Iran: Green Coordination Council calls for demonstrations on 12 June anniversary

WEDNESDAY, 08 JUNE 2011

Payvand.com – Just days ahead of the second anniversary of the 2009 presidential election, the Green Movement has called for fresh demonstrations to demand the release of movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi.

In a statement published on Tuesday, the Coordination Council of the Green Path of Hope, the Green Movement’s most important decision making body, invited Iranians to take part in silent protests on 12 June [1] to mark the second anniversary of the 2009 presidential election which was overshadowed by widespread vote rigging and unprecedented post-election crackdowns.

According to the Council, the main march will commence at 6pm and in “absolute silence” on the pavements of Tehran’s Vali-Asr Avenue. The protest route will stretch from Vanak Square to the important Vali-Asr Square.

The path is reminiscent of the 20-mile “Green Chain” of Mousavi supporters on Vali-Asr avenue during the 2009 presidential race, cutting across regions and class lines.

The Coordination Council of the Green of Hope also called on Green Movement supporters to chant “Allah-O-Akbar” (God is greatest) on rooftops at 10pm on the same day.

“The Council strongly cautions the hardliners in power that holding peaceful protests is a human right in accordance with article 27 of the constitution, and the government has a duty to guarantee the security of the participating citizens. The enforcement of any type of restriction or hostility by the intelligence and security agents as well as the oppressive forces whose links to the authoritarians is undeniable, will bring them nothing but further liability and humiliation on the domestic and international fronts and will expose their untruthfulness and double-standards towards the pro-democracy movements of the region.”

Iran’s rulers have been supporting the pro-democracy uprisings in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen, while at the same time continuously suppressing their own population and siding with the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in his violent clampdowns against demonstrations calling for change.

In its statement, the Council said it would soon release further statements outlining its plans for the coming weeks.

“Protesters will shout these demands with their sealed lips,” the council continued. “The release of movement’s leaders and political prisoners; holding free elections; immediate and effective action for resolving the problem of high prices and unemployment.”

More than a hundred days ago, the leaders of the opposition movement Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi were placed under house arrest after calling on Iranians to demonstrate in solidarity with protesters in the Arab world. The leaders and their spouses have been held under house arrest without any official charge or trial, resulting in the outpouring of worldwide condemnation against their continued captivity.

[1] This day coincides with the 22nd of Khordad in the Iranian calendar.

 

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