The Last Iranian Presidential Debate
The last debate before Iran's presidential election was held this past Friday, and the event was certainly more spirited than the previous two sessions.
The part I'd like to focus on is the sharp exchange that occurred between Rouhani (a reformist and cleric) and Ghalibaf (current mayor of Tehran and a conservative). It can be seen in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoJJnAi_hzw
After Rouhani made a comment about providing peace for Iranians, Ghalibaf criticized him for his handling of student protests in 2003 when Rouhani was Secretary of the National Security Council. This kicked off an exchange where the two candidates traded remarks about their own versions of how the situation was handled (Ghalibaf was the head of police at the time).
In the clip, Ghalibaf says Rouhani denied granting the students in question permission to protest in 2003. Rouhani counters by saying he was concerned that if the he granted them permission and they left campus, the police under Ghalibaf would arrest all of them. Rouhani goes on to say that he wasn't concerned about the students because he felt they would dissipate in a few days time.
The exchange continued in this manner, with the candidates giving conflicting accounts of events, neither of which can really be verified. Hopefully the high energy of this debate will help capture Iranian interest, which had been low, in the elections which are now just 4 days away.
The last debate before Iran's presidential election was held this past Friday, and the event was certainly more spirited than the previous two sessions.
The part I'd like to focus on is the sharp exchange that occurred between Rouhani (a reformist and cleric) and Ghalibaf (current mayor of Tehran and a conservative). It can be seen in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoJJnAi_hzw
After Rouhani made a comment about providing peace for Iranians, Ghalibaf criticized him for his handling of student protests in 2003 when Rouhani was Secretary of the National Security Council. This kicked off an exchange where the two candidates traded remarks about their own versions of how the situation was handled (Ghalibaf was the head of police at the time).
In the clip, Ghalibaf says Rouhani denied granting the students in question permission to protest in 2003. Rouhani counters by saying he was concerned that if the he granted them permission and they left campus, the police under Ghalibaf would arrest all of them. Rouhani goes on to say that he wasn't concerned about the students because he felt they would dissipate in a few days time.
The exchange continued in this manner, with the candidates giving conflicting accounts of events, neither of which can really be verified. Hopefully the high energy of this debate will help capture Iranian interest, which had been low, in the elections which are now just 4 days away.
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