Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi will on Thursday visit the graves of people slain in post-election protests, according to the website of Karroubi's political party.
The two will visit the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery south of Tehran at 4:00 pm (1130 GMT), the Etemad Melli website said.
"The offices of Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi announce that the two will go to the graves of those dead in the recent incidents along with their families and pay their respects," the website said.
It said the decision came after the Iranian authorities banned a ceremony planned by the two leaders for Thursday to mourn protesters killed in the aftermath of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election last month.
Iranian media reports say that the mother of slain protester Neda Agha-Soltan, who was killed on June 20 during a protest in Tehran, will visit the cemetery on Thursday.
Neda became a symbol of protests against Ahmadinejad's victory, after a graphic Internet video showing her final moments flashed around the world.
However, it was unclear whether Mousavi and Karroubi would now go ahead with their plan to hold the mourning ceremony at central Tehran's Grand Mosalla, a large open venue usually used for religious functions.
Another report on the Etemad Melli website, posted before the plan to visit the graves was announced, said the two leaders were "concerned that this (Grand Mosalla) ceremony will face violence" after it was banned by the authorities.
"But political activists hope that illegal and immoral confrontations do not take place on both sides...the families (of protesters) had expected that the governor's office would issue a permit to hold this ceremony."
The two leaders have not yet issued a categorical statement cancelling the mourning ceremony.
No comments:
Post a Comment