Iranian opposition calls for end to crackdown
Iran's top three reformist leaders called for an end to the heavy crackdown launched by the ruling clerics following the disputed June 12 presidential election and demanded the release of all those detained in the post-election turmoil, an opposition Web site reported yesterday.
Defeated presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi as well as Iran's popular former president Mohammad Khatami met late Monday to discuss the harsh crackdown against street protests over election results the opposition says were fraudulent.
The crackdown unleashed by the Guards, police and pro-government Basij militia killed 20 protesters and injured hundreds more. Since then, there have been no major street protests for more than a week. Mousavi on Monday vowed to continue his campaign against a government he said lacks legitimacy - but hinted he was dropping the strategy of protests and moving to political action, including forming a party.
The pro-reform camp says Mousavi was the real winner in the election and accuses Iran's ruling system of faking results that showed a victory for incumbent hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Karroubi came last in the official results. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, has publicly sided with Ahmadinejad.
More than 1,000 people were arrested during the post-election crackdown, according to police, who say most of them have been released. Still, dozens of protesters, pro-reform politicians and journalists are still being held, and arrests have continued.
"The useless wave of arrests must end immediately and all those detained without committing the least crimes must be released. Also, security and military forces must return to their bases," Mousavi, Karroubi and Khatami said in a statement after their meeting.
They deplored "savage and shocking attacks" by pro-government Basij militia against protesters.
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