UNRESTS IN LAMERD PROVOKED BY CONSERVATIVES AGAINST REFORMERS.
SHIRAZ-PARIS 2 Apr. (IPS) After one week of unabated unrest in the southern city of Lamerd in Fars Province, it has emerged that the street demonstrations are organised by the conservatives, aimed at removing the reformist Governor and the region’s MM (Member of the Majles).
"Demonstrators are members of the local Basij force and the turmoil are provoked by the city’s Friday imam, a conservative cleric appointed by the leader of the regime, Ayatollah Ali Khamenehe'i, with the complicity of the revolutionary guards", one informed sources in the city said.
According to both the leader-controlled Iranian Radio and the conservative press, the unrest started after it was decided to delocalise a gas refinery that was to be erected here to the smaller city of Mohr, the hometown of Hojjatoleslam Abdolvahed Musavi-Lari.
"Keyhan", the mouthpiece of the hard-line intelligence services controlled directly by the leader, reported that he bazaar of Lamerd closed in protest, traders joined other demonstrators, including a great number of the families of the martyrs weaving posters of Ayatollah Khameneh’i and all together walked to the office of the Friday imam of the town.
According to other conservative papers, the Law Enforcement Forces proceeded to "mass arrest" of demonstrators in their houses, provoking the anger of the population.
But informed sources in Lamerd told Iran Press Service that the unrest are organised by the city’s ruling conservatives against the candidate of the region to the Majles (parliament) who belong to the pro-Khatami reformists.
The source further explained that originally, the protests were organised in Lamerd four months ago to denounce the construction of a modern road to Mr. Musavi-Lari’s hometown of Mohr, the question of the refinery being raised latter as a better pretext for both to continue and explain the turmoil, "for, everyone knows that not only the construction of the refinery here in Lamerd had been decided long time ago, but one does not delocalise such an important industry on personal decision", he noted.
"The mere fact that the public media and dailies like "Keyhan", "Jomhoori Eslami" (Islamic Republic) that belongs to Mr. Khamenehe'i or "Resalat", close to the bazaar oligarchy and controlled by the hard-line "Islamic Coalition League", are the only ones to provide full coverage to the unrests in Lamerd; that the revolutionary guards did not move to stop demonstrators who, after setting fire on cars and public building, including the offices of the Governor, took refuge at the residence of the Friday imam; that the protesters are shouting slogans against the President, the Interior Minister and the Governor etc. are enough clear proofs of who is organising the unrests", pointed one source in the city.
"But the fact is that the real problem is with the Governor and the region’s representative at the Majles, both of them popular reformists personalities that the conservatives wanted to remove at any cost before the forthcoming presidential elections", the source observed, adding: "The whole issue is nothing more than the never lasting feud between the ruling conservatives and the reformers". ENDS LAMERD UNREST 2401