B92 - News - Comments - Over 100 people detained at anti-U.S. rally in Iran

Iranian police detained more than 100 people for "disturbing public order" during a rally this week to mark the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy.

Security forces clashed with supporters of Iran's opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi in Tehran on Wednesday when an annual state-organized rally marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. embassy turned violent.

"Police arrested 109 people who created disorder and disturbed public order and security on the sideline of the rally on Wednesday," said Azizollah Rajabzadeh, head of Tehran police, IRNA reported.

"Some 62 of the detainees were jailed and the rest were released."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards and their allied Basij militia had warned the opposition not to try to hijack the rally to revive protests against the clerical establishment after June's disputed presidential election.

Defeated presidential candidates Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, who say are committed to reform, had urged supporters to take to the streets on Wednesday to protest against the government despite warnings from the security forces about "illegal gatherings."

Security forces arrested an Agence France Presse (AFP) reporter along with a Danish student in connection with the rally.

The semi-official Fars news agency said on Friday that two foreign journalists also had been arrested on November 4. The report could not be confirmed independently.

Foreign media have been banned from covering street protests since the demonstrations over the disputed June presidential vote, which the opposition says was rigged to secure President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election.

The turmoil after the June 12 vote was the worst in Iran in the past three decades. Authorities deny vote-rigging.

Leonidas,

the problem is that the "opposition" in Iran respresents only a small,but vocal minority that wants to get into the saddle violently ignoring the large,silent majority of Iranians throughout the countryside.
This opposition (although Moussavi,the leader of the opposition is a staunch Anti-american,too)
is supported propagandistically by the Western media which at each and every opportunity tried to fuel the tensions and instigate a civil war in Iran with the outcome of a pro American puppet government a la Karzai in Afghanistan.
I know that because I closely followed the Iranian elections and the Western media reaction .

The only fault of the Iranian government was that they weren`t transparent enough with the election procedures,THAT was their fault,that gave the Western media hyanes (and we all know very well who owns the American media) the chance to fuel violence and chaos.

The bottom point is that with Irans oil and gas reserves Russia and China could form an international reserve dumping the dollar which would have terrible effects on the American economy.
That is why our American friends are so worried about "promoting democracy" in Iran.
(CG, 8 November 2009 13:59)

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>>But the most disturbing aspect of the mullah's behavior is their continuous attempts to solve the crisis by force instead of engaging in a dialog with the opposition.

I don't know what the future holds for Iran but i will take my hat off to all men and women who are risking their lives today to voice their opposition to the theocratic oppression.
(Leonidas, 7 November 2009 13:50)

Leonidas -- I totally agree with you here. the present iranian govt knows full well that they lack the support of much of the masses (not all) and that has caused great insecurity among the ranks, as well it should. their (all too typical) response: harsh crackdowns, beatings, killings, rapes (of females and males) in the prisons. this has also been well documented by sources inside iran, just in case i am accused of western, "BBC propaganda." this is one of the very worst govt's around today, and i await the day that it falls utterly.

i repeat: democracy and respect for human rights are not some recent bizarre, "alien" inventions from the West -- its root go 1000s of years deep, in fact, at least since ancient Greek times, as others here can attest. but true and egalitarian democracy is something that must always be struggled for -- it never comes easy, we've all learned that the hard way. but it can happen, it can develop, even with all of the "ancient animosities" that so fill our histories.

thank you.

robert-o
frisco
(roberto, 8 November 2009 07:36)

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It is sad to see a country like Iran with thousands years of history being reduced by the mullahs to a country of no significance and known only for its hatred
to Israel and US.

After 30 years in power the Mullahs have run out of excuses as far as Iran's economic development and well
being of its people is concerned, twisting themselves into knots trying to prove that outside forces are at work when they are facing homegrown outrage over their increasingly autocratic state and its failures.

But the most disturbing aspect of the mullah's behavior is their continuous attempts to solve the crisis by force instead of engaging in a dialog with the opposition.

I don't know what the future holds for Iran but i will take my hat off to all men and women who are risking their lives today to voice their opposition to the theocratic oppression.
(Leonidas, 7 November 2009 13:50)

Recommend (+6)

Poor comment (-2)

What's this

It is sad to see a country like Iran with thousands years of history being reduced by the mullahs to a country of no significance and known only for its hatred
to Israel and US.

After 30 years in power the Mullahs have run out of excuses as far as Iran's economic development and well
being of its people is concerned, twisting themselves into knots trying to prove that outside forces are at work when they are facing homegrown outrage over their increasingly autocratic state and its failures.

But the most disturbing aspect of the mullah's behavior is their continuous attempts to solve the crisis by force instead of engaging in a dialog with the opposition.

I don't know what the future holds for Iran but i will take my hat off to all men and women who are risking their lives today to voice their opposition to the theocratic oppression.
(Leonidas, 7 November 2009 13:50)

Recommend (+6)

Poor comment (-2)

What's this
>>But the most disturbing aspect of the mullah's behavior is their continuous attempts to solve the crisis by force instead of engaging in a dialog with the opposition.

I don't know what the future holds for Iran but i will take my hat off to all men and women who are risking their lives today to voice their opposition to the theocratic oppression.
(Leonidas, 7 November 2009 13:50)

Leonidas -- I totally agree with you here. the present iranian govt knows full well that they lack the support of much of the masses (not all) and that has caused great insecurity among the ranks, as well it should. their (all too typical) response: harsh crackdowns, beatings, killings, rapes (of females and males) in the prisons. this has also been well documented by sources inside iran, just in case i am accused of western, "BBC propaganda." this is one of the very worst govt's around today, and i await the day that it falls utterly.

i repeat: democracy and respect for human rights are not some recent bizarre, "alien" inventions from the West -- its root go 1000s of years deep, in fact, at least since ancient Greek times, as others here can attest. but true and egalitarian democracy is something that must always be struggled for -- it never comes easy, we've all learned that the hard way. but it can happen, it can develop, even with all of the "ancient animosities" that so fill our histories.

thank you.

robert-o
frisco
(roberto, 8 November 2009 07:36)

Recommend (+2)

Poor comment (-1)

What's this
Leonidas,

the problem is that the "opposition" in Iran respresents only a small,but vocal minority that wants to get into the saddle violently ignoring the large,silent majority of Iranians throughout the countryside.
This opposition (although Moussavi,the leader of the opposition is a staunch Anti-american,too)
is supported propagandistically by the Western media which at each and every opportunity tried to fuel the tensions and instigate a civil war in Iran with the outcome of a pro American puppet government a la Karzai in Afghanistan.
I know that because I closely followed the Iranian elections and the Western media reaction .

The only fault of the Iranian government was that they weren`t transparent enough with the election procedures,THAT was their fault,that gave the Western media hyanes (and we all know very well who owns the American media) the chance to fuel violence and chaos.

The bottom point is that with Irans oil and gas reserves Russia and China could form an international reserve dumping the dollar which would have terrible effects on the American economy.
That is why our American friends are so worried about "promoting democracy" in Iran.
(CG, 8 November 2009 13:59)

Recommend (0)

Poor comment (-1)

What's this

It is sad to see a country like Iran with thousands years of history being reduced by the mullahs to a country of no significance and known only for its hatred
to Israel and US.

After 30 years in power the Mullahs have run out of excuses as far as Iran's economic development and well
being of its people is concerned, twisting themselves into knots trying to prove that outside forces are at work when they are facing homegrown outrage over their increasingly autocratic state and its failures.

But the most disturbing aspect of the mullah's behavior is their continuous attempts to solve the crisis by force instead of engaging in a dialog with the opposition.

I don't know what the future holds for Iran but i will take my hat off to all men and women who are risking their lives today to voice their opposition to the theocratic oppression.
(Leonidas, 7 November 2009 13:50)

Recommend (+6)

Poor comment (-2)

What's this
Leonidas,

the problem is that the "opposition" in Iran respresents only a small,but vocal minority that wants to get into the saddle violently ignoring the large,silent majority of Iranians throughout the countryside.
This opposition (although Moussavi,the leader of the opposition is a staunch Anti-american,too)
is supported propagandistically by the Western media which at each and every opportunity tried to fuel the tensions and instigate a civil war in Iran with the outcome of a pro American puppet government a la Karzai in Afghanistan.
I know that because I closely followed the Iranian elections and the Western media reaction .

The only fault of the Iranian government was that they weren`t transparent enough with the election procedures,THAT was their fault,that gave the Western media hyanes (and we all know very well who owns the American media) the chance to fuel violence and chaos.

The bottom point is that with Irans oil and gas reserves Russia and China could form an international reserve dumping the dollar which would have terrible effects on the American economy.
That is why our American friends are so worried about "promoting democracy" in Iran.
(CG, 8 November 2009 13:59)

Recommend (0)

Poor comment (-1)

What's this
>>But the most disturbing aspect of the mullah's behavior is their continuous attempts to solve the crisis by force instead of engaging in a dialog with the opposition.

I don't know what the future holds for Iran but i will take my hat off to all men and women who are risking their lives today to voice their opposition to the theocratic oppression.
(Leonidas, 7 November 2009 13:50)

Leonidas -- I totally agree with you here. the present iranian govt knows full well that they lack the support of much of the masses (not all) and that has caused great insecurity among the ranks, as well it should. their (all too typical) response: harsh crackdowns, beatings, killings, rapes (of females and males) in the prisons. this has also been well documented by sources inside iran, just in case i am accused of western, "BBC propaganda." this is one of the very worst govt's around today, and i await the day that it falls utterly.

i repeat: democracy and respect for human rights are not some recent bizarre, "alien" inventions from the West -- its root go 1000s of years deep, in fact, at least since ancient Greek times, as others here can attest. but true and egalitarian democracy is something that must always be struggled for -- it never comes easy, we've all learned that the hard way. but it can happen, it can develop, even with all of the "ancient animosities" that so fill our histories.

thank you.

robert-o
frisco
(roberto, 8 November 2009 07:36)

Recommend (+2)

Poor comment (-1)

What's this