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IRAN: Ahmadinejad Sworn in Amid Protests

TEHRAN, Aug 6 2009 (IPS) - When incumbent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived at parliament by helicopter to take the presidential oath in front of the members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the setting resembled a country under military rule.

According to reports, nearly 5,000 military personnel, police and plain clothes security and Basij militiamen were present outside the parliament building Wednesday to disperse the thousands who planned to protest Ahmadinejad’s inauguration.

Despite the measure, and the closure of two of the metro stations in the area near parliament, Iranians managed to gather outside the building to protest the inauguration – they were dispersed and several were reportedly arrested.

Ahmadinejad took an oath to uphold the constitution of the Islamic Republic as president despite the fact that key figures such as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts, former President Mohammad Khatami, reformist presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, as well as conservative candidate Mohsen Rezaie were absent from the ceremony.

Nearly 60 reformist members of the parliament as well as some conservative members who had earlier vowed to boycott the event were also absent.

According to Parliament News, the site of the reformist members of the Parliament, approximately 20 persons left the event once Ahmadinejad began his inaugural speech.

The head of the parliament, Ali Larijani, offered a few words of advice for Ahmadinejad – whose reinstatement for a second term as president has faced widespread opposition and protest by the public. In reference to management shortcomings in his first term and his inability to recruit qualified ministers, Larijani advised Ahmadinejad to “devise programs in line with overall national policies, and recruit numerous experienced experts in the task of managing the country.”

Larijani also emphasised that the approval of ministers by the parliament would take into account both their experience as well as their educational backgrounds.

In his inaugural speech, Ahmadinejad remarked that the “Iranian public was not waiting for congratulatory messages on the occasion of [his] inauguration from foreign governments.”

Several European governments had announced that given the unrest in Iran and the dispute over his presidency, they would not send a message of congratulations to Ahmadinejad on his second term. In line with these policies, few ambassadors participated in the inaugural ceremony, sending representatives instead.

Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who was also present at the inaugural ceremony, did not address recent criticisms launched against the judiciary and his leadership of it with respect to recent arrests, substandard and illegal detention centres, and the deaths of some in custody.

Following the inaugural events, sporadic protests and conflicts between Iranians and police were reported throughout Tehran, including in the Grand Bazaar district. Throughout the city and the main squares the heavy presence of police and military, as well as Basiji militia, could be seen well into the evening.

On Monday, too, thousands of protesters hit the streets of Tehran following a ceremony during which Ali Khamenie, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, officially endorsed Ahmadinejad’s presidency.

The ceremony was attended by Shahroudi, Larijani and Rezaie. During this event as well, powerful opposition figures like Hashemi Rafsanjani, Khatami, Mousavi and Karoubi were absent.

Both Mousavi and Karoubi, who have contested the election results, citing fraud, have refused to accept Ahmadinejad’s government as legitimate. In an interview on Tuesday with El Pais, the Spanish newspaper, Karoubi reiterated his and Mousavi’s position on the Jun. 12 elections. Karoubi vowed that he and Mousavi would continue to protest and would not collaborate with the government of Ahmadinejad.

According to Ghalam News, Mousavi, at a meeting with youth supporters Wednesday claimed that continued protests signify that the broad arrests have had little impact on the opposition movement.

“Some believed that if they arrested a group involved in political parties, or those they believed to be leaders of the protests, then protests would die down,” he said. “But the continuation of protests at the national level demonstrates that the arrests have had no impact on this movement and the large networks of citizens who object to illegal developments have not suffered and will continue.”

Over the weekend and leading up to the inaugural ceremonies, Iranian authorities opened a mass trial of individuals arrested in recent weeks. Among the 100 on trial were dozens of prominent reformist figures accused of fomenting a ‘velvet revolution.’ Those on trial appeared in the courtroom clad in prison uniforms and accompanied by police officers, their lawyers conspicuously absent from the proceedings.

It is the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic that former high- ranking officials, including vice presidents and ministers, have been brought to trial in this manner.

According to human rights advocates, those on trial have been denied access to their lawyers for the duration of their time in detention. Many reports have indicated that they were under extreme pressure, being held in solitary confinement with little or no access to their families. Many reports have also claimed that those in prison have been tortured in an effort to extract false confessions, condemning themselves and other reformist leaders.

Among those confessing to past wrongs was the normally jovial former vice president Ali Abtahi, who had lost a considerable amount of weight and looked distressed, as well as Mohammad Atrianfar, a close former aide of Rafsanjani and founder of several reformist newspapers.

The courtroom confessions, which were followed by interviews of the defendants on state television, centred on three main themes: praise for the Leader, denial of election fraud, and involvement in efforts intent on undermining or overthrowing the Islamic state.

According to one political analyst interviewed by IPS, the event was intent on restoring some of the respect that Khamenei had lost as a result of his support for Ahmadinejad, excusing the harsh crackdown following the elections, justifying election results and calming down the country in the days leading up to the inauguration.

“The only thing that we can do is to accept that this was the showing of a scenario devised by the imagination of conservative government forces,” said the analyst. “They were looking to have a couple of people fill in each role in an attempt to complete the pre-devised scenario. It is clear that these individuals were tortured and pressured.”

Hard-line conservatives have also called on the Judiciary to take up the task of trying Mousavi and Khatami.

The recent developments, including the imprisonment and trial of reformists, have created a rift among the political elite of the country that signifies a difficult presidency ahead for Ahmadinejad.

According to an analyst interviewed by IPS, “Ahmadinejad suffers from a serious lack of legitimacy at home. The rift extends to conservatives as well, so the first and major challenge facing Ahmadinejad is the confirmation of his ministers by parliament in the days and weeks ahead. The task may prove difficult.”