Protesters march in Iran against Ahmadinejad

Thursday, 18 June 2009 11:25 Fidelis Angela Tan

More than 100,000 men and women marched through the streets of Tehran on the 5^th day of continuing protests against the results of Iran's June 12 elections which put hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad up for another term.

The march was called for by opposition head Mir Hossein Mousavi, who according to the official count lost to Ahmadinejad by almost 30 percent despite the pro-reform leader's wide support base among Iran's young urban voters. Mousavi has called the elections a “shameful fraud.”

A report put forward by Mousavi spokesperson and filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf together with 'Persepolis' graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi before the European parliament claims that Mousavi had actually won the elections with 13.3 million votes, while Ahnmadinejad only had 5.5 million.

Despite the outrage among Iranians, Mousavi said they were “after a peaceful rally to protest the unhealthy trend of the elections and realize our goal of annulling the election results.”

Ahmadinejad enjoys the support of theocratic Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has called on the public to stand behind the state's decision. The opposition rallies have been observed to be statements not just against Ahmandinejad, but against the almost limitless control of Iran's cleric leaders over the state.

Under the Ayatollah's command are the militaristic Revolutionary Guard who have been working to stifle the constant stream of reports from Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and blogs about what is really happening on the streets of Tehran. Mainstream journalists have been confined to their hotel rooms.