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Fierce Clashes As Police Disperse Protesters In Iranian Capital
Radio Free Europe
(RFE/RL) -- After fierce clashes in Iran 's capital, opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi says the Islamic Republic must be purged of what he
called lies and dishonesty.
Musavi's Internet statement comes after his supporters continued protests against last week's presidential election won by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
Police reportedly used water cannon and tear gas against thousands of people who gathered in downtown Tehran on June 20. Gunshots were heard in some parts of the city.
Reports say thousands of riot police and Basij militia tried to isolate the groups of protesters and prevent them from getting to Enghelab (Revolution) Square, where those protesting against the
results of the June 12 vote were planning to hold their rally (see amateur video footage).
"They surrounded people and started beating them with full force, I haven't seen such violence
from special forces and plainclothes agents in recent years," one eyewitness told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
"People sat on the ground but they came with their motorbikes. [Police officers] didn't care if it's a
woman, child, or man, they were beating everyone violently."
Another eyewitness told Radio Farda of seeing security and military forces on the roads outside
Tehran . The police presence is also reported to be heavy in other cities, and there are unconfirmed reports of clashes between protesters and police in the cities of Shiraz , Isfahan , and Mashhad .
Unconfirmed reports also say opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Musavi was seen close to the main Azadi Street , where he was talking to people and saying that he is ready for
martyrdom. Musavi also called for a national strike if he was arrested.
In an earlier statement issued on his website, Musavi has vowed to side with the people and said
that his demand for the cancelation of the election was an undeniable right. He also called on Iran 's leaders to let people protest peacefully and create a "free atmosphere" for people to express
their demands and criticism.
"We are not against the Islamic system and its laws, but against lies and deviations and just want to reform it," Musavi's statement said.
Meanwhile, the semi-official news agencies Fars and Mehr reported that a bomb exploded in Tehran at the mausoleum of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Protests in Tehran
Mehr quoted Iran's deputy police chief for operations, Hossein Sajedinia, as saying a suicide bomber blew himself up at the site, killing himself and wounding at least one other person. State television said two were killed.
The reports could not be independently verified.
Tensions High Ahead Of Planned Rally
Earlier on June 20, Iran 's Security Council had warned Musavi he would "be responsible for the
consequences" of any more protest rallies. The ISNA news agency quoted council head Abbas Mohtaj, who is also deputy interior minister, as sending the warning in a letter to Musavi.
And the semi-official Fars news agency quoted deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan as saying the police would deal with the protests "firmly and with determination."
In a nationwide address on June 19, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered an end to street protests, calling the country's disputed presidential election fair and free of fraud.
Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Mohammad Ali Ayazi, a reformist cleric in the city of Qom , called for peaceful protests to be allowed to prevent dissatisfaction from becoming violent.
More scenes from Tehran
"If [the authorities] are after calm and want that the people's protests to be staged peacefully, the correct way to do this is to let people express their protest peacefully in order to prevent them
from becoming violent," Ayazi said.
Vote-Count Complaints
Also, Iranian state television said the Guardians Council, the country's top vetting body, had
expressed its readiness to randomly recount up to 10 percent of the ballot boxes from the presidential election.
The announcement came as press reports indicated Musavi and Karrubi failed to attend an
extraordinary session of the council on June 20. The two reformist candidates were expected, along with fellow challenger Mohsen Rezai, to discuss more than 600 objections they have filed complaining about the poll.
Official results of the June 12 presidential poll gave President Mahmud Ahmadinejad 63 percent of the vote, compared to 34 percent for his nearest rival, Musavi.
Rights Complaints
Iran has seen massive rallies almost every day since the results were announced a week ago. The London-based human rights group Amnesty International says it believes about 10 people have been killed.
A haze over Tehran .
Over 100 reformists and government critics have been arrested in recent days. The Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has released the names of 20 journalists and
bloggers who have been arrested in the past week.
The group says Iran now ranks alongside China as the world's biggest prison for journalists.
On June 19 Amnesty International said that Khamenei's speech gave "the green light to security forces to violently handle protesters exercising their right to demonstrate and express their views."
Ahmadinejad thanked Khamenei on June 20 for his "helpful comments."
Western Reaction
U.S. President Barack Obama has urged Tehran to "stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people."
"The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost," Obama said in a statement.
Meanwhile, on June 19 the U.S. Congress voted 405 to one to condemn the Iranian authorities' crackdown on demonstrators and government interference with Internet and mobile-phone communications.
And in a statement issued at a European Union summit in Brussels , European leaders said that "the authorities should refrain from the use of force against peaceful demonstrations."
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