Non-Subscriber Extract
Internal bleeding - Domestic resistance to Iran's regime
By Bernd Kaussler
25 January 2010
Supporters of Iranian reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi protest in Tehran on 13 June 2009, one day after the disputed election. (PA)
More than 30 years since the 1979 revolution, Iran's 'Ashura Riots' in late December 2009 indicate a watershed event for the stability of the Islamic Republic.
The violent clashes between security forces and protesters during the Shia holiday of Ashura, in which up to 15 people were killed, largely reflected the same religious images and tactics used in 1979. The riots were confirmation that the Iranian regime is now confronted by a significant popular movement demanding democratic change.
These demonstrations occurred more than six months after the controversial June 2009 elections, which sparked nationwide anti-government protests and indicated that the Islamic Republic of Iran was experiencing its greatest crisis of legitimacy in three decades. At the elite level, political heavyweights in the opposition continue to publicly confront the government over what they claim to be fraudulent presidential elections and subsequent extensive human rights violations. Despite violently enforced restrictions on demonstrations and mass arrests, protests in the streets and on university campuses have developed into a popular movement, largely independent from the reformist faction, which is challenging the foundations of the Islamic Republic.