Israel Matzav

Iranian opposition calls for demonstrations on Monday

The Iranian opposition has announced that it will hold demonstrations against the government in Iran on Monday in 35 locations throughout the country.

The Iranian opposition is defying a government warning and calling on people to stage a rally in solidarity with Tunisian and Egyptian protesters, a reformist website said Sunday.

Kaleme.com published a statement by a council of opposition groups inviting people to attend a peaceful rally on Monday.

The opposition statement also accused the government of double-standards, by voicing support for Egyptian and Tunisian protesters while refusing to issue permission for Iranian political activists to stage a peaceful demonstration.

Last week, authorities rejected the opposition's request to stage the February 14 rally and warned of repercussions if it does.

The opposition says that it does not need a permit for the demonstrations anyway.

Mehdi Alikhani Sadr, a senior Interior Ministry official, declared that the request by Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi for a Monday march permit is "illegal." He did not explain how the request can be illegal when the permit is not even required -- Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution stipulates that peaceful gatherings and demonstrations are allowed.

New software has been made available to facilitate access to the websites that have been blocked in Iran, allowing Internet users to get the latest news about the Monday marches and spread the word. It can be found via sadrah.com.

The youth branch of the Islamic Iran Participation Front has issued a statement supporting the call to march on Monday and asking people to take part.

A commander of special forces during the Iran-Iraq War has called on young people to participate in the Monday marches. He writes, "I feel as though the 25 Bahman demonstrations have exactly the same symbolic meaning for our youth, the young Iranian lions and lionesses, that the war with Iraq had for us, except that this time the enemy is not Iraq, but Zahhak," the mythical Persian emperor who is the symbol of the tyrannical ruler.

There are many more details here. It should be an interesting day on Monday.

Labels: Iranian elections

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:09 AM