[Wall Street Journal] Farnaz Fassihi - The three top leaders of Iran's opposition joined forces on Tuesday and their supporters began a three-day national strike, signaling a resurrection of protests. Opposition candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, joined by former President Mohamad Khatami, met to plot strategy and issued their first-ever joint statement, calling for an end to government arrests and "savage, shocking attacks" on their advisers and supporters. The opposition has also called for other creative forms of civil disobedience. Protesters have been asked to create a possible electrical blackout in Tehran by plugging in all their household electric appliances exactly at the same time, and to spray green paint on walls in their neighborhood. Simultaneously, Iran's government on Tuesday announced an unexpected public holiday for 48 hours due to emergency levels of pollution and a dust storm covering the capital. Some speculated that it could be an attempt to mask the impact of the public strikes.
2009-07-08 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive