A
protestor is taken away after attending a rally against alleged
vote
fraud in Tehran, Sunday [Der Spiegel, Germany]
Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran
President Ahmadinejad:
Election a 'Blow to World Oppressors'
Has
Iran's now-disputed election been a 'blow' to the United States and its allies?
According to the logic of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, all resistance to the
election results are due to 'the enemy," also known as the 'Global
Arrogance." Iran's state-controlled Kayhan, quotes
the incumbent Iranian president as saying in part: 'The 84 percent-plus
participation by eligible voters is a major blow to the oppressive system
ruling the world.'
Islamic
Republic of Iran - Kayhan - Home Page (English)
TEHRAN: As a sea of flag-waving
supporters packed into central Tehran on Sunday, incumbent President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said that the result of the presidential election was a blow to the
"oppressive system" ruling the world. Later at his first press
conference since winning Friday's vote, President Ahmadinejad insisted that
Tehran's nuclear program is an issue of the past.
"The 84 percent-plus
participation by eligible voters is a major blow to the oppressive system
ruling the world," the president, dismissing the raging protests seen against
his re-election erupted Saturday.
He said the election was like
a "football match," adding that the loser should just "let it go."
"The fact that some
protest and question the results is natural. They thought they would win and
were preparing for that, so it makes them upset," he said, referring to
supporters of Mir-Hussein Mousavi, his main challenger who was defeated in
Friday's poll.
"Elections in Iran are
the cleanest," the president said. "Today, we should appreciate the
great triumph of the people of Iran against the unified front of the world
arrogance ... and the psychological war launched by the enemy."
Ahmadinejad won the election
with more than 24 million (62.63%) out of 39,165,191 votes counted, Interior
Minister Sadeq Mahsouli announced on Saturday.
Ahmadinejad hailed the poll
as "a great victory," saying that because of the nation's large
turnout, the nation disappointed its enemies. "We saw the participation of
about 40 million people in a totally free election," Ahmadinejad said. The
president also criticized what he called the Western-led media hype against him
in the run-up to the voting.
"This is a great victory
at a time when the entire material, political and propaganda facilities [of the
West] outside and sometimes inside Iran, were totally mobilized against the
people, imposing the heaviest pressure and psychological warfare against the
people of Iran. Yet the Iranians with complete vigilance, chose the path to the
future rather than a return to the past," he added.
The president went on to
describe plans for his second term and said the nation seeks justice and
rejects discrimination, adding that he's committed to fighting corruption. He
hailed the massive election turnout which led to his landslide victory, while
insisting that his re-election was not a fraud.
"In the election on Friday,
the Iranian people showed that they are resolute and committed to the
great ideals of the Islamic Revolution," Ahmadinejad said.
Meanwhile, police said they
have rounded up a total of 170 people connected to the post-election protests.
Tehran's deputy police chief
Ahmad Reza Radan said the arrested included the "masterminds" of the
riots as well as politicians, and warned that the security services would deal "firmly"
with the protests.
Defying
a government ban, Iranian presidential candidate Mir
Hossein
Mousavi joined a huge rally against the result of last
week's
election, June 15.
CLICK HERE OR CLICK PHOTO TO WATCH BBC REPORT.
Among those arrested by
police were around fifteen reform leaders and supporters of Ahmadinejad's defeated
rivals. Reformist sources said that several have since been released.
One Iranian principlist [hardliner]
said all unauthorized demonstrations were banned, and even before Friday's
election, the Revolutionary Guard Corps. had warned that it would put any such "velvet
revolution" down.
Leader of the Islamic
Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters
of state including foreign and nuclear policy, urged the country to unite
behind Ahmadinejad.
Mehdi Chamran, speaker of the
Tehran city council and a prominent principlist, said U.S. President Obama's "motto
of change" had no place in Iran.
"Iran's identity doesn't
allow for a blind imitation. Velvet and colored revolutions don't work among
our people," he told the Hamshahri newspaper.
Obama has called for dialogue
with Iran after three decades of severed ties, which is a departure from the approach
of his predecessor George W. Bush. Bush once labeled Iran part of an "axis
of evil."
[Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US June 15, 6:27pm]
