標題:Violence flares as Ahmadinejad wins Iran vote
TEHRAN, Iran - Riot police battled with protesters Saturday as officials
announced that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won a landslide election
victory. His opponent denounced the results as "treason".
The violence broke out as Iran's interior minister said that Ahmadinejad had
gained 62.6 percent of the vote.
NBC News reported "violent clashes" between rock-throwing protesters and
police in the center of Tehran.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered after a statement posted online by
pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi urged his supporters to resist a
"governance of lie and dictatorship."
NBC News reported that some of the protesters shouted "Death to the dictator,
death to Ahmadinejad" and "We want our votes back".
Several injuries were reported after police officers hit protesters with
batons. Witnesses said some demonstrators appeared to have been arrested.
Black-clad police also gathered around key government buildings and mobile
phone text messaging was blocked in an apparent attempt to stifle one of the
main communication tools by Mousavi's movement.
Earlier, outside the Interior Ministry, which directed Friday's voting,
security forces set up a cordon. The results had flowed quickly after polls
closed showing the hard-line president with a comfortable lead — defying
expectations of a nail-biter showdown following a month of fierce campaigning
and bringing immediate charges of vote rigging by Mousavi.
'I won't surrender'
Ahmadinejad had the apparent backing of the ruling theocracy, which holds
near-total power and would have the ability to put the election results into
a temporary limbo.
Mousavi, who became the hero of a powerful youth-driven movement, had not
made a public address or issued messages since declaring himself the true
victor moments after polls closed and accusing authorities of "manipulating"
the vote.
"I'm warning that I won't surrender to this manipulation," said the Mousavi
statement on the Web on Saturday. "The outcome of what we've seen from the
performance of officials ... is nothing but shaking the pillars of the
Islamic Republic of Iran sacred system and governance of lie and
dictatorship."
He warned "people won't respect those who take power through fraud" and
called the decision to announce Ahmadinejad winner of the election was a
"treason to the votes of the people."
The headline on one of Mousavi's Web sites: "I wont give in to this dangerous
manipulation." Mousavi and key aides could not be reached by phone.
It was even unclear how many Iranians were even aware of Mousavi's claims of
fraud. Communications disruptions began in the later hours of voting Friday —
suggesting an information clampdown. State television and radio only
broadcast the Interior Ministry's vote count and not Mousavi's midnight press
conference.
Nationwide, the text messaging system remained down Saturday and several
pro-Mousavi Web sites were blocked or difficult to access. Text messaging is
frequently used by many Iranians — especially young Mousavi supporters — to
spread election news.
Based on ministry figures, around 75 percent of the country's 46.2 million
eligible voters went to the polls, many of which were jammed packed Friday
with people waiting several hours to cast their ballots.
At a press conference, Mousavi declared himself "definitely the winner" based
on "all indications from all over Iran." He accused the government of
"manipulating the people's vote" to keep Ahmadinejad in power and suggested
the reformist camp would stand up to challenge the results.
"It is our duty to defend people's votes. There is no turning back," Mousavi
said, alleging widespread irregularities.
Mousavi's backers were stunned at Interior Ministry's results after
widespread predictions of a close race — or even a slight edge to Mousavi.
"Many Iranians went to the people because they wanted to bring change. Almost
everybody I know voted for Mousavi but Ahmadinejad is being declared the
winner. The government announcement is nothing but widespread fraud. It is
very, very disappointing. I'll never ever again vote in Iran," said Mousavi
supporter Nasser Amiri, a hospital clerk in Tehran.
Bringing any showdown into the streets would certainly face a swift backlash
from security forces. The political chief of the powerful Revolutionary Guard
cautioned Wednesday it would crush any "revolution" against the Islamic
regime by Mousavi's "green movement" — the signature color of his campaign
and the new banner for reformists seeking wider liberties at home and a
gentler face for Iran abroad.
The Revolutionary Guard is the military wing directly under control of the
ruling clerics and has vast influence in every corner of the country through
a network of volunteer militias.
In Tehran, several Ahmadinejad supporters cruised the streets waving Iranian
flags out of their car windows and shouting "Mousavi is dead!"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31238321/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/page/2/
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