Source: VOA; photos by ISNA & Mehr News Agency
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned Israel and
the US in a rally marking the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day. Security was tight
and coincided with reports that the house of opposition leader Mahdi Karroubi
was under siege by pro-government militia members.
Iranian government TV showed crowds of demonstrators chanting "Death to America"
and "Death to Israel" for the celebration of Jerusalem Day, an annual event to
express support for Palestinians and to decry the existence of Israel.
Preparations for this year's event began well in advance, with government
leaders urging a large turnout. Last year, opposition protesters overwhelmed
parts of the demonstration, chanting slogans against the Iranian government and
condemning repression of the popular Green Movement.
Government leaders were shown attending the event, surrounded by dozens of
supporters. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has been locked in a struggle
recently with adversaries inside the government, claimed that Jerusalem Day had
strong popular support:
He says 75 million Iranians turned out for Jerusalem Day, today, and that
hundreds of millions of others turned out to mark the event across the world. He
adds that billions of people would turn out to mark Jerusalem Day if it were not
for what he called the pressures of arrogant world powers and their threats of
arrest and suppression.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking in Tehran
Government TV used video taken by helicopter to try to show that there was a
large turnout for the demonstration. Opposition supporters countered the claims
with their own videos which appear to show a sparse turnout and a heavy security
presence.
Friday, security forces deployed across Tehran, in an apparent bid to keep
opposition demonstrators off the streets. Dozens of pro-government Basij
militiamen on motorcycles surrounded the house of opposition leader Mehdi
Karroubi, according to his news site Sahamnews.
Karroubi's home has been under siege for several days, with reports of violence
and vandalism in the area. Karroubi's website also reported that Molotov
cocktails were thrown at his building and that his top bodyguard had been badly
beaten.
Iranian-born analyst Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington
insists that pro-government forces have been mounting an ongoing campaign to
de-legitimize the opposition Green Movement, as well as its top leaders:
"We've seen in the last few days how they've tried to keep Mehdi Karroubi away,
trying to say Mr. Karroubi, Mr. Khatami, Mr. Mousavi, you are not part of
whatever it is that you used to be part of," said Alex Vatanka. "Now, you are
going to the dark side. You're not with the repressed Palestinians and you're
not with the repressed Iranians."
Jerusalem Day began in the early 1980s after a call by Islamic Republic founder
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to demonstrate against Israeli occupation of
Jerusalem.
Alex Vatanka notes that this year's rally carries added significance for the
Iranian government, because it was eclipsed in recent months by Turkey's
spearheading of the failed aid flotilla to Gaza. "Iran," he argues, "wants to
put itself at the forefront as defender of the most cherished Islamic cause it
can find, which is Palestine."
... Payvand News - 09/04/10 ... --
