Vigilantes attack Iranian protestors
By Robin Gedye, Foreign Affairs Writer
(Filed: 10/07/2003)
Hundreds of Iranian Islamic vigilantes, police and pro-democracy youths fought running battles near Teheran university last night on the anniversary of 1999 student unrest.
Despite the risk of violence from the authorities and religious zealots, thousands of Iranian protesters took to the streets.
Police were reported to have fired teargas and engaged in fist fights with plainclothes Islamic militiamen to prevent them from attacking the demonstrators in further running battles with the youths.
Large numbers of protesters' vehicles were seen driving around Enghelab (Revolution) Square. Earlier in the day armed Islamic vigilantes broke through a police cordon to kidnap three student leaders after authorities banned the pro-reform gatherings.
About 15 so-called vigilantes - hardline supporters of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - arrived outside the offices of Iran's main student organisation just as a news conference by the students was ending.
Armed with handguns, carrying walkie-talkies and wearing their trademark beards and shirts outside their trousers, they barged their way past police and wrestled the three students to the ground before bundling them into the cars.
Several other students, who had assembled to announce the cancellation of demonstrations following a government ban and threats, barricaded themselves in their headquarters at the Office to Consolidate Unity, refusing to leave until the police guaranteed them protection. They later drove off in minibuses to catch taxis home.
Reza Ameri-Nassab, one of those kidnapped, said before his disappearance that the OCU had decided to postpone demonstrations on the advice of supportive MPs who considered the dangers of detentions and reprisals too great.
"Since we believe that President Mohammad Khatami's reforms have come to an end, we wanted to stage a sit-in opposite the United Nations," he said.
"But we have not forgotten our demands for the immediate release of our eight fellow students from OCU [arrested during student demonstrations last month]."
He said a commemoration of the July 9, 1999, student-police clashes in Teheran, when one student was shot dead and hundreds were arrested and injured, would be held at the beginning of the next academic year in September.
Authorities have closed the university, banned off-campus rallies, closed campus dormitories, postponed summer examinations and vowed to deal strictly with any unrest after arresting 4,000 people during 10 nights of sometimes violent protest across Iran last month.
Half of the people arrested at last month's demonstrations have been released, but students fear the remainder have been kept locked-up as a warning to anyone contemplating further protests.
• Mohamed ElBaradei, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said yesterday he had agreed with Iranian officials to send experts to Teheran next week to clarify Iranian concerns over tighter nuclear inspections.
Iran has so far resisted calls from the IAEA to sign a protocol to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to allow the agency to conduct more rigorous, short-notice inspections of atomic sites.
http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/07/10/wiran10.xml&sSheet=/portal/2003/07/10/ixportal.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=178232 "If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail me”
Stupid question time. Just how much power and authority does President Mohammad Khatami have? Assuming he really wanted to institute reforms could he have done it, or is the office of president a figurehead position?