Iran: Much ado about nothing in kerfuffle over Karroubi remarks
Los Angeles Times / Borzou Daragahi
26-Jan-2010 (6 comments)

A brouhaha kicked up by journalists over comments by opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi may be put to rest after the cleric-politician today issued an unambiguous denunciation of the disputed June 12 elections and subsequent crackdown.

"The more we go ahead, the more I'm convinced the election was massively rigged," Karroubi said, according to his news website Sahamnews.org (in Persian). "I get new information every day, and it is regrettable to see certain officials tampered with people's votes in this way."

In the meeting with supporters, he later added: "I say it firmly that I'll never compromise on the nation's rights, notably the votes they cast in the ballot boxes. I'll stand by the nation up to the end and I'll try my best to remove the hurdles to a free and fair election."

Earlier this week a hard-line Iranian journalist quoted Karroubi as saying he had accepted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the leader of Iran's current government because Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had so ordained it.

Some news outlets (perhaps eager to get the Iran story back into the news cycle after the Haiti disaster) rushed to interpret the secondhand remarks as explosive proof that Karroubi had somehow changed his stance on Iran's current domestic political crisis.

"Karroubi had not budged at all," one Tehran analyst told the Times. "Karroubi said that the government is the government of the system. So it does not imply he has recognized it. Unfortunately... >>>

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yolanda

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by yolanda on Wed Jan 27, 2010 11:07 AM PST

Hi Mouse,

    Thank you for the clarification. Wow! Both sides welcomed Karroubi's comments...we will see what happens next.

thanks,

 


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Anonymouse

"whatever" u want me to say, it won't make a difference to ppl

by Anonymouse on Wed Jan 27, 2010 07:32 AM PST

This was in response to Khamanei's speech earlier where he asked Khavass (political elite) to join him and abandon other stuff like protests and siding with protestors.

So apparently there was an interview and in it Karoubi had said that even though I'm convinced that there was fraud and the more I hear the more convinced I get, since Khamenei has asked khavass to join him, so ok whatever. In reality I'll have no choice but to try and defend the just causes and protests against mistreatment of political prisoners, etc.

The important part is that both sides, regime supporters and some anti-Islam opposition welcomed Karoubi's giving in and predicted many things only to have their predictions flushed down the toilet the very next day ;-) 

Everything is sacred.


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yolanda

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by yolanda on Wed Jan 27, 2010 07:15 AM PST

Hi Mouse,

     There is a big difference between "whatever" and "recognize Khamenei and AN" unless "whatever" means Khamenei can fill the blanks for Karroubi and put words in Karroubi's mouth...

thanks,

 


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Anonymouse

Yolanda Khamanei asked Karoubi to join him & he said whatever!

by Anonymouse on Wed Jan 27, 2010 06:45 AM PST

Everything is sacred.


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yolanda

.......

by yolanda on Wed Jan 27, 2010 06:33 AM PST

I don't know what exactly happened! Did IRI take words of Karroubi's son out of context or IRI is trying to divide the Green movement before 22 Bahman? I have not heard any reaction or comments from Mousavi......


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gitdoun ver.2.0

Allahu-Alam

by gitdoun ver.2.0 on Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:22 PM PST

I hope he hasn't sold out and gone back to kissing khamenei's hand.  this news was uplifting and made me very happy.  ---but still God knows best what is going on in the Karroubi camp.


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