Iranian leaders' rally call depends on government permit

MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi

Iranian opposition leaders, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi announced that if the government issues a permit for peaceful demonstrations on June 12, they invite people to join widespread demonstrations on this day.

The two opposition leaders who met yesterday (Sunday) called for the clarification of the events of the past year and the “promotion of the Green Movement.”

Kaleme website reports that the two leaders announced that if no permit is issued for June 12 demonstrations, the movement will continue peacefully by using social networking to disseminate information.

Many peaceful demonstrations staged by election protesters in the past year was confronted with violence by the Islamic Republic security forces causing the death of tens of people.

Mousavi and Karroubi emphasized that violent reactions to the Green Movement are “ineffectual.” They maintained that the spread of “green waves of information” despite all the limitations reveals that “force and violence” are ineffectual against people’s rightful demands.

They reiterated people’s demands as their human rights as stipulated in the constitution, free elections, freedom of the press and the release of all political prisoners.

Mousavi and Karroubi condemned the attacks carried out against people by plain clothes forces and the abuse of prisoners such a Iranian filmmaker, Mohammad Nourizad in prison. They added: “To avoid such illegal and un-Islamic methods, we must defend all groups and individuals without consideration of their opinions and their charges.”

The two leaders also discussed the “decline” of national industries, “growth of unemployment” and the “dire situation” of employees, workers and teachers as the “most important economic problems of the country.”

They criticized government economic policies saying: “The government should cease making excuses, take control of unemployment and inflation, and support the national economy.”

The two leaders also called on Iran’s national broadcasting, Seda va Sima to stop its “one-sided and monopolistic policies” in order to achieve greater unity within the society.