Clashes Reported As Iran's Opposition Holds Fresh Protests
Report source: RFE/RL
Iranian security forces are reported
to have clashed with opposition protesters using a religious ritual to stage
fresh antigovernment demonstrations. Witnesses told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that
police and Basij militia were out in force in Tehran and other cities, including
Mashhad, Qom, Hamedan, and Najafabad and preventing protesters from congregating
in large numbers.
Video of protests in Tehran
The incidents come as Iran marks a
Shi'ite religious festival, Ashura, commemorating the death of a grandson of the
Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century.
A Poster by the Opposition Green Movement inviting people to protests during
Muharram
Its culmination on December 27
coincides with the seventh day since the death of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali
Montazeri, one of Iran's most prominent dissidents and an outspoken critic of
the government.
An eyewitness from the western city of Najafabad, who didn't want to give his
name, told Radio Farda that a group of people chanted slogans supporting
Montazeri as well as the opposition Green Movement and that there were "a few
clashes today in Najafabad with Basijis and security forces" and that the
situation in Najafabad is now "tense."
"Security forces are not allowing these people to move towards the city center
where they were supposed to gather," he added. "There are increased security
measures also in other smaller towns around Najafabad, as if martial law has
taken effect here."
Poster by the Opposition
Green Movement praising Ayatollah Montazeri According to a decree by Iran's Security Council, memorials for Montazeri
are banned
A resident from the town of Hamedan
said there was a heightened police presence "in the city center and key
locations" in the city. In one neighborhood, "I saw the plainclothes forces and
Basijis were talking on their handheld radio, and wherever people are gathering,
Basijis go there and disperse them."
A resident of the eastern city of Mashhad, who did not want to give her name,
told Radio Farda that a two-day ceremony was being held by Montazeri supporters
in the city to commemorate the dissident cleric.
She said security forces were closely monitoring the gathering and that they
arrested a young man as he was leaving the ceremony, and that the security
forces "have installed video cameras there to record who was coming in and out
of the building."
Opposition websites "Jaras" and "Rahasabz" said security forces also broke into
a building in Tehran housing the ISNA news agency after some protesters sought
shelter there.
The report could not be independently verified, as foreign media have been
banned from covering protests.
People chanting against the
regime while riding a bus in Tehran
Iran's police chief, Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, had warned that police would
harshly confront any nonreligious gatherings.
Today's protests are the latest to have flared since June's disputed
presidential election, which the opposition says was rigged in favor of
incumbent Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
In recent months, Iranian opposition supporters have used symbolic days and
religious holidays to stage antigovernment protests.
RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report. With news agency material
Copyright (c) 2009 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
