Student Shot
They were threatened and it appears the authorities were waiting for them:
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Heavily armed police prevented several thousand Iranian protesters Saturday from entering Revolution Square -- one of the main protest sites in Tehran, a witness told CNN.About a mile away, police kept the crowd back by throwing two canisters of tear gas at their feet, the witness said.The Web site of the main opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Moussavi, quoted news reports as saying a flood of people were headed to the capital from surrounding towns.
Two rallies had been scheduled to begin about 4 p.m. Saturday (7:30 a.m. ET) to protest a disputed presidential election, despite stern warnings from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said Friday that protest organizers would be held responsible if the demonstrations led to bloodshed.
From the Times:
TEHRAN — One day after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sternly cut off any compromise over the nation’s disputed elections, the authorities piled on pressure for an end to street demonstrations on Saturday, and a group of reformist clerics was reported to have withdrawn from a major rally.But, as rumors and uncertainty swirled through Tehran, some bloggers said the rally would proceed. Zahra Rahnavard, wife of the opposition candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi, who has been an influential force in the protests, said in a posting on the social networking site Facebook that the demonstration was still scheduled.
With news organizations banned from reporting on the streets, witnesses said that hundreds of riot police had massed in two squares in central Tehran where the demonstrations were scheduled to take place. According to news reports, protesters had begun to gather, but security forces blocked them and fired tear gas. There were no immediate reports of rioting or heavy violence.
It's so typical of corporate media to focus on what suits its interests best..
ReplyDeleteWhere was the outrage over the police state during the World Trade Organization demonstrations in Seattle!!??
I'm all for the Iranians demonstrating and getting attention..
But why is it that if this was going on as a protest against unjust corporate power...
the coverage would be slanted to spin the event into anachast riots?!
Please...
it's so obvious that all of the constant coverage of this.. and its slant..
are mainly purposed to prime the American people for what's coming next with regards to American involvement in the Middle East.
Hum????
I wonder what will happen next?
lhr,
ReplyDeletewhat planet are you on where dozens perhaps of people were killed by police while paramilitary groups attacked the protesters with knives and axes? Seattle 1998? Spare me the comparison is idiotic.
It is obvious that the Powers presently in place (in particular the highest religious leader !) must be sent home and let more democratic forces rule the country.
ReplyDeleteWhen leaders hit and kill their own people ... this will create a violent revolution (like it was in France in 1789). The only way to settle the present disastrous environment is to allow a new election with supervision by the United Nations.
Imagine if the present Rulers manage to control the whole Iranian population ... by an extensive police and secret service force ! This will, over time, turn against them ... because you can not simply oppress millions of people for a long time ... these times are over in a globalised world with Internet as the mainstream communication medium. The Rulers would better rethink their strategy once more ... and console the population rather than hitting them; failure to do so might result in the Rulers becoming the victims themselves ! When the whole population starts to demonstrate ..... it may become like a "stampede" ... thus ... uncontrollable !
ReplyDeleteI hope the protesters and the government will give time to talk and settle the matter between the both of them. If this is not done, many lives and properties will be spent.
ReplyDelete