Photo: AFP/Getty
0715 GMT: A different start today, as we look back to 12 June 2009, when Iranians were voting for a President --- we begin our two weeks of "Remember Iran" coverage with thoughts from James Miller and reposts of our preview of the election and our light-hearted look at how Western media was presenting the campaign.
Our colleague Dave Siavashi, whose Iran News Now was launched to cover the events, sends this entry from 14 June --- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gives a press conference to mark his supposed re-election:
Christiane Amanpour of CNN says, “You said you are President of all Iranians....[Challenger Mir Hossein] Mousavi, can you guarantee his safety and why have opposition officials been arrested?”Ahmadinejad’s reply: “The situation is very good in Iran. It is the most stable country in the world. There is rule of law in this country … All the people are equal … So some people are becoming excited and having confrontations with the police force. This is like someone coming out of a stadium and getting into confrontations with the police… they will be fined.”She and he get into an actual verbal scuffle.He angrily replied, “I answered your question! It’s like someone who does a traffic violation! He will be fined as if he violated the traffic rules … Of course I am not happy with someone who violates the traffic rules.”
Mousavi, as well as his wife Zahra Rahnavard and fellow candidate Mehdi Karroubi, have been under strict house arrest since February 2011, and numerous political figures and activists are in prison today. Siavashi reflects, "I remember when he made that comment about not being happy with someone who violates the traffic rules... It was pretty sinister."
Posted via email from lissping
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