - held despite warnings by the Interior Ministry - were peaceful, with anti-Ahmadinejad crowds honking car horns, flashing victory signs and shouting "Allahu Akbar!" - "God is great" - from rooftops well after dark.

The size and persistence of the protests appear to have caught the regime off guard, and it's vacillated between using force to put them down and trying to appease the mostly young protesters. Special anti-riot forces and motorcycle-riding Basiji militiamen have beaten and chased Mousavi supporters through the streets. At times, though, the protesters have fought back.

Thousands of Tehranis streamed down wide boulevards on foot and motorbike into Enghelab (Revolution) Square anyway, as riot police in helmets and shields stood immobile on the square's rim. Fashionably dressed women wore signs that read, "Where is my vote?"
Posted by:Steve White

#9  Unfortunately, the faux-president owns the military and civil service.

In the end, the election will go the way the ayatollahs want it to, Black Bart Sliter4867, because the game was rigged from the start, when the ayatollahs picked which potential candidates they would permit to run. The election was neither free nor fair, just like every election since 1979. What happens after the final results are announced is the interesting bit.
Posted by: trailing wife    2009-06-16 22:48  

#8  There is now first hand, perpetrator evidence that proves that ballots were NOT counted. I watched BOTH major presidential debates on the Live Station feed, and both the clerical and semi-secular candidates slaughtered Ahmadinejad. He was accused of misuse of over 1 billion dollars, and refused to account for same. The Ayatollah's candidate - former speaker of the Iran parliament - blasted Ahmadinejad for lying about the angelic presence during his UN speech.

There is no freaking way that anyone could win a free election in face of a refusal to either account for cooking the economic books or to apologize for blasphemy. Ahmadinejad is under effective condemnation for blasphemy.

Unfortunately, the faux-president owns the military and civil service. And, in spite of clerical opposition, they have now fatwahed against use of protests for "counter-revolutionary" purposes. They prefer the status quo to free elections. Civil war is certain. It will likely start in the ethnic areas to the east, and gain Persian support. And there are professional soldiers who would like to have a go at the Basij parasites, who strike break for the Ayatollah' family companies.
Posted by: Black Bart Sliter4867   2009-06-16 17:12  

#7  The Basijis [volunteer militia] are very organised, armed with batons and sticks and they basically attack without warning".

Yes, we saw it as it happened.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2009-06-16 16:49  

#6  You'd think that idiots on motorcycles would be easy meat for organized street fighters. Get a long stick & three or four friends with long sticks, and play pike & pole-vault on any of these thugs who dare to charge you. A motorcycle isn't a horse, and a couple guys on a motorcycle isn't the cavalry. They're dynamically unstable and easily smashed up by somebody with a hoe or shovel who's willing to stand his ground.
Posted by: Mitch H.   2009-06-16 13:50  

#5  I saw where current Iran government plans to have a "limited vote re-count." They are going to count the ones that go their way and dump the rest.
Posted by: JohnQC   2009-06-16 12:32  

#4  The ferment is beyond Teheran

From the Beeb:

"Ahmed is an unemployed graduate in Shiraz who has joined a pro-Mousavi rally every day since the results came out. He told the BBC the authorities were shipping in guards from outside the city to deal with the protests.

"The Basijis [volunteer militia] are very organised, armed with batons and sticks and they basically attack without warning".

He said the mood of the crowd had been volatile: like "Sparks of fire under the dust".

Ali, also from Shiraz, emailed the BBC Have Your Say to describe his experiences at Monday's rally in his city.

There were lots of police on motorcycles attacking people

Ladan, Shiraz
He said tear gas was fired and then "Police on motorcycles attacked the protesters". He described taking refuge in someone's house but police broke windows to follow them in.

"They also arrested three young men and attacked another two. They started to hit them with batons ruthlessly. We could see blood running down their heads".

Ladan got in touch with BBC Persian TV: "My sister and her friends went to Molla Sadra Street in Shiraz. There were lots of guards and police on motorcycles attacking people."

Azarnoush in Shiraz tweeted: "Students are being surrounded in Shiraz University, civil police is in fight with people".

People have emailed the BBC from across Iran, in Yazd, Rasht, Esfahan and Tabriz to describe pro-Mousavi rallies. "

Posted by: liberal hawk   2009-06-16 10:37  

#3  Today, the government of Iran, dispatched a contingent of mullahs to consult with Senator-elect Al Franken on recount and political recovery techniques, after it was learned that the actual electoral count for Amenajenadad was three votes.
Posted by: Zenobia Gleaper7752   2009-06-16 06:12  

#2  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8102400.stm

holding a recount for what its worth , in contested areas .

No dount will just adjust figures slightly and then continue down the dinnerjacket path of enlightenment .. /facepalm
Posted by: Big Foot    2009-06-16 04:21  

#1  "Where is my vote?" > On a separate note, 'tis weirdly and mysteriously the same questionne' mainstream Amerikans + World should be asking as per OWG-NWO = GLOBAL GOVT.!
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2009-06-16 02:38  

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