By DPA,
Hamburg : The Iranian opposition Thursday cancelled an anti-government protest rally scheduled to take place on June 12, the anniversary of last year’s controversial presidential election, opposition websites reported.
The two main opposition leaders, Mir-Hossein Moussavi and Mehr Karroubi, said in a joint statement published on the websites that the Interior Ministry had not even accepted the request by the opposition to hold rallies.
Moussavi, leader of the Green Movement, and Karroubi, head of the reformist party Etemad Melli /National Trust), had consequently cancelled the rally in order not to endanger the lives of their supporters.
Last summer’s presidential election led to Ahmadinejad’s re-election. But the result was overshadowed by allegations of fraud and was followed by mass street protests.
Without permission from the Interior Ministry, all political gatherings are considered illegal and police are authorised to intervene.
Besides the two main opposition groups, eight others had applied to hold a peaceful rally on June 12. Their requests were also rejected.
Violence related to protests in the second half of last year led to the deaths of more than 30 dissidents – the opposition claimed the death toll to be over 80 – and the arrests of thousands of demonstrators.
More than 100 protesters – including journalists, artists and former reform-oriented ministers and parliamentary deputies – received long jail terms. Two monarchists were executed. Six other
dissidents are currently on death row.