Spring Break
Groups contest Iranian election
Omkar Baxi
Issue date: 7/3/09 Section: News
Ahmadinejad has enjoyed a close relationship with Khamenei, sparking popular suspicions that his re-election may have been rigged. Despite the president's limited powers, analysts have argued that the protests are particularly important since they indicate a rising Iranian discontent with the current regime, according to The Economist.
"[The protests] reveal significant divisions within the Guardian Council and other bodies under the Supreme Leader," Michael Sullivan, a professor of history and politics at Drexel University, said. "The president is a significant position but he is a front man for deeper forces [and the protests indicate deeper conflict] similar to how Bush and Gore represented divisions within the Supreme Court."
According to The Economist, the current Iranian government has tried to quell protests by deploying the baseej, an Islamic militia. Amateur videos and accounts from Iran have shown the militia as a brutal police force cracking down on the protestors.
President Barack Obama released a public statement on June 20 stating, "The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching … We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights."
"I agree that the United States should not be involved in the Iranian election - Iran is a sovereign state. However, I think our government was slow in reacting - we should have condemned the civil rights atrocities sooner and more emphatically," Hess said.
However, Sullivan disagreed, stating "The world, and especially the United States … cannot have reacted any differently than it has - with general expressions of regret for violence and death. This 'crisis' in Iran, within the ruling class, will probably take a year or more to work itself out, and the U.S. would do best to stay out of it. Iran is no threat to us … and we ought to let its internal politics work itself out."
"[The protests] reveal significant divisions within the Guardian Council and other bodies under the Supreme Leader," Michael Sullivan, a professor of history and politics at Drexel University, said. "The president is a significant position but he is a front man for deeper forces [and the protests indicate deeper conflict] similar to how Bush and Gore represented divisions within the Supreme Court."
According to The Economist, the current Iranian government has tried to quell protests by deploying the baseej, an Islamic militia. Amateur videos and accounts from Iran have shown the militia as a brutal police force cracking down on the protestors.
President Barack Obama released a public statement on June 20 stating, "The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching … We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights."
"I agree that the United States should not be involved in the Iranian election - Iran is a sovereign state. However, I think our government was slow in reacting - we should have condemned the civil rights atrocities sooner and more emphatically," Hess said.
However, Sullivan disagreed, stating "The world, and especially the United States … cannot have reacted any differently than it has - with general expressions of regret for violence and death. This 'crisis' in Iran, within the ruling class, will probably take a year or more to work itself out, and the U.S. would do best to stay out of it. Iran is no threat to us … and we ought to let its internal politics work itself out."
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