Posted on 05/28/2004 3:29:22 AM PDT by F14 Pilot
TEHRAN -- In a display of anti-U.S. anger not seen in parliament for years, Iran's conservative-dominated legislature chanted "Death to America" and hardliners clashed with reformists yesterday in the first day of the house's new session. The tensions signalled a tough year ahead for President Mohammad Khatami, after fellow reformists lost control of the parliament in contentious February elections. The ballot was boycotted by reformists and largely spurned by voters because the hard-line Guardian Council disqualified thousands of reformist candidates.
In a speech to legislators, reformist Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari accused the clerics of the Guardian Council of acting without justification when it barred candidates from running in the election.
A number of conservative legislators shouted in protest, and, in a bid to end the bickering, hardline legislator Mahdi Kouchakzadeh asked parliament to condemn the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
"To attract the attention of everybody to what is our main task, I invite you to pray for the devastation of the American belligerent occupiers," he said.
Fellow conservatives responded by chanting "Death to America."
It was a sign of how much the new parliament, in which conservatives hold about 180 of 290 seats, differs from the previous one, dominated by reformists. Before, only a few would have shouted anti-American slogans.
With the election, the reformists lost an important forum for challenging hardline policies and supporting Khatami's foundering campaign to ease social and political restrictions. His term as president is in its final year.
Reformists had promoted political freedoms and the lifting of restrictions imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution. But the clerical establishment saw these moves as undermining the principles of the revolution. It used its control of bodies such as the Guardian Council, which vets legislation and electoral candidates, to thwart reforms.
Khatami, who watched the shouting and chanting in silence, later called for tolerance.
"Through respect and avoiding tension, while taking the country's supreme interests into consideration, we can demonstrate co-operation," Khatami said.
Later, Khatami told reporters he remains critical of the way elections were conducted. "Preparations for elections were not appropriate. Our protest still stands," he said.
Khatami said in February the elections were not democratic but that his government was holding them because it had been ordered to do so by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
We may see death to mullahs soon. I certainly hope so.
is it me or have things over there have gone outright weird?
Oh, no...you mean the nazis in Iran don't like us?! What have we done? How can we fix it? If we just pull out of Iraq I'm sure they will love just as much as they did before we came to rain down our atrocities in their promised land.
They secretly wish that Republicans were denied the vote.
i 2ND THAT MOTION! EASILY!
Ah yes, the "Death to America" Chant... number one on the charts in Iran since 1979.
is it me or have things over there have gone outright weird?
It has always been this way over there. It's just that we now have the technology to witness the weirdness with.
Sryia-Iran which one will be first?
The media loves using the "c-word" when referring to Islamists. How about saying the "Islamist-dominated legislature?"
A couple 2000lb JDAMs on target would go a long way toward "reforming" the mullets in Iran. Why not do it like we did in Tom Clancy's book "Clear and Present Danger"? Craft the JDAMs from cellulose and other "biodegradable" materials, launch from Iraqi airspace guided by GPS. Then, let's hear again about "Death to America"...LOL.
I'll second that
"times havent got more violent,they have just become more televised-Marilyn Manson"
im well aware everyone on FR probably hates him but despite the extremness of him,he was right there,
I would prefer a well placed nuke. That would get the attention of more than just these vermin. We need to send a strong message. We need to start playing for keeps.
Disgusting sandmaggots.
There is no difference between this Mullah or that one. They are all the same.
Mullah is the symbol of Islam.
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