Dubai: Close to one thousand Iranian residents gathered in Dubai for a silent candle-lit vigil on Monday to mourn the killing of Neda Agha Sultan, the woman who has become the symbol of the movement contesting the Iranian presidential election results.
Watch video of Iran vigil in Dubai
The group gathered on the beach next to the Hilton hotel in Jumeirah Beach Residence holding candles and posters. While most of the posters showed pictures of Neda, few were of political slogans calling for Iran's "freedom."
Neda, 26, was shot dead in Tehran on Saturday during a rally protesting the perceived rigging of the presidential elections held earlier this month, allegedly by forces affiliated with the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Footage of the killing was leaked to news websites and has been widely circulated since.
Dubai Police had said earlier that no protest rallies would be permitted, saying that a possible counter rally could lead to clashes. The authorities have expressed concern that violence in Iran could spill into Dubai.
Many of those present pointed out that the gathering was not intended to be a protest rally, but a silent vigil free of slogans and chants. A speech in support of Neda was read and Persian songs were sung. Mourners wept as their arms swayed in the air with the singing.
A woman, who did not want to be named, said she had not attended any rallies or protests in Dubai in support of former reformist presidential candidate Mir Hussain Mousavi, but was "woken up" after the "brutal" death of Neda.
Attendees were also keen to point out that they did not oppose the Iranian regime, but its alleged corruption, as well as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
An Iranian resident, Mahmoud, who read a poem for Neda, said he was opposed to "tyranny, and not the Islamic Republic."
A number of attendees also noted that Iranians inside and out of their country had become bolder by the opposition movement, citing their new confidence in speaking to media without worrying about hiding their identities.
"That's because they know Ahmadinejad's government won't last long," Mahmoud said. Few however, expressed opposition to the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the regime in Tehran.
"Politics is dirty, when you bring religion into politics, you're putting it in dirt," Schahin, a German-Iranian resident of Dubai, said. "Once [the leaders] claim they come from God, they are invincible," he added.
Schahin and others acknowledged deep splits within the opposition movement, with some protesting the conservative movement and Ahmadinejad, and others contesting the entire regime. Schahin said the priority was to remove Ahmadinejad, which united both parties.
"For me, it was a choice between the bad and the worse, and I chose the bad: Mousavi," he added, noting the former prime minister's conservative record.
Source: Gulf News By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter
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