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Iranian students heckle Ahmadinejad
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| DevilDogUSMC |
Iranian students heckle Ahmadinejad
Iranian students have disrupted a speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a prestigious Tehran university, setting fire to his picture and heckling him.
"Some students chanted radical slogans and inflamed the atmosphere of the meeting" at the Amir Kabir University, said the semi-official Fars news agency on Monday, which is close to Ahmadinejad.
"A small number of students shouted 'death to the dictator' and smashed cameras of state television but they were confronted by a bigger group of students in the hall chanting: 'We support Ahmadinejad'," it said.
It was the latest in a series of student demonstrations in recent days, the first time in least two years that such protests have taken place on this scale at Iranian universities.
Ahmadinejad responded by describing those students chanting the slogans as an "oppressive" minority.
"A small number of people who claim there is oppression are creating oppression and do not let the majority hear (my) words," he said.
According to the student news agency ISNA, Ahmadinejad responded to the students' chants of "students can die but they do not accept degradation" by lashing out at the United States.
"Today, the worst type of dictatorship in the world is the American dictatorship which has been clothed in human rights," he said.
"Our students are free and they fight and die but do not accept the foreigners' missions or bend to them," he added.
"It is my honour to burn for the sake of the nation's ideals and defend the system," Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling protesters who set fire his picture, ISNA said.
"Americans must know that even if Ahmadinejad's body is burnt a thousand times for this purpose, Ahmadinejad will not retreat even a centimetre from these ideals."
The Iranian president's speech was also interrupted by firecrackers, ISNA said.
A group of Amir Kabir's top students had earlier expressed objections to the government's economic and political agenda as well as "confrontation with student activists and ridding universities of independent lecturers".
"Bankrupting the country's industry, inflation, distribution of poverty, defacement of the country's international image and playing with the nation's fate in diplomatic issues," were among the points brought up in a statement.
"University is alive and criticises the government," it added, according to ISNA.
The incident came after hundreds of Iranian students protested at Amir Kabir on Sunday to denounce a crackdown on a reformist-led university association, according to the ISNA news agency.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 students also demonstrated at Tehran University on Wednesday to mark students' day, chanting slogans such as "for freedom and against despotism", ISNA reported at the time.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/...7.ypfkzp5b.html
Some smart kids who know when they're being F'd by grumpy old men.
They want to chill, listen to music, not be held down and even
imprisoned for saying something critical of the government
on a blog. |
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| Krypton |
I find it funny how Mahmoud labels the students oppressors when it is his government who is leading crackdowns against the opposition.
| quote: | | "Bankrupting the country's industry, inflation, distribution of poverty, defacement of the country's international image and playing with the nation's fate in diplomatic issues," were among the points brought up in a statement. " |
That says it all. People think Bush is bad? Just give mahmoud a chance, and he will be the next Jew-killer. At least the United States cares about collateral. |
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| Fir3start3r |
| Nice to see that they can at least protest... |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
Nice to see that they can at least protest... |
But for how long? Germans were able to protest to a certain point during the rise of third reich. |
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| Spacey Orange |
| you call them students, i call them 'dead kids walking' |
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| Lilith |
| Either that or theyre a sponsored ruse to prove to the world that the country is allowing some level of freedom of speech and equality of opinions. |
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| DevilDogUSMC |
I read an article about their student groups not too
long ago. The main and growing group is tied to hardliners
and politicians. They go around the campus enforcing thier
views like making sure no males are talking/chilling with
females and such. Or you get beat down.
Many students are forced to join the group if they ever want
a career in politics, even if they're pretty liberal and
want to push reforms.
So if you want to succeed in business or politics you must
join the group which has many chapters all over the country.
What used to be a reform minded, liberal generation of
students has now become a small minority thanks to bullying
and intimaation tactics supported by radical clerics and
hardline politicians.
I used to have high hopes for them but the old-timers have
come down hard on them... |
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| DevilDogUSMC |
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1974334,00.html
Iranian students hide in fear for lives after venting fury at Ahmadinejad
· President's supporters vow revenge on protesters
· Activists forecast harsher crackdown on dissent
Iranian student activists who staged an angry protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week have gone into hiding in fear for their lives after his supporters threatened them with revenge.
One student fled after being photographed holding a banner reading, "Fascist president, the polytechnic is not for you", during Mr Ahmadinejad's visit to Tehran's Amir Kabir university. At least three others have gone underground after being seen burning his picture. Vigilantes from the militant Ansar-e Hezbollah group have been searching for them.
In a startling contrast to the acclaim Mr Ahmadinejad has received in numerous recent appearances around Iran, he faced chants of "Death to the dictator" as he addressed a gathering in the university's sports hall last week. Several hundred students forced their way in to voice anger over a clampdown on universities since he became president last year.
While his aides played down the incident, the Guardian has learned details of the violent and chaotic events.
The disclosures came yesterday as early returns from Friday's council elections indicated that Mr Ahmadinejad's hardline supporters had failed in their attempt to take control of several key local authorities. Turnout was estimated at about 60% after reformers urged liberal-minded electors to vote in large numbers to protest against the government's policies.
Last Monday's university demonstration triggered violent clashes between student activists and crowds of Basij militia, who were there to support the president. A shoe was thrown at Mr Ahmadinejad while a student had his nose broken by an aide to a cabinet minister.
Protesters later surrounded the president's car, prompting a security guard to fire a stun grenade to warn them off. Four cars in the presidential convoy collided in their haste to leave. Mr Ahmadinejad's staff later insisted he had remained calm and ordered that the students should go unpunished. But some of those present say he accused them of being paid United States agents who would be confronted.
"He threatened us directly, saying that what we were doing was against the wishes of the nation," said Babak Zamanian, a spokesman for Amir Kabir university's Islamic students' committee. "After that, the students protested even more sharply, calling him a lying religious dictator and shouting, 'Forget America and start thinking about us!'
"We were chanting, 'Get lost Ahmadinejad!' and 'Ahmadinejad - element of discrimination and corruption.' You could see from his face that he was really shocked. He wasn't flashing his usual smile, and at one stage I thought he was going to cry. He told his supporters to respond with a religious chant hailing Ahmadinejad, but he was so shaken he was actually chanting it himself."
Another student said: "He was trying to keep control of himself, but you could see he was angry and upset."
Witnesses say Mr Ahmadinejad also tried to ridicule the students by referring to the university disciplinary code, under which those with three penalty points are suspended from studies. "He joked that he was going to issue a presidential order for those with three stars to be enlisted as sergeants in the army. That made the students really angry," said Mr Zamanian.
The university authorities' contentious use of the disciplinary code was said to be a trigger for last week's protest. About 70 students have been suspended and threatened with expulsion for various political activities, including writing articles critical of the government.
Last month, the authorities demolished two building belonging to the Islamic students' committee - a moderate grouping representing diverse opinions. An elected student body was also disbanded. Women students have been told to wear conservative dress and remove any makeup.
In this atmosphere, activists at Amir Kabir university - a traditional hotbed of political activism - regarded Mr Ahmadinejad's visit as a deliberate provocation and decided to protest. While many chanted, a hard core waved banners and burned his portrait, some ignoring instructions to cover their faces.
The 21-year-old student holding the "fascist president" banner was among those threatened with expulsion. He is said to be in grave danger after foreign news outlets, including the Guardian, published a picture of his gesture. Friends say he went into hiding after being confronted by two vigilantes.
"They said they would pull his father out of the grave [an ancient Persian threat]," said one student. "He is in real danger. Vigilantes have been standing at the dormitory doors asking for him."
Students now fear an even fiercer crackdown. "We believe [the authorities] will react much worse than before," said Armin Salmasi, 26, a leading activist. "We are already under constant surveillance. The student movement in Iran is going to be driven underground - just like it was before the revolution." |
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| Krypton |
Mr. Ahmadinejad's brown shirts? |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
Mr. Ahmadinejad's brown shirts? |
That's what I was thinking...
Or the Thought Police... :nervous: |
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| Dj O'Callaghan |
| Suprised no one has been decapitated yet. Because we all know what a civilised country Iran is. |
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