Iranian Rally Leads to Violence

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On September 18, thousands of opposition supporters came to blows with Iranian security forces at a mass rally sponsored by the Mahmoud Ahmedinejad-led government. The supporters of the opposition held up signs in favor of the former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who lost the controversy-filled June presidential election to Ahmedinejad.

Ahmedinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had both warned supporters of the opposition that any demonstrations would not be tolerated. The Islamic Republic threatened that there would be a crackdown on any opposition at the annual rally. The clash between the two sides is viewed a clear defiance against the orders of the sitting President and the Islamic Republic, whose authority has come into question since the disputed June election.

Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets on the Islamic Republic’s annual al-Quds day rally. The yearly assembly is held on the final Friday of Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini established the day as an annual international day of support for all Muslims to support Palestinians against the state of Israel.

The rally began peacefully, but tensions escalated as the march continued. Over one hundred thousand Iranians took the streets in Tehran for the yearly rally. Opposition supporters used the day to stage their first government protest in two months. The clash between the two sides led to multiple arrests and the use of violence by both sides. Opposition supporters threw stones and Iranian police used tear gas.

Reports have come through saying that Moussavi and former President Mohammad Khatami, another opposition leader, were attacked when the clash when opposition protesters clashed with government forces. It is alleged that attempts to beat former President Khatami after his turban was knocked off were stopped by opposition supporters. According to reports, the former President was not hurt during the day of clashes. Witnesses have come forward to say that opposition supporters held hardliners back from Moussavi as he attempted to get away in a car.

Ahmedinejad also used Friday’s rally in order to repeat his famous claims that the Holocaust was a myth. The Iranian President alleged that it was used as a “false pretext” to create the state of Israel and claimed that it was both a national and religious duty for Iranians to confront the “Zionist regime.” Despite his strong comments about Israel, Ahmednejad’s problems in his own country remain as chants of “resign” could be heard from the crowd.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iran Opposition Chiefs Attacked as Mass Protests Hit Regime – 18 September 2009

Al Jazeera – Iranians Rally on ‘al-Quds Day’ – 18 September 2009

BBC – Clashes Erupt at Iran Mass Rally – 18 September 2009

New York Times – Despite Warning, Thousands Rally in Iran – 18 September 2009

Author: Impunity Watch Archive