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Summary
US President Barack Obama urged the world to support the Iranian people in their fight for freedom, one year after disputed elections triggered major demonstrations.Obama's call came after Iranian opposition leaders canceled anti-government protests planned for Saturday, the anniversary of last year's disputed election that reinstated incumbent hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi said in a joint statement the decision was made in order to protect the lives and properties of the people. When Iranians went to the polls a year ago Saturday, results gave an easy victory to Ahmadinejad. Opposition candidates said the results were rigged, sparking street protests that rocked the Islamic republic and were put down with force. The courage of the Iranian people stands as an example to us and it challenges us to continue our efforts to bend the arch of history in the direction of justice, Obama said in the statement read by one of his human rights advisors. It is the responsibility of all free people and free nations to make it clear that we are on the side of those who seek freedom, justice and dignity, as surely as hope and history are, Obama said in the statement. Obama said he looked forward to the day when Iranians will be able to speak freely, assemble without fear and express their views without facing retribution, a day when the Iranian government will represent and foster rather than fear the aspirations of its own people. Obama said last year's election will be remembered for how the Iranian government brutally suppressed dissent and murdered the innocent, including a young woman left to die in the street.
