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Militia must stay out of election: Iran reformer
Reuters - Sunday, May 10
By Hossein Jaseb
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TEHRAN - A reformist challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Iran's Basij militia and armed forces on Saturday not to intervene in June's presidential election, countering comments from a senior commander.
The comments from cleric Mehdi Karoubi, a former parliamentary speaker, highlighted concern among moderates that the hardline president will win crucial support from the Basij religious militia in his bid for a second four-year term.
The voluntary force, which is estimated to have 12 million members, is affiliated to the elite Revolutionary Guards, whose commander-in-chief made the comment Karoubi took aim at.
Ahmadinejad, who was elected in 2005 pledging to revive the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution, is himself a former Basij and Guardsman who took part in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
"We are here to hold a free election without intervention of the Basij, without intervention of the armed forces and without intervention of rogue forces," Karoubi told reporters after registering as a candidate for the June 12 election.
Clearly addressing Guards chief Mohammad Ali Jafari without naming him, Karoubi said, "The Basij that are under your supervision should completely stay clear of the elections."
Jafari was quoted by the Etemad-e Melli newspaper as saying on Friday, "A part of the Basij, that is not considered as part of the armed forces, is permitted to enter political debates and play an active role. "He did not elaborate.
The Basij draws support among young loyalists to the values of the Islamic revolution and has branches in schools, universities, workplaces and elsewhere.
"RESPECT"
A senior aide of former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, who is seen as Ahmadinejad's main moderate rival in the presidency race, also criticized Jafari's statement.
"If it means that Basijis in an organized way are going to support a specific candidate ... it is against the late leader Khomeini's order," he told Etemad-e Melli, referring to the founder of the Islamic Republic.
Mousavi himself did not refer to the issue when registering as a candidate, telling reporters he would seek to improve Iran's ties with the world if he were elected president.
Iran's relations with the West have deteriorated under Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the United States and its allies and has predicted Israel's imminent demise.
"I have come to establish better ties between Iran and the world by removing tension and through constructive interaction," said Mousavi. He said he would seek to "bring back respect for Iranians in the world."
Even though Iran's nuclear row with the West dominates headlines abroad, analysts predict that the economy in the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, with double-digit inflation and unemployment, will dominate the election campaign.
Mousavi said he would work to help "those who have been bent under the pressure of inflation" and vowed to create new jobs.
Ahmadinejad, who registered as a candidate on Friday, has dismissed criticism of his economic policies, saying Iran has coped well during a worldwide economic downturn.
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