Defiant Ahmadinejad sworn in Iran president
Thursday, 6 August 2009
TEHRAN, August 5 (Reuters): Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term Wednesday, vowing more defiance of the West at a ceremony boycotted by his rivals, as riot police broke up opposition protests.
The 52-year-old hardliner took the oath of office for another four years at a ceremony in parliament after his landslide election victory in June that triggered the worst turmoil in the Islamic republic's history.
In a speech outlining his plans for the future, Ahmadinejad said he would continue to resist "oppressive powers" and hailed his election as a sign of major change in Iran.
But prominent opposition leaders were absent from the ceremony, and outside a force of about 1,000 riot police and Basij volunteer Islamic militiamen used pepper gas on demonstrators who claim his election was rigged, witnesses said.
"The protesters were chanting anti-Ahmadinejad slogans. The police and the Basijis dispersed them. All the nearby shops are closed," a witness said.
Another group tried to demonstrate nearby but were also dispersed as protesters chanted "God is Great" and booed the security forces.
Wednesday's ceremony was attended by about 240 of Iran's 290 MPs, but prominent opposition leaders including Ahmadinejad's main defeated challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi were absent, as was powerful cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Ahmadinejad now has a two-week deadline to form a new government that is likely to remain on a collision course with the West, particularly over Iran's controversial nuclear drive.
He said Iranians should play a "more effective role" in global affairs, and pledged to fight for social justice, saying: "Special economic privileges which are the source of discrimination and corruption must be uprooted."
Although enjoying grass-roots support among the poor, Ahmadinejad's re-election set off massive street protests in Tehran and other cities, leading to a raft of political trials and increasing divisions among the ruling elite.
The 52-year-old hardliner took the oath of office for another four years at a ceremony in parliament after his landslide election victory in June that triggered the worst turmoil in the Islamic republic's history.
In a speech outlining his plans for the future, Ahmadinejad said he would continue to resist "oppressive powers" and hailed his election as a sign of major change in Iran.
But prominent opposition leaders were absent from the ceremony, and outside a force of about 1,000 riot police and Basij volunteer Islamic militiamen used pepper gas on demonstrators who claim his election was rigged, witnesses said.
"The protesters were chanting anti-Ahmadinejad slogans. The police and the Basijis dispersed them. All the nearby shops are closed," a witness said.
Another group tried to demonstrate nearby but were also dispersed as protesters chanted "God is Great" and booed the security forces.
Wednesday's ceremony was attended by about 240 of Iran's 290 MPs, but prominent opposition leaders including Ahmadinejad's main defeated challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi were absent, as was powerful cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Ahmadinejad now has a two-week deadline to form a new government that is likely to remain on a collision course with the West, particularly over Iran's controversial nuclear drive.
He said Iranians should play a "more effective role" in global affairs, and pledged to fight for social justice, saying: "Special economic privileges which are the source of discrimination and corruption must be uprooted."
Although enjoying grass-roots support among the poor, Ahmadinejad's re-election set off massive street protests in Tehran and other cities, leading to a raft of political trials and increasing divisions among the ruling elite.