Iran's leader could order arrest of opposition leaders 15FEB11

THE HYPOCRISY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN IS NOT SURPRISING, nor is the violence they used yet again against non-violent protesters calling for freedom and democracy. Surly the hypocrisy is not lost on the people of Iran who heard their own government encourage the people of Egypt in their revolution and then resorted to violence and mass arrest and now issue the threat of death of opposition leaders for demanding the same as the people of Egypt. I hope the people of Iran don't loose their courage and resolve to bring freedom and democracy to Iran....the time has come for change for their nation and they have the moral authority to make it happen.


By Thomas Erdbrink
Tuesday, February 15, 2011; 5:44 PM


TEHRAN - Iranian lawmakers and clerics on Tuesday called on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to order the arrest and swift trial of the country's two most prominent opposition leaders, a day after the biggest protests here in more than a year.
Dozens of lawmakers led a spontaneous demonstration in parliament, pumping their fists in the air while demanding the execution of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been under house arrest since last week.
"We believe the people have lost their patience and demand capital punishment," more than 200 lawmakers said in a statement.
Last year, Iran's leaders tolerated a flurry of statements by the two former presidential challengers turned opposition leaders, and in turn, neither called for any demonstrations. But the anti-government protest that rocked the center of Tehran on Monday signaled an end of that unspoken arrangement, analysts say.
"The efforts of the Supreme Leader were focused on trying to bring Mousavi and Karroubi back into the folds of the revolution," Kazem Jalali, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the parliament, told the semiofficial Fars News agency. "But these persons have purged themselves from the system. The parliament demands the strongest punishment for Mousavi and Karroubi."
Although government supporters have often called for both men to be arrested, it is rare for higher officials to demand their execution.
Ahmad Khatami, an influential Friday prayer leader appointed by Khamenei, joined in by saying the opposition leaders were guilty of "moharebeh," a Shiite legal term that means "waging war against god" and carries the death sentence in Iran.
The paramilitary Basij organization, which has been instrumental in cracking down on the protests, also issued a a statement asking authorities to "swiftly change their decision."
The demands pose a dilemma for Supreme leader Khamenei, who has final say in all important state matters. During the past year, he effectively prevented Karroubi and Mousavi from being arrested by suggesting on several occasions that the two men must admit their mistakes and return to the embrace of Iran's Islamic system.
Following his guidance, members of Iran's National Security Council, which runs many day to day affairs and is headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, concluded that their arrest or punishment would turn them into living martyrs for the opposition movement and could incite new protests, many here say.
But the mood has dramatically changed since Monday's demonstration, in which two people were killed, according to Fars. Although opposition Web sites have said the men were protesters, state organizations reported that they were members of the Basij and were killed by the opposition.
A state-backed funeral procession is planned on Wednesday for one of the men, named Sal-e Jhale, a 26-year-old ethnic Kurd, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
"The use of firearms in these riots is a declaration of armed war against the Iranian nation ... this should be seen by the officials," the Basij organization said in a statement posted online by Fars.
Although there were no protests on Tuesday, the Internet remains restricted.
Monday's events have increased demands for legal action against Karroubi and Mousavi, said Amir Mohebbian, an analyst close to Iran's ruling class. "The leader might now change his view on their arrest, although nothing is certain just yet," he said.
Ahmadinejad, speaking on state television during a scheduled live broadcast, said the demonstrators and leaders had planned to tarnish the "brilliance" of the Iranian nation.
"The Iranian nation is a shining sun. They [the demonstrators] threw some dust towards the sun," he said. "I want to address those who planned and masterminded this protest. They should know that the dust will certainly return into their own eyes."
erdbrinkt@washpost.com
Special correspondent Kay Armin Serjoie contributed to this report.

Anti-government protests spread to Iran 14FEB11

PROTEST for freedom and democracy are spreading across the Maghreb, the Middle East and the Gulf. The protesters have been peaceful and non-violent, the governments they seek to replace respond with violence. This from the Washington Post on today's protest in Tehran, Iran...where the repressive theocracy encouraged protest in Egypt and Tunisia but attacked non-violent marchers in Iran with tear gas, beatings and arrest. The rest of the Islamic world is witness to the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime and their "religious" leadership.....
By Thomas Erdbrink
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, February 14, 2011; 12:22 PM


TEHRAN - Crowds of demonstrators battled security forces armed with tear gas and batons during a surprisingly large anti-government protest in the Iranian capital Monday that drew inspiration from the recent popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Dodging clouds of tear gas fired by police and pro-government militiamen, the protesters marched down a central boulevard and shouted slogans such as "Death to the dictator," "We are all together" and "Down with Taliban, in Cairo and Tehran."
Witnesses at several positions along the route said vast throngs of people could be seen marching from Enghelab (Revolution) Square toward Azadi (Freedom) Square, overwhelming police efforts to stop them.
Dozens of protesters were arrested for participating in the banned rally, an opposition Web site reported. A similar demonstration, clashes and arrests were reported in the central Iranian city of Isfahan.
The gathering in Tehran appeared to be the most significant anti-government protest here since security forces cracked down on a series of massive demonstrations in 2009. The size of the crowd was difficult to estimate. Some witnesses said they believed it exceeded 200,000. The Associated Press said tens of thousands of people demonstrated.
In any case, the government seemed to have been taken by surprise by the large numbers of protesters. Security forces shot dozens of tear gas grenades at demonstrators who at times attacked members of the pro-government paramilitary Basij forces.
Police, who seemed to be mobilized in smaller numbers than usual, tried to disperse the protesters using batons and tear gas. A man was seen coming to the rescue of his wife after a helmeted officer hit her on the legs.
In the afternoon, as the crowds grew, the police were seen retreating in some areas. By evening, the protesters seemed ready to disperse. Internet service had been disrupted in Tehran, so it was difficult to ascertain the next steps for organizers, who had relied on Web sites and social media to launch Monday's rally.
The roads near Tohid Square in western Tehran were lined with rocks, and steel street barriers were erected blockades against groups of Basij members.
After sunset, trash cans were set on fire as members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps drove past on their signature motorcycles and shot some bystanders with tear gas and paint guns. Some people in the crowd handed out masks that offered some protection from the stinging fumes. Others lit small fires that also provided relief.
Some demonstrators held green ribbons, the color of the opposition movement that sprang to life after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed election victory in 2009.
After the election, the movement staged widespread protests. Those protests were eventually stifled by security forces, including the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij militia, which are fiercely loyal to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Two people were hanged and scores of opposition supporters jailed. The last mass demonstration was in December 2009.
The 2009 protests were led in part by presidential challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi, whose defeat by Ahmadinejad at the polls was widely questioned.
Mousavi also called for Monday's demonstration, saying people should rally in support of the protesters in Egypt and Tunisia who had succeeded in toppling their governments.
Although Iran's government has praised the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings, officials refused to grant a permit for a gathering in Iran.
A statement on a Mousavi-affiliated Web site in advance of the rally warned that any violence directed at the protesters by security forces would be an international "disgrace" and would undermine the government's public support for the Egyptian and Tunisian protesters.
"Do not allow the infiltrating agents of those seeking violence to derail the demonstrations with their aggressive behavior under any circumstances," the statement posted on Kalameh.com said. "The noble people of Iran should participate in the peaceful demonstration, with calm and resolve."
On Saturday, the White House called on the Iranian government to allow its people to assemble.
"The Iranian government has declared illegal for Iranians what it claimed was noble for Egyptians," national security adviser Thomas E. Donilon said in a statement.