Election protesters threatened with "homelessness"

Ayatollah Janati

Tehran Friday’s prayer was a throng of warnings to elections protesters who have used every opportunity to demonstrate and express their protest to Ahmadinejad’s government which they believe stands on the shoulders of a fraudulently elected president.

Ayatollah Janati, a staunch hardliner led Tehran’s Friday prayers reminding the crowd of what became of the members of People’s Mojahedin of Iran, the opposition group which was heavily suppressed in the first years of the Islamic Republic in Iran and went on to continue their struggles against the Islamic Republic from within Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war.

Ayatollah Janati warned protesters that “fighting the system” will “cost them heavily” and result in their “homelessness.”

A considerable group of People’s Mojahedin ended up staying on in Iraq and living in a camp which used to be under US jurisdiction. The camp is now under threats from the current Iraqi government that wants to deport the inhabitants to Iran.

Ayatollah Janati emphasized that “those who betray the Revolution and the system will face retribution.”

Numerous People’s Mojahedin members were executed and sentenced to heavy prison terms in the first decade of the Islamic Republic.

Ayatollah Janati accused protesters of ties to the US and maintained that certain people who used to be followers of Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Revolution, have now joined “the enemy’s front.”

MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the two disputing candidates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election both had close ties to Ayatollah Khomeini. They maintain that the current policies of the government are in complete contradiction of the leader of the Revolution’s teaching and demand a return to the provisions of the constitution.

Ayatollah Janati also criticized opposition’s objections to Basij’s role in recent crackdown on protesters. Opposition forces cite Ayatollah Khomeini’s direction and the constitution’s provision that the armed forces are not allowed to interfere in political affairs.

Basij militia is a volunteer force under the supervision of the Revolutionary Guards. Ayatollah Janati claimed: “How can Muslims be indifferent to issues such as the elections and protecting the country?”

In conclusion Ayatollah Janati also warned students to act in a way that the “martyrs” would be pleased with them and not the US.

Numerous university groups and activists have announced that on December 7, National Students Day, they will re-affirm their protests to the “fraud” in the elections. Iranian universities nationwide have seen numerous protests against Ahmadinejad government in the past months.