Top Iran leader urges diverse unity

Thursday, 18 June 2009 10:40 Prensa Latina
Print PDF

Iran, June 17 (Prensa Latina) The Iranian supreme leader Ayatolah Ali Khamenei called on Wednesday to preserve the Islamic Republic''s unity during talks with representatives of the four candidates from the presidential elections.
Khamenei welcomed delegates of the four candidates for the elections on June 12 and urged them to end the political violence and protests unleashed after the vote results were announced, when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected.
The demonstrations in Tehran by hundreds of followers of ex Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the main contender defeated by Ahmadinejad, resulted in seven deaths, disturbances and disasters in the three most recent days.
Members of the Guardian Council, a constitutional entity in charge of the elections, of the Interior Ministry, the National Audit Authority and of the electoral propaganda commission attended the meeting with the Islamic spiritual leader.
In an atmosphere called friendly by the local media, Khamenei highlighted the mass participation of the citizenry, estimated at 40 million voters, and stressed the importance of respect and support for the Islamic system, "despite different political attitudes."
The mass participation was "an honor to the Islamic system and all voters with different political attitudes share this great event, which is a symbol of national unity and dignity, and commitment to protecting this unity," remarked the supreme leader.
He warned that the friendly atmosphere that prevailed before the elections "should not turn into an atmosphere of confrontation and enmity," and recalled that "a regulation accepted in democracy establishes that the majority should govern, but that does not mean to originate enmity."
He exhorted to defend all the objections to the electoral process through legal channels and urged the Guardian Council and the Interior Minister "to investigate the complaints thoroughly, so that no doubt remains."
"If it is necessary, the votes in some electoral centers should be counted in the presence of the presidential candidates' representatives," Khamenei ordered, and requested that winners and losers be patient and careful with their behaviors.
The Iranian supreme leader asserted that the demonstrators of the recent days "are not followers of any candidate, but they oppose the Islamic system and only create social tension."
The authorities called to withdraw from the Internet all the material that incites tension and according to some reports, they blocked web pages, blogs and other digital materials.

< Prev   Next >
Related news items:
Newer news items:
Older news items: