TEHRAN : Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi said on Thursday that threats and pressure would not stop him from pursuing his campaign to scrap the results of the disputed election.
"I won't refrain from securing the rights of the Iranian people... because of personal interests and the fear of threats," he said in a statement on his newspaper website, Kalemeh.
Mousavi said he had come under pressure to "give up my demand for the election to be cancelled" after he lodged a formal complaint over the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and called for a new vote.
But the 67-year-old, who was premier in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution, said he would resist the pressure.
"I can not say that white is black and black is white. We should be honest. The solution is not that I say something which I don't believe in."
The ex-premier said he was ready to show how those who violated the election process "stood beside the main instigators of the recent riots and shed people's blood on the ground."
At least 17 people have been killed in the riots which rocked Tehran after the results of the June 12 election were announced, according to state media. The foreign media are banned from the streets in tight restrictions imposed on their work since the unrest began.
Mousavi also reiterated his call for supporters to continue protests but in a way which would not "create tension."
"The main strategy which will guarantee your objectives will be to continue with the protests within the framework of law and by observing the principles of the Islamic revolution," he said.
His office said it had applied for a permission to hold a mourning ceremony for slain protestors but was yet to receive the go-ahead. The authorities have imposed a ban on all opposition demonstrations.
Reports said on Thursday that Iran has jailed more than 140 political activists, journalists and university lecturers since the election.
Etemad newspaper listed 71 prominent reformist leaders, journalists and Mousavi campaign workers while Kalemeh said another 70 academics and members of Islamic associations at various universities were arrested after meeting Mousavi on Wednesday.
"My access to people is completely restricted," said the 67-year-old Mousavi, a soft-spoken architect and painter who emerged as a key challenger to Ahmadinejad with a more moderate stance.
"Our two websites are having a lot of problems. The publication of Kalemeh Sabz (his newspaper Green Word) has been stopped and its editorial board has been arrested," he said.
"Other newspapers are also facing serious restrictions. These things do not help in improving the climate in the country and will lead to an atmosphere of more violence," he warned.
Mousavi won 34 percent of the vote against 63 percent for Ahmadinejad, according to official results, although some believed he had enough support for a possible second-round run-off.
Although the authorities have agreed to conduct partial recounts, they have refused to scrap the results and hold a new election.
Mousavi said the people of Iran must feel that their demands are being looked into pursued, while at the same time expressing hope that the "chaotic situation" will pass.
He said it was in Iran's interest for people to be allowed to have their voices heard.
"Otherwise, there will be many problems ahead of us. Talking in an insulting way will not solve any problems," he said.
Mousavi, who was prime minister during the 1980s under then president and now supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was also against "foreigners" becoming involved in the protests.
"I don't think that anyone who likes the country, Islam and the revolution, will tolerate the role of foreigners in our affairs -- we should not allow foreigners to interfere."
- AFP /ls
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