Protesters in Iran lament tragedy as forces vow to crack down

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 23, 2009 | by William J. Kole

Mousavi, who wants the election results annulled and a new vote held, vowed to keep up the rallies in defiance of Khamenei, who holds ultimate power in Iran. On his Web site Monday, he called on supporters to turn on their car lights as a sign of protest and warned of danger ahead.

Although Mousavi pledged to stand by the protesters "at all times," he said he would "never allow anybody's life to be endangered because of my actions" and called for pursuing fraud claims through an independent board.

Mousavi, a former prime minister, is a longtime supporter of the Islamic government and was himself labeled a hard-liner during the 1979 revolution. Reflecting his divided loyalties, he called the Basij and security forces "our brothers" and "protectors of our revolution and regime" -- a possible attempt to make sure his supporters don't go overboard and challenge the essence of Iran's system of limited democracy constrained by Shiite clerics.

For nearly every Iranian -- even those who were not yet born in 1979 -- the Islamic Revolution is a watershed moment for the nation's psyche. Its supporters see it as Iran's break from foreign dominance and the dawn of its self-declared role as the world's champion of Islam. Yet others, including the many who fled the country, see it ushering in an era of clerical rule that brought international isolation and stifled freedoms at home.

Mousavi represents a middle ground. He supports the Islamic system but claims the early aspirations of the revolution -- for elected officials to set the tone and clerics in a more advisory capacity -- have been hijacked by leaders who put their will over the people's.

"Mousavi wants to change the system, but he doesn't want to overthrow the system. He wants to make it more flexible and more responsive to the people," said Ali Nader, an Iran specialist for the RAND Corp. think tank.

He said the Guard's crackdown threat was no surprise.

"They won't let these protests grow -- this was the way the shah was brought down" in 1979, Nader said. But, he added: "Even if the protests peter out, you can expect a strong opposition movement in Iran."

The Guard, too, may be treading cautiously, Nader said. "If they do crack down too harshly, they risk their legitimacy and popular support," he said.

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Associated Press Writers Sebastian Abbot and Brian Murphy in Cairo, and AP staff members in Iran contributed to this report.