Tehran, 4 November 2009: Students Report

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Wednesday November 11, 2009 14:54 by Drew - A World To Win News Service news at aworldtowin dot org

This year the Ahmadinejad regime gave even more importance to the anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover than usual so as to claim anti-imperialist credentials. The imperialist media influential in Iran also emphasized this day as the anniversary of the takeover and ignored the memory of the student movement. So two opposing celebrations were held, one by the regime in front of the U.S. embassy and the other all over Tehran and other cities, especially those with universities. The regime’s TV used edited film footage from previous years to inflate the number of pro-government forces, but they did it so unskilfully that this became a scandal. This first-hand report translated from the Iranian student newspaper Bazr details some of the day's events.

A June 2009 edition of BAZR in English is available at http://www.peykeiran.com/userfiles/file/bazr-EN.pdf

We decided not to go to the U.S. embassy, the assembly point for the pro-government forces. Starting around 11:30 am, intense hit and run clashes broke out in the stretch between the Enghelab (Revolution) crossroads) up to Vali Asr square and the surrounding streets. People formed up in groups of 30 or 40 chanting "Death to the dictator". They would storm towards the repressive forces and then retreat to the side roads. This pattern continued for some time.

Many of the shops were closed, but some shopkeepers let in demonstrators before they shut their doors. At one point people let us into a house, and from there the youth started to shoot slingshots at the Basiji militiamen through a shutter. They told us they had been doing that for the last few months.

From the roofs of tall buildings people threw down garbage, small stones and empty tins onto the repressive forces.

On a side street we encountered a group coming from 7-Tir square. One had his ear injured, another had blood all over his face and head, and a third had been beaten with a baton. But they were laughing and planning their next action. They said the repressive forces had been and gave them what they deserved, and also seized their IDs.

Some of the girls wore clothing that made it easier to struggle. They ditched the long coats Iranian women are required to wear over their trousers, and wore trainers so they could run fast if necessary. The radicalism of the women and girls was indisputable.

Around 1 pm above Vali Asr Square, there were intense clashes. At some moments the people were able to drive the repressive forces back, and then people would pour out of the side streets and sidewalks to march in the main street.

Again the most chanted slogan was "Death to the dictator". Then in a hit and run action we managed to enter North Palestine road. The road was initially quiet but suddenly a large number of people started to march. Some carried big posters of Mousavi (considered one of the leaders of the Green Movement) in their hands. A young woman sitting on the shoulders of a young man was chanting, "Khamenei is a murderer, so his Velayat (leadership) is invalidated”. The slogan "Death to Khamenei" was heard all over the place. However slogans in support of Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi and the Green Movement, such as “Mir Hussein – ya Houssein” (comparing Mousavi to a Shia Islamic saint) and "No to the East – No to the West – We want a National Green government” were also chanted.

We finally got to Keshavarz Boulvard. Our eyes were burning from the tear gas grenades. Sometimes people moved in ordered ranks and sometimes in scattered disorder.

At Vali Asr we came up against a brutal attack by the plainclothes forces, so we retreated. We also witnessed them squabbling among themselves, because no one wanted to be among those sent to attack us.

At 2:30 pm we went towards Jomhuri (Republic) Street by bus. Some people on the bus were talking about today’s struggle and they were exchanging the news they had heard. Some were unhappy that they couldn't take part in the protest because they had been warned that they would be fired from their jobs if they were absent. Too bad 4 November didn't fall on their day off, they said!

Some people were preaching pessimism and passivity. They said everyone should carry on with their life and businesses as usual. One of them asked, "What's the point? You'll all get killed and nothing will happen." Someone answered, "It seems that you're not aware that in the last 30 years we have been dying every day. Now that we are determined not to die, you try to scare us with death?"

The most interesting part was the embarrassed look on the faces of some Hezbollah (another regime group) supporters on the bus. Women fully covered in face veils and chadors just sat silently, observing the protestors. One of them hid her Khamenei poster so that people wouldn't realize that she had been part of the regime's demonstration.

Around 4 pm we went back to Vali Asr. We had heard that the protests would be stepped up at this time. The protests continued here and there but things weren't as intense as that morning, at least where we were …

People were exchanging news from other cities and towns, especially campuses and university dormitories.

The ruling power had attempted to commemorate the occupation of the U.S. embassy in 1980, and to use the occasion to mobilize a large number of people. Along with mobilizing their base, they forced some people from the schools and governmental offices to join them. But despite that, those who had come out to oppose the regime were more numerous.

This year's 4 November was different from the previous years. Some people who had witnessed 4 November 1978 say that this year's struggle reminded them of those days.

The government started taking extensive measures weeks ago to prevent the participation of secondary school students. They forced some students from government schools to go to their event in front of the former U.S. embassy building. And they informed private school students if they were absent it would not be excused. However small groups of 16-17 year-olds could be seen walking enthusiastically and happily carrying in their backpacks stones and other means necessary for the battle with the repressive forces.

Comparing these 4 November protests with the last demonstrations, on Palestine Day (18 September), despite the very extensive Green movement publicity and the leaflets distributed by Mousavi and Karoubi supporters, today was less under their control. This could be seen from the more radical character of today's struggle and also from the slogans that were chanted and from the kind of the brutal and extensive suppression that the government carried on.

Now people are preparing for 7 December, University Students Day.

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