Tehran 24 Feb. (IPS) Hundreds of angry people, most of them youngsters, clashed with security and anti-riot units Saturday evening, to liberate a young girl from being arrested by Moral Safeguarding units, several independent and students news sites reported.
The clashes started in a main square of Tehran after agents of the “Islamic Guidance” units stopped a young girl walking with her boy friend and wanted to take her into their van. When the girl resisted the brutality of the agents who had beaten her to bleeding, people watching the scene intervened, prevented the agents to arrest the girl, eyewitnesses said.
The action of the agents of the “Islamic Guidance” troops is part of a hated project of the fanatic President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to allegedly “protect” the population against hooligans, robbers, criminals, pick-pockets, thieves and urban violence, but in fact it is aimed at curtailing the already limited social freedoms as much as possible by enforcing strict Islamic norms to women and youngsters.
With the arrival of more forces, the police, backed by anti-riot units used tear gas and arrested at least 15 protesters, mot of them young ones, the internet sites reported.
The project, implemented by police from last year and named “Social Protection” has been denounced by the public from the outset, but supported by hard line ruling ayatollahs and conservative circles close to the Government.
“To disperse the angry mob, heavy police and anti-riot units that had arrived started to fire in the air, but were met with a crowd of more than 300 people, now chanting slogans against the regime and it’s leaders, mostly Ayatollah Ali Khamenehi and Ahmadinejad, chanting: “We don’t want dictatorship”, “We don’t want emergency and martial law”, eyewitnesses added, according to some student’s news sites.
With the arrival of more forces, the police, backed by anti-riot units used tear gas and arrested at least 15 protesters, mot of them young ones, the internet sites reported.
Informed sources said since the start of the “Social Protection” scheme, such kind of instant clashes between people, exacerbated by the worsening social and political climate of the regime, and police is increasing, passer byes not hesitating to attack Islamic Guidance and other morality units in charge of implementing Islamic values every time they proceed in arresting so-called offenders.
Students clashed with police and shouted slogans against the regime and its leaders.
“Clashes between students and units of the Revolutionary Guards are more frequent than ever before”, one student said, adding “hardly a day passes without police entering the different universities to stop anti regime, anti-government demonstrations by the students”.
At the same time, the regime, faced with growing international pressures and domestic opposition, is increasing violence and crackdowns against women activists, intellectuals, political dissidents and human rights campaigners.
Early this month, police attacked students at Tehran University, injuring ten of them and arrested more than five. University officials either remained silent about the incident or complete denied it.University officials either remained silent about the incident or complete denied it.
“Following the protests of students over the condition of the food that is provided by the school, plainclothes and uniformed police entered Tehran University on Sunday and injured more than 10 students, while arresting between 3 to 5 of them. The police intervention took place as the students had almost ended their gathering who were on their way to their dormitories”, statement from the Amir Kabir University read.
At that time, students shouted slogans against some officials of the Islamic Republic. The students also engaged in throwing stones at the police outside the campus, forcing the police to take guard and retreat from their positions. Scuffles followed and the students dispersed after the police attacked them, into the early hours of Monday. ENDS PEAOPLE PROTEST 24208
