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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Mousavi seeks permission to mourn slain protestors |
| 2009-07-27 |
| [Khaleej Times] TEHRAN - Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have applied for interior ministry permission to hold a mourning ceremony for demonstrators killed in protests over last month's election. "We request permission to hold a ceremony to commemorate the 40th day after the deaths of our citizens who lost their lives following the start of the saddening events," the two leaders said in a letter to Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli. The website of Etemad Melli, the political party of Karroubi, said the ceremony was to be held on Thursday. The ISNA report said the organisers planned to hold the ceremony in central Tehran's Grand Mosalla, an open prayer venue where religious ceremonies are often held. "The ceremony will have no speeches. It will consist only of recitals from the Koran and participants will be asked to pay their respects in silence," the letter carried by ISNA said. Iran witnessed massive street protests over the June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Official reports said at least 20 people were killed and scores wounded. Following the violence that erupted during the protests, authorities banned gatherings in the capital, especially those planned by opposition groups. Despite the ban, defiant protestors have managed to stage demonstrations but on a much smaller scale, although thousands took to the streets on July 9 on the anniversary of bloody student unrest in 1999. The call from the two leaders came a day after they joined reformist former president Mohmmad Khatami in urging Iran's clerics to intervene to prevent "oppression" by the authorities against detained protestors. Hundreds of demonstrators, political activists and journalists have been arrested in the post-election crackdown by security forces. "We want you, the top clerics, to remind the authorities of the harmful outcome of not abiding by the law and prevent them from spreading oppression in the Islamic republic," the three said a joint statement released on Saturday. They accused the regime of "savagery" and said its "interrogation methods are a reminder of the dark era of the Shah" Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution. The reformist Etemad newspaper reported that two protestors have died in custody. Mousavi and Karroubi, who stood against Ahmadinejad in the June poll, have rejected the legitimacy of his new government and called for a re-run of the election. |
| Posted by:Fred |