Today's Most Popular Video
Jun 22, 2009 10:56 pm US/Central
Good Question: What's Causing Protests In Iran?
(WCCO)
The images from Iran have dominated the headlines since the election more than ten days ago. But what started all of the unrest and is it about more than the election?
"This is not a surprise to me and this has been building for some 30 years," said Iraj Bashiri, Ph.D., a native of Iran and a professor at the University of Minnesota.
Iraq has a modern history of unrest dating to the 1953 coup where U.S. and British governments (by way of the CIA and the British spy agency) replaced the government of a Prime Minister with an all-powerful monarch, shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi.
The shah was overthrown in 1979 as part of the Islamic Revolution, leading Iran into a new form of government, the Islamic Republic. Now the leader of Iran is a Supreme Leader with an elected President and parliament.
The specific chapter in this story started June 12 when a huge number of Iranians cast ballots in a four-man presidential election. Most of the votes went to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
"And they persuaded the young people that they will have a voice in this," said Bashiri. "Everybody thought, 'I should participate.'"
People throughout Iran and the world cast ballots. Within two to four hours after the polls closed, in an election that was expected to be quite close, the government declared Ahmadinejad the winner with 63 percent of the vote, compared to Mousavi's 34 percent.
"Forty million voted. How did they calculate all of these votes in villages in Iran?" noted Bashiri. "They were hand ballots. You write the name, drop it in."
Since the election day, supporters of Mousavi have filled the streets, marching and calling for a new election.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered opposition supporters on Friday to halt their marches and respect the election outcome saying President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won a resounding victory.
Iran says at least 17 protesters have died in a week of unrest including at least 10 killed in confrontations the day after Khamenei's
"The government's structure is unusual because Iran has always had a kingship," said Bashiri.
The Supreme Leader makes decisions about the military and appointing department heads but the president makes most of the daily political decisions.
Because the Supreme Leader said this election was legitimate, even though outside observers have raised clear questions, many Iranians are now questioning that leader.
"That is something that has not happened that past 30 years. And this is sacrosanct," said Bashiri.
Sixty percent of Iranians are under the age of 30. They don't remember the revolution. They're rebelling against restrictions on internet, alcohol and women.
"Everything has a rule," said Bashiri. The people "seen that it's enough."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Truckers Sue For Unauthorized Citations
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
