THE STUDENTS ARE THE GREAT VICTORS OF 9 JULY
TEHRAN 9 July (IPS) Sporadic, but at times violent clashes opposed Wednesday
evening some demonstrators with Islamic vigilantes and Basij militias in central
Tehran, the vicinity of Tehran University, several suburbs of the capital as
well as in major cities, according to eyewitnesses and reports from Iranian
students organisations.
The clashes started at the end of a rather tense day, with students having decided to drop their plans for commemorating the fourth anniversary of the first major students rebellion against the Islamic Republic on 9 July 1999, an uprising that was suppressed violently by the Revolutionary Guards backed by the Basij volunteers, pressure groups known as Ansar Hezbollah and special anti-riot units belonging to the Intelligence Ministry, acting on orders from Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the leader of the regime and approved by President Mohammad Khatami, leading to one dead, hundreds wounded and thousands arrested.
To prevent any demonstrations and meetings, the authorities had declared a virtual state of emergency in Tehran and other big cities, with thousands of armed Islamist vigilantes and plainclothesmen roaming the streets, cordoning off all road leading to universities and dormitories, that were closed anyway.
A witness said police had fired tear gas at groups of youths near the campus and also fought fistfights with plainclothes Islamic militiamen to prevent them from engaging in further running battles with youths.
In other places, fire-fighting engines dispersed demonstrators with water canons while the pressure groups used tear gas, the Iranian Renaissance Movement "Noza’i", the Students Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran and "Iran va Jahan" (Iran and the World) internet website reported, confirmed by major news agencies, radio and television stations.
Other reports speaks of banks and some administrative offices and building attacked by mobs and set on fire, including a bank in Eslamshahr, a huge shantytown 30 kilometres West of Tehran.
"The atmosphere is very tense, the smell of tear gas is thick in the air. Police have clashed with youths, the youths have fought with Basijis (militiamen) and I saw police fighting Basijis trying to get closer to the university", a witness told the British news agency Reuters.
The clashes erupted after plainclothes thugs, controlled by the ruling conservatives, attacked a press conference by some leaders of the Office for Consolidating Unity (OCU) explaining why they had decided to call off their plans for commemorating the massacre of 9 July 1999 as well as a decision to organise a sit in at the doors of the United Nations office in Tehran, arresting three students, namely Mr. Reza Ameri, Arash Hashemi and Ali Moqtaderi.
During the two weeks of students-people demonstrations against the present regime and its senior rulers, the authorities had arrested more than 4.000 demonstrators and abducted hundreds of students, taken to undisclosed prisons operated by he leader’s Intelligence Organisation.
Mr. Ali Keshtgar, a Paris-based political activist and Editor of the monthly "Mihan" (Homeland) said the recent students protest movement has helped both the students and Iranian people to better foster and coordinate their actions, aimed at bringing fundamental change in Iran.
"If the students used to write letters to Khameneh'i or to Khatami, urging them to bow to the people’s demands for freedom and democracy, now they write directly to the United Nations. If until now, the students were hoping that the system if reformable from within by way of implementing the reforms championed by Mr. Khatami, now they have reached the final conclusion that this is a hopeless case and calls on the people to use civil disobedience as a tool and way to democracy and secularism", he observed, talking to the Persian service of Radio France International (RFI).
However, and as the demonstrations continue, with some protesters shouting the ritual slogans of "death to Khameneh'i" and "down with Islamic Republic", political analysts said the day marked a "three way" victories for the regime, for the students and also for the Iranian opposition at large.
"The clerical rulers showed that they are still on control and can use dissuasive methods, including threats to shoot at bay and kill mercilessly. The Iranian opposition, mostly abroad, made an unprecedented show of force and unity by organising hundreds of demonstrations all over the world in support of the students and the Iranian people", commented a prominent scholar in Tehran.
"But the real victors of the day are the students, as with their continuous demonstrations and protests for freedom and democracy, have attracted the international opinion and sympathy and mobilised the world’s leading media to their cause and demands", he added, asking his name not be published. ENDS STUDENTS UNRESTS 9703