Iran Elections 2009:
Fraudulent President Gets Sworn In
The 'Supreme Leader' of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has formally endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President on Monday, and today he was sworn in during a live tv broadcast to the nation, so it all looks like its done and dusted, but is it? With all of the main opposition voices remaining un-supportive of the Supreme Leaders decision, it seems that there is still life left in the protest. Two former presidents, Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, have stayed away from the ceremony, and the two main opposition candidates, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, are still publicly contesting the results. This is a big move against such a controlling regime, and it seems that Ahmadinejad may not survive this episode afterall. This public reaction by some of the countries leading figures, to the 'ceremony', shows that there is still a glimmer of hope for the people of Iran.
August.05.2009 - George Valentine Corr, Blatant News Editor
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THOSE WHO STAYED AWAY
It was not who turned up, but who stayed away, which will be the main talking point in family homes across Iran, and across the rest of the world for that matter. Khatami and Rafsanjani both also missed the endorsement ceremony on Monday, as did Mousavi and Karroubi, and this will cause problems for the Supreme Leader in the long-run, as it completely questions his hardline stance, and his wisdom and standing in the process. Some say that you shouldn't mix religion with politics, and this would seem to be the case in this instance. We may be witnessing the dying days of an Iranian 'Supreme Leader' who holds so much sway over the country, as a large proportion of the population are still defying his ruling, by disagreeing with it alone, nevermind the many who continue to protest, and who risk their own safety in doing so. At this point it really doesn't matter what message the Iranian government wants to send out, with all of those high-profile figures staying away from the ceremony, we all get the real message here.
THE CHARGES AGAINST THE PRESIDENT
We are all familiar with the main crux of this argument. The elections were rigged to some extent atleast, as the official numbers do not add up, and it is presumed that votes were taken off the other contenders totals, and added to Ahmadinejad's. But when you look at his last few years in office you also see other incidents which would lead to his people being distrustful of him. He was heavily criticised at home for both of his remarks regarding the holocaust not taking place, and that Israel should be wiped off the map. While he has tackled corruption, he has been vilified for awarding contracts to companies with which he is associated, and he has been accused of favouritism, in awarding positions in government to friends who do not have the correct knowledge or experience for the positions in question. He has also proclaimed that he invented an 'earthquake saferoom' system, along with two guys, Industry Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian and Mousa Mazloum, who have both been convicted of this fraud this year, but the president was not even taken to court. There are lots more controversies - mainly involving religious law and doctrine - and to round things off, some of the opposition groups are now calling for an anti-Ahmadinejad movement to take place, and they are calling it calling it 'a national alliance against fascism'.
ENOUGH BLOODSHED
There have been 30 confirmed deaths due to the protests against the official election results, and thankfully it has not progressed out of control in that sense, but it is still very difficult to call the outcome of the situation, with both sides digging their heels in. A compromise of some sort would seem the most obvious solution, but would the opposition take any deal that allowed Ahmadinejad to stay in power? It is hard to tell, but if this is a slow turnaround of power that we are witnessing, it is a welcome relief from what has come before for Iran. The bloodshed of past 'revolutions' has been extreme, and we now know that it was foreign governments' involvement which brought those up a notch. This remarkable line from Barack Obama's Cairo speech speaks volumes... "In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government". This time maybe the foreign powers are finding it harder to become involved. Let's hope for the sake of the people of Iran that we are witnessing something which will be determined only by the entire population of Iran. I may be wrong, but my best guess would be a new - and much more open - election in the next 6 months, due to the ongoing pressure being exerted on Ali Khamenei. That would be the fairest outcome and there is still a chance of that happening if the Iranian reception towards this weeks 'ceremonies' is anything to go by.
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