IRANIAN OPPOSITION TAKES TO STREET AGAIN

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.02.2010 10:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Iranian opposition demonstrators clashed with
security forces across the country during celebrations to mark the
anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranian opposition protesters chanted anti-government slogans in a
Tehran neighborhood as government supporters held a massive rally
to celebrate the 31st anniversary of Iran’s Revolution. Eyewitnesses
say demonstrations took place in dozens of Tehran neighborhoods, with
security forces firing teargas at large crowds in major city squares.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi had asked
supporters both verbally and on their Web sites to turn out for a
"peaceful demonstration" to mark the anniversary of the revolution.

Karroubi’s son reported that his father was attacked and injured by
pro-government agents, forcing him to turn back. He added that his
brother was arrested.

Iranian state TV showed what appeared to be a vast crowd gathered for
the official ceremony at Tehran’s Azadi or "Freedom" Square to hear
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other speakers hail the revolution
and denounce Iran’s enemies, including the United States and Britain.

At another Tehran square a group of angry opposition protesters began
chanting anti-government slogans during an official rally, drowning
out the cleric who was speaking and forcing him to stop.

Eyewitnesses say that protests in many parts of Tehran turned violent
after security forces began firing teargas at crowds and chasing down
protesters with motorcycles.

Clashes between security forces and opposition demonstrators also
took place in a number of provincial cities. In Shiraz, a young man
told Radio Farda that violent clashes with security forces took place
as students turned out in the main square to demonstrate.

Opposition Web sites are reporting that hundreds of thousands of
opposition protesters turned out in cities across the country,
describing scores of violent clashes with security forces, VOA News
reported.

The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of
Iran’s monarchy (Pahlavi dynasty) under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, the leader of the revolution.