Repression

Iran Anniversary Protests Canceled

Opposition: Tehran smothering dissent.

Iranian opposition leaders say rulers in Tehran are smothering freedom, as officials warned against scheduled protests on the anniversary of Iran’s disputed presidential election, which was followed a year ago by violent protests closely watched around the world. Mir-Hossein Mousavi said Saturday that Iran had abandoned the 1979 revolution’s principles by "shutting peoples' mouths, banning the media, holding elections as we saw last year and filling the prisons" with political opponents. He and Mehdi Karroubi called off demonstrations, fearing for participants’ safety, though many protests have been held in the months before the anniversary. On Saturday, there were no reports of protests, though on Friday night, shouts of “Allahu Akbar,” an opposition rallying cry, were heard from the rooftops of Tehran. Mousavi urged supporters to keep the opposition movement alive through social networking.