Iranian Election Divides Arabs, Their Leaders
source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105874359&ft=1&f=1001
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Morning Edition, June 25, 2009 · Around the Arab world, reactions to the Iranian election have ranged from street demonstrations to Internet protests. But Arab leaders, many of whom are wary of the regime of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have either remained silent or embraced his re-election as legitimate.
The gap between the public and their leaders in the tightly controlled, economically powerful Persian Gulf states has rarely been this clear. In the wake of the Iranian vote, as government repression of street demonstrations turned violent, the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister spoke out, as did his counterpart in Bahrain.
Both echoed the regime in Tehran, railing against what they called "foreign interference" in Iranian affairs. The Emirati minister added that no country wants to be exposed to instability.
Ordinary Arabs Show Support For Reformers
At the street level, meanwhile, the reaction was much more supportive of the demonstrators seeking a new election. In Dubai, where property prices are generally the first topic of conversation, demonstrators — many of them Iranian expatriates — took to the streets outside mosques and the Iranian Consulate in a rare display of sustained public protest.
When the demonstrations showed no signs of evaporating after several days, the police were called in to break them up. Even so, on a recent night, hundreds of people showed up for a silent candlelight vigil featuring a memorial to a young Iranian woman whose apparent shooting death in Tehran had been captured on video.
Cautious Reaction Of Arab Leaders Not Surprising
The gap between the public and their leaders in the tightly controlled, economically powerful Persian Gulf states has rarely been this clear. In the wake of the Iranian vote, as government repression of street demonstrations turned violent, the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister spoke out, as did his counterpart in Bahrain.
Both echoed the regime in Tehran, railing against what they called "foreign interference" in Iranian affairs. The Emirati minister added that no country wants to be exposed to instability.
Ordinary Arabs Show Support For Reformers
At the street level, meanwhile, the reaction was much more supportive of the demonstrators seeking a new election. In Dubai, where property prices are generally the first topic of conversation, demonstrators — many of them Iranian expatriates — took to the streets outside mosques and the Iranian Consulate in a rare display of sustained public protest.
When the demonstrations showed no signs of evaporating after several days, the police were called in to break them up. Even so, on a recent night, hundreds of people showed up for a silent candlelight vigil featuring a memorial to a young Iranian woman whose apparent shooting death in Tehran had been captured on video.
Cautious Reaction Of Arab Leaders Not Surprising
