Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei warns opposition ahead of key anniversary
| Istanbul, Turkey
Iran鈥檚 hard-line leadership warned the opposition movement against serving as 鈥渟oldiers of the bullying powers鈥� as the one-year anniversary looms next week of Iran鈥檚 disputed presidential election.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei聽told Iranians Friday to be watchful for opponents who had strayed from the path of the 1979 Islamic revolution and the directives of one of the Islamic Republic鈥檚 most sacred icons, its late founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 鈥� known affectionately among followers as 鈥淚mam," one of the highest ranks in Shiite Islam.
Widespread rejection of the official results of the June 12 vote, which installed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second term with an unlikely landslide, prompted cries of fraud and weeks of bloody street protests that killed scores and turned into the worst political crisis in Iran in three decades.
Khamenei warned that opposition protests were a 鈥渟candal鈥� and 鈥渘ot acceptable,鈥� and that finally, Iranian unity behind the regime had 鈥渟howed such great power it dazzled the whole world.鈥�
聽鈥淭he followers of the Imam, and those who do not approve of the Imam鈥檚 path and find it wrong, are easily distinguishable,鈥� Mr. Khamanei declared on Friday to tens of thousands of Iranians as they marked the 21st year since Mr. Khomeini鈥檚 death at his mausoleum south of Tehran. State-run TV said 鈥渕illions鈥� of Iranians turned out on Friday to mourn Khomeini, but the live footage of the event appeared to show tens of thousands both inside and around the shrine compound.
Khamenei accused opposition leaders, all of them former top office holders for many years, of betraying the revolution, the ideals of Khomeini, and Islamic teachings.
聽鈥淵ou cannot find yourself following the Imam鈥檚 path but at the same time be in cahoots with those who rise against the ideas of the Imam. That鈥檚 just not possible,鈥� Khamenei said, according to the translation of the live broadcast on state-run PressTV.
聽鈥淵ou cannot accept [support of] the US, UK, CIA, Mossad 鈥� and be among their ranks, and then say you are also a follower of the late Imam鈥攖hat is not acceptable,鈥� said Khamenei.
聽The statements come as opposition leaders attempt to stage next week a mass rally to mark the first anniversary of the election, an event that in its aftermath brought millions of Iranians onto the streets in unprecedented protest weeks last year.
聽Security forces have said they will prevent any illegal gatherings. Last February, they succeeded with heavy police and militia deployments in preventing almost all opposition turnout on the streets despite a universal call to protest from opposition leaders to mark the 31st anniversary of the revolution.
聽Mr. Ahmadinejad, who spoke before Khamenei at the mausoleum, was even more pointed in his criticism of the opposition. The firebrand arch-conservative said Iranian believers were alert to all treachery against the regime, and would crush the opposition.
鈥淲hoever deviates from the path of the Imam, despite whatever power he holds, he will be thrown away by the strong hand of the people,鈥� Ahmadinejad said.
Despite the controversy over fraud in the election, Ahmadinejad has repeatedly declared that Iran鈥檚 democracy is perfect, asserting as he did on Friday that Iran has 鈥渢he most democratic government in the world and last year we witnessed it.鈥�
Ahmadinejad said the opposition were 鈥渃laiming they were followers of Khomeini鈥檚 pure path,鈥� but had fallen in with monarchists and Western powers that were the 鈥渨orst enemies鈥� of Khomeini.
鈥淎ccording to the Imam, preserving the regime is of the highest importance,鈥� the president said. 鈥淚 am sorry to say that those who are tarnishing the reputation of the Islamic Republic cannot claim to be followers of the Imam.鈥�
Taking the podium after Ahmadinejad was the grandson of Khomeini himself, cleric Hassan Khomeini, the caretaker of the shrine. But he has spoken out against hard-line rule in Iran, and was shouted down by elements of the crowd 鈥� some of them chanting 鈥淒eath to [opposition leader Mir Hossein] Mousavi!鈥� 鈥� and was not able to speak for more than a few minutes.
鈥淭he dignity of the anniversary does not deserve what this small group is doing,鈥� he said, referring to those who disrupted his speech with chanting. The ILNA news agency reported that other members of the Khomeini family left in protest after the incident, according to the Associated Press.
聽Leaflets showing grandson Khomeini at past events alongside opposition leaders were reportedly handed out by hard-liners at the event. During Khamenei鈥檚 subsequent speech, state TV showed him sitting with his head in his hands in apparent dismay.
As the crowd shouted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" 鈥� though without the passion of past performances 鈥� Khamenei spent time explaining that even going back to the first famous Shiite imams of the 7th century, a positive past record was no substitute for current poor performance.
He sought to explain how former regime stalwarts strayed from the true path of the revolution, and should be held to account today. Clear in his sights were opposition leaders Mr. Mousavi, prime minister for most of the 1980s who was close to Khomeini, former two-time parliament speaker and presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, and former two-time president Mohammad Khatami.
鈥淚f the present status of an individual [does not reflect the good work of] the past, then we should ignore that past,鈥� Khamenei said. He noted that some followers of Khomeini had traveled with him from exile in Paris to Tehran in 1979, but were later executed because their changing ideas forced Khomeini to 鈥減ush them from him.鈥�
鈥淪o the yardstick for passing judgment is the present situation,鈥� Khamenei stated.
The supreme leader has declared that rejecting the results of the June 2009 vote is the 鈥渂iggest crime.鈥� Key opposition and reformist figures have been given stiff prison sentences, and a handful linked to the protests have been executed. Top officials have charged that US, British, and Israeli hands were behind street demonstrations that aimed to topple the regime in a 鈥渧elvet revolution.鈥�
Khamenei nevertheless has pardoned or commuted sentences in recent days for 81 detainees jailed during protests. The official IRNA news agency reported that they had repented for their actions.
In a letter requesting the pardons, Iran鈥檚 judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani wrote: 鈥淲hen the nature of the unrest was revealed and the plots hatched by the enemies became crystal clear, a number of these 鈥� individuals came to their senses, regretted their deeds, repented, and are now requesting to be pardoned.鈥�
Fars News Agency, which is linked to Iran鈥檚 Revolutionary Guard, said opposition leader Mr. Karroubi was heckled on Thursday night by hard-liners chanting 鈥淒eath to the hypocrites!鈥� when he went to the shrine to pay his respects to Khomeini. The founder of the revolution had appointed him to serve as the head of the powerful martyr鈥檚 foundation during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
鈥淭hey speak in a way as if the Imam belongs to them only and others have broken path with the Imam,鈥� Karroubi later said on his website Sahamnews, according to Agence France-Presse.
鈥淚 am worried about the Islamic aspect of the regime,鈥� the cleric added about the political contest between religious rule and democracy in Iran. 鈥淭hey have ruined the republic side of the regime in the name of Islam.鈥�
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