Presidential Mir Hossein Mousavi has called the election a "charade", comrades in and outside of Iran have said it was a farce from the very beginning. All the candidates were loyal to the Islamic Republic, and have their hands drenched in blood. The imperialists will obviously be disappointed that the pro Western candidate seems to have been cheated out of victory. The way you win an election in Iran is by winning the support of the supreme leader not at the ballot box.
The Iranian state prepared for mass protests, shutting down SMS access, blocking websites such as Facebook and the Guardian as well as deploying in excess of 100,000 security personnel. Pictures and videos are coming in from across Tehran and beyond of Mousavi supporters taking to the streets and being attacked by the police as well as members of the Basij. To complicate matters on the street, Ahmadinejad supporters have also come out celebrating and goading Mousavi supporters. From what I have heard so far, four people have been killed, many have been arrested and the police and Hezbollah are daring people to come out on to the street so that they can crack down further. Thousands have come out onto the streets as the below video shows, yet without clear leadership there can be no hope of any progress. The main slogan of the demonstrators is 'death to this government'.
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This is how revolutions start. The masses cannot go on living in the old way and are prepared to die for the new way.
It is not true that there is no difference between the two candidates. They are both men of the regime certainly, but one of them Mousavi embodied the masses hopes for democratic change, to such an extent indeed that the regime blatantly fixed the election.
Socialists in Iran should fight to force Mousavi to break with the regime. Demand a constituent assembly based on workers and peasants councils. Demand that the army break with the mullahs and open the arsenals to the people. And when Mousavi fails to do so, as he surely will, do it themselves. And make the revolution permanent, only the destruction of capitalism can ensure the victory of the democratic revolution.
The Latest reports show that this has gone beyond just calls for new elections. The protesters are now shouting "Death to the Supreme Leader". Rafsanjani's children are reported to have been arrested, and the State is stepping up the repression.
I have latest videos of demonstrations in Isfahan and Shiraz, including a student shot dead.
Iran
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