Iranian Protesters Maintain Rallies
June 17, 2009
Protesters hit the streets of Tehran again Tuesday to express anger over election results they say were manipulated to keep Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power.
The government has begun cracking down harder on the demonstrations that have turned deadly, while reaction from world leaders remains subdued, CNN reported.
Supporters of moderate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who finished a distant second in Friday's balloting, have been demonstrating in Tehran and other Iranian cities to protest what they said were rigged results. Iran's Guardian Council, which oversees elections, has agreed to recount some ballots, but Mousavi has called for a new election. World leaders have not gone beyond expressing concern about the presidential election and its violent aftermath.
On Tuesday, riot police in Shiraz took demonstrators to jail, sometimes waiting outside hospitals as the detainees were being treated for injuries, CNN said.
Witnesses said pro-Ahmadinejad supporters, armed with bats and batons, rode through Tehran streets in a show of force.
The government on Monday banned foreign news reporters from covering rallies live, saying it could not guarantee the safety of reporters and television crews. The government restricted access to news Web sites and blocked social-networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.
"We are fighting with our lives and the world is just watching," one protester told CNN. "They see how the government is trying to silence us, how they are beating us, but they don't come to our help. It's OK. We will succeed, even if we have to fight alone."
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called upon the country's citizens to back the Islamic republic. CNN reported Kahmenei would deliver a sermon Friday.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
The government has begun cracking down harder on the demonstrations that have turned deadly, while reaction from world leaders remains subdued, CNN reported.
Supporters of moderate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who finished a distant second in Friday's balloting, have been demonstrating in Tehran and other Iranian cities to protest what they said were rigged results. Iran's Guardian Council, which oversees elections, has agreed to recount some ballots, but Mousavi has called for a new election. World leaders have not gone beyond expressing concern about the presidential election and its violent aftermath.
On Tuesday, riot police in Shiraz took demonstrators to jail, sometimes waiting outside hospitals as the detainees were being treated for injuries, CNN said.
Witnesses said pro-Ahmadinejad supporters, armed with bats and batons, rode through Tehran streets in a show of force.
The government on Monday banned foreign news reporters from covering rallies live, saying it could not guarantee the safety of reporters and television crews. The government restricted access to news Web sites and blocked social-networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.
"We are fighting with our lives and the world is just watching," one protester told CNN. "They see how the government is trying to silence us, how they are beating us, but they don't come to our help. It's OK. We will succeed, even if we have to fight alone."
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called upon the country's citizens to back the Islamic republic. CNN reported Kahmenei would deliver a sermon Friday.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.