Demonstrations

Million Man March in Iran?

Huge crowds at public mourning.

This can’t make the Ayatollah Khamenei happy: Hundreds of thousands of Iranians defied his orders on Thursday, joining Mir Hossein Mousavi in order to mourn demonstrators who have been killed since Friday’s election. According to the Associated Press, “The massive protest openly defied Iran's supreme leader, despite a government attempt to placate Mousavi and his supporters by inviting the reformist and two other candidates who ran against hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a meeting with the country's main electoral authority.” The demonstrators carried black candles and flowers and wore green wristbands. A Mousavi website estimated that the crowd exceeded one million. Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, issued a conciliatory statement, scaling back earlier criticisms of the protestors. "I only addressed those who rioted, set fires and attacked people," the statement said. "Every single Iranian is valuable. The government is at everyone's service. We like everyone."