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Tens of thousands of hard-line government
supporters turned out for state-sponsored rallies Wednesday, some
of them calling for the execution of opposition leaders as Iran's
police chief threatened to show "no mercy" in crushing any new
protests by the pro-reform movement.


      Pro-government rallies were staged in Shiraz, Arak, Qom, Tehran
among other cities. Demonstrators at a rally in Tehran chanted
"Death to Mousavi," a reference to opposition leader Mir Hossein
Mousavi. Some shouted "Rioter hypocrites must be executed" and
held up a banner that read: "We sacrifice our blood for supreme
leader."


      The government gave all civil servants and employees a day off
to attend the rallies and organized buses to transport groups of
schoolchildren and supporters from outlying rural areas to the
protests.


      Hardline cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda called opponents of Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei supporters of Satan.


      "Enemies of the leader, according to the Quran, belong to the
party of Satan," Alamolhoda told demonstrators in Tehran in
comments broadcast on state TV. "Our war in the world is war
against the opponents of the rule of the supreme leader."


      Separately, police chief Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam warned
protesters to stay off the streets or face harsh consequences. At
least eight people were killed in street violence Sunday, the
country's worst unrest since the aftermath of the disputed
presidential election on June 12.


      "In dealing with previous protests, police showed leniency. But
given that these opponents are seeking to topple (the ruling
system), there will be no mercy," Moghaddam said, according to the
official news agency IRNA. "We will take severe action. The era of
tolerance is over. Anyone attending such rallies will be crushed."


      One of those killed Sunday was the nephew of opposition leader
Mir Hossein Mousavi. Iran's deputy police chief said Ali Mousavi
was assassinated by unidentified assailants and not killed by
security forces.


      Ali Mousavi was buried Wednesday in a hastily organized
ceremony. Authorities had taken his body from the hospital earlier
in the week in what was seen as an attempt to prevent the funeral
from turning into another pro-opposition protest.


      The opposition says Ali Mousavi was shot and killed by security
forces. But Iran's deputy police chief, Ahmad Reza Radan, was
quoted by IRNA as saying that the way he was killed suggests he was
assassinated while walking. The New York Times has quoted a family
friend as saying he was run over by a vehicle outside his home in
an assassination.


      The opposition leader and other family members attended the
funeral.


      The police chief said more than 500 protesters who took part in
Sunday's demonstrations have been arrested but the number may be
higher since hardline Basij militiamen and intelligence agents may
have apprehended more people on their own.


      There are increasing fears Mousavi could also be arrested,
following detention of a number of prominent activists and the
sister of Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi.


      The government has also limited the movement of a leading
opposition figure, Mahdi Karroubi, by refusing to protect him when
he leaves his home.


      Karroubi and Mousavi were the two defeated reformist candidates
in the disputed June election, which set off the worst unrest in
Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.


      Authorities are also tightly restricting media coverage of
street rallies, Internet access in the country is sporadic, as are
cell phone and text messaging services.


      Sunday's deadly protests coincided with Ashoura, the most solemn
day of the year for Shiite Muslims. The observance commemorates the
7th-century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam's most beloved
saints, and it conveys a message of sacrifice in the face of
repression.


      Hard-liners are especially furious that some of the protesters
insulted Supreme Leader, casting aside a taboo on personal
criticism of the leader. The government has said the protesters are
a tiny minority, and accused the U.S. and Britain of organizing the
opposition.


      The hard-line criticism has become increasingly vocal, with some
activists threatening to take the law into their own hands.


      The arrests, along with the tough criticism of the U.S. and
Britain, added to rising tensions with the West, which is
threatening to impose tough new sanctions over Iran's suspect
nuclear program and has criticized the violent crackdown on
anti-government protesters.


      On Wednesday the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi
Pillay urged the government to keep security forces from using
excessive force. She said she was "shocked by the upsurge in
deaths, injuries and arrests" and stressed the people have the
right to peacefully protest without being beaten and thrown into
jail.

Gallery

Tens of thousands of hard-line government
supporters turned out for state-sponsored rallies Wednesday, some
of them calling for the execution of opposition leaders as Iran's
police chief threatened to show "no mercy" in crushing any new
protests by the pro-reform movement.


Iran hard-liners back government in mass rallies

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