Iran: Students Denounce Totalitarian Regime
Students have protested again in
Below is an article published by The Associated Press:
Hundreds of Iranian students expressed their anger over a government crackdown on activists in a protest Sunday [9 December 2007] at
One witness, Mehdi Arabshahi, said the protest lasted more than two hours as students rallied against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hardline administration.
"Students chanted against policies by Ahmadinejad's administration, which is imposing pressures on the universities and detaining activists," Arabshahi said.
Another witness, Abbas Kazemi, said the protesters also called out anti-war slogans aimed at the
Students from other universities joined in the protest and broke one of the university's gates, but there were no clashes with police and no one was detained, Kazemi said.
The university and its surrounding neighborhood were calm after the gathering and welders were repairing the broken gate.
The protests were held to mark the National Day of Students, which has been celebrated since 1953 when three Iranian students were shot to death by police during a protest of a visit by then-Vice President Richard Nixon.
State TV also announced Sunday [9 December 2007] that
Quoting a statement by the ministry, the TV report said the activists, who came from various cities, entered the university using fake identification cards before they were detained.
The report said intelligence officers confiscated concussion grenades, illegal books, pamphlets and alcoholic beverages from the detainees.
It did not elaborate on the number of detainees or say when the arrests took place.
Last week, a group of left-wing students said 33 students and activists including four women were detained Tuesday [4 December 2007] after they staged a protest on the
Students were once the main power base of
Since October [2007], students from different universities have staged occasional protests over educational shortages, the firings of liberal teachers and dentition of activists.
About 100 students staged a rare protest in October [2007] against Ahmadinejad, calling him a "dictator" as he gave a speech at
The president faced a similar outburst during a speech in December 2006 when students at
Ahmadinejad's popularity has fallen since he was elected in 2005, with critics saying he has failed to fix the economy and has hurt
In recent months, dissenters have witnessed an increasing crackdown, and hundreds have been rounded up. Numerous pro-reform newspapers have been shut down and those that remain have been muted in their criticism fearing closure.