Iran Opposition Locks Arms Against Crackdown

Posted on Jul 7, 2009

Flickr / .faramarz

On Tuesday, Iran’s three leading opposition candidates formed a unified front to demand an end to the government’s harsh crackdown on protesters and the release of all those detained. Meanwhile, in a radio interview, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad thanked Iranians for re-electing him and promised to “dedicate [his] entire existence to serving the people.”

AP:

Iran’s top three reformist leaders sought to rekindle their opposition movement, demanding that ruling clerics end the heavy “security atmosphere” imposed after the disputed presidential election and free those detained in the unrest, according to an opposition Web site Tuesday.

Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims to have won the June 12 election, is struggling for a way to channel the widespread discontent which erupted into huge street protests over alleged fraud in the vote but which has since been shattered by the harsh crackdown by police, Revolutionary Guards and Basij militia.

Mousavi hinted on Monday that he may move away from the tactic of protests and create a political party to work in what he called “a legal framework.” Late Monday, he met with the top other top stars of the reform movement — former president Mohammad Khatami and Mahdi Karroubi, another election candidate — in a show of unity.

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