Iranian opposition leader: Violence and intimidation do not lead to unity

Mehdi Karroubi

Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi responded to the Supreme Leader’s call for “unity” saying: “Unity cannot be achieved through threats and pressure.”

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei told a group of Basij university students last week that “keeping unity, solidarity and sympathy in society and avoiding all forms of differences and gaps is highly vital at this moment of time.”

Without referring to the Leader, Karroubi says: “Unity cannot be achieved with violence and pressure, with incarcerations and long imprisonments, with insults and disrespect toward senior Shiite leaders, with threats and intimidations, with shutting down newspapers and with banning the activity of political organizations.”

In the post-election protests to the alleged fraud in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last June, over four thousand people were arrested.

In the past year, the government has cracked down on protesters by arresting tens of journalists as well as human rights and political activists and at the same time closing down over ten newspapers and publications.

According to the opposition over 70 people were killed in police confrontations with street protesters. At least three post-election detainees died under torture while in detention, according to state statistics.

Two top reformist organizations, Islamic Iran Participation Front and Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution of Iran were also banned from political activity last month.

Mehdi Karroubi added that the path to unity can only be found through compensating the victims of post-election violence, releasing political prisoners, confronting the perpetrators of post-election violence against the people, restoring freedom of the press, of speech as well as the activity of political parties, tolerating dissent and returning to the provisions of the constitution.