Mousavi Threatens to ‘Butcher Republican Aspect of Iran’s System’

Mousavi Threatens to ‘Butcher Republican Aspect of Iran’s System’


20/06/2009 Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi aggressively retorted to Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei’s comments saying he will “butcher the republican aspect of the system”

In a statement posted on his website Kalemeh, Mousavi said his demand to cancel the result of the election was an undeniable right.

"If this huge volume of cheating and changing the votes... which has hurt people's trust is presented as the very evidence of the lack of cheating then it will butcher the republican aspect of the system and the idea that Islam is incompatible with a republic will be proven," Mousavi said.

Imam Khamenei on Friday ruled out any fraud in the June 12 vote.
"The people have chosen whom they wanted…The legal mechanisms in our country do not allow cheating. One may cheat with a thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand votes, but how can one cheat with a margin of 11 million votes?" Imam Khamenei said in a sermon at the Friday prayers."

The defeated candidate also threatened to take riots on the streets to the next level.
"If the people's trust is not matched by protecting their votes or if they are not able to defend their rights in a civil peaceful reaction, there will be dangerous ways ahead," Mousavi said in the statement.

Iranian security forces and the Basijis have been on high alert after an upheaval of riots caused damage to public and private properties. Seven rioters were killed on Wednesday when they tried to storm into a military station to seize weapons.

Mousavi also accused the Guardian Council of being an unreliable side to examine the votes. Votes “should be examined by a reliable committee. The possibility that it can yield a good result must not be dismissed prematurely," he said.

The Council has said it was prepared to conduct a recount of ballots at sites where candidates claim irregularities. It also invited Mousavi, Ahmadinejad and the other two defeated candidates to a meeting to discuss the situation. The meeting should have taken place Saturday; however, Mousavi and Sheikh Mehdi Karroubi did not show up.

Mousavi's supporters also set on fire a building in southern Tehran used by backers of Ahmadinejad, a witness said. Also on Saturday afternoon a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Tehran mausoleum of Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killing himself and wounding three visitors, the official IRNA news agency reported. Some protesters set fire to security forces and Basij members' motorcycles. Ambulances raced through the streets and black smoke rose over the city.
Iranian security forces were using water cannons and tear gas to disperse the rioters and in some cases, fired gun shots in the air.

Tehran authorities have banned gatherings in the city, but defiant pro-Mousavi supporters did not abide by the ban. Tehran Province Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan said that police would crack down on any gathering or protest rally which are being planned by some people. The head of the State Security Council also reiterated a warning to Mousavi that he would be held responsible if he encouraged protests.