Relative calm has returned to Iran after a day of protests. Widespread pro- and anti-government protests, and the police forces’, Basij’s, and IRGC’s attempts to suppress the Green movement using force have come to an end.
Here is the second part of the Green Freedom Wave’s report on anti-government protests across Iran:
(Again, translation copyright New York Times Company – please give credit if you quote it)
Back to topToday’s demonstrations all across Iran were the scene of the widespread presence of Greens protesting the Coup d’etat of Khordad 1388. The scene of the protests in most of the cities across Iran today was the scene of complete aggression. An aggression without guise and naked, in which the main actors were plainclothes civilian forces using maces, Basij forces using weapons, and riot control police and people without any refuge, whose only crime was wanting to participate in demonstrations, were the innocent sacrifices of these forces. Green Freedom Wave’s reporters in Tehran and across Iran inform us about bullets being fired in the air and the irregular usage of pepper spray and tear gas, by the riot control police, in order to disperse the assemblies of the people. And in addition to this, as we reported before, Mehdi Karroubi and two of his bodyguards were subject to brutal attacks by uniformed Basij forces and were targeted by bullets. The condition of one of his bodyguards is serious and they have transferred him to a hospital. Likewise repressive forces opposite the Iranian Academy of Arts did not allow Mir Hossein Mousavi’s entourage to move towards the demonstrations. And they began attacks and beatings and creating fear amongst the people by spreading tear gas in the area.
Based on the reports that have come into the Green Freedom Wave, in addition to the injuring of a number of patiots resulting from baton beatings and the use of tear gas, a number of demonstrators today have been sent to the hostpitals and a minority have been arrested. Amongst the arrested are political activists such as Mohammad Hashemi [A leading hostage taker in 1979 and husband of Massoumeh Ebtekar their spokeswoman] central member of the Office of Unity, Fayyeseh Za’-Kohan a journalist, Hojjat Sharifi a member of the Bureau of Consolidating Unity (the leading student protest group), Vahideh Molavi a member of the group Women’s Square, Ali Mashmooli – member of the Islamic Students of Sharif University of Technology, Ali Malihi – member of the Bureau for Consolidating Unity, Hamad Sadeghi — member of the Bureau for Consolidating Unity, and Hassan Asadi-Zaydabadi — member of the Bureau for Consolidating Unity. A small number of the protesters were taken from the streets and transferred to strange, unmarked homes and we do not know what has happened to them.
The reports of the Green Freedom Wave from Neyshapur (near Mashhad) indicate that there was a widespread contingent of Green-wearing protesters in the streets there and they have recorded the people’s attempts to escape the from the hands of the coup d’etat government. In this city two girls who were being attacked by plain clothes forces were given a chance to escape by some people standing nearby and the Green Freedom Wave finds this report very interesting. Likewise the brave artists and teachers of this city were present at the Green demonstrations and they played an important role in guiding the people away from the hands of the repressive forces. Quoting from the Wave’s reporter in Neyshapur, teachers used their educational ID cards to protect people who were under threat of being arrested.
Likewise Green Freedom Wave’s reporting from Rasht (in the north of Iran) records that there was a large presence of Green-wearing protesters in this city, and they were subject to violence by coup d’etat government officials. According to the Wave’s report, news media report that Green supporting youth were marching from Toshiba Square towards Culture Square when, after having marched half of their path, a group of plainclothes security forces and men on motorcycles attacked them wildly. But the green youth changed their patht o move towards the University of Sciences of Gilan and they moved in that direction. A number of students were trying to enter the main area of the University when plainclothes security forces suddenly showed up and prevented them from entering the University. Students linked up with the people standing opposite the University gates and shouted the slogans “Death to the dictator!” “Down with Russia and the eyeless government!” Likewise in the Government’s office square in Rasht which was on the official demonstration’s path, reports indicate many confrontations occurred. This happened while the champion of Gilan’s local government, alongside Ayatollah Ghorbani (the Supreme Leader’s Representative in Gilan), and Bijan Nowbaveh an MP from Tehran, who had a special presence as the main speaker at the government’s ceremony, were all present at a special location. While the Basijis and government-supporting teachers were shouting slogans from loudspeakers, a number of young boys and girls suddenly began chanting in response: “Our nation says Death to Russia!” and their numbers quietly increased – shocking the audience. Plainclothes security forces first looked at this scene with surprise but then they suddenly attacked these protesters using batons. Police forces entered the scene after the Basij attack, as they usually have in recent months, and instead of helping the people they arrested a number of protesters. There still is no accurate information on the number of arrested in Rasht but eyewitnesses inform the Wave’s reporter in Rasht that about 15 people were arrested in the government office’s square. It is still unclear where these people were transferred to.
Green Freedom Wave’s reporter in Mashhad also report a self-organized movement of students at the Ferdowsi University in Mashhad, who began marching in front of the Engineering University in Mashhad and moved towards the Engineering department, the Mathematics department, the administrative sciences department, and continued towards the Dentistry department, and later moved out of the University towards Freedom Square. At about 1 in the afternoon they were on Vakilabad street towards Freedom Square – near Ali al-Khosoos across from Ferdowsi University – when they met with heavy traffic. They could see Special Forces police units across from the main gate of Ferdowsi University. At the same time, at the start of the protests, the Basij forces received help from University teachers in using loudspeakers and other tools to create disorder in the protests, to which students responded with slogans like “Basiji, be Ashamed! Free the University [from your terror]!” Green students at Ferdowsi University who were increasing by the minute, were being filmed by forces covering their faces, to which they responded “Turn off your cameras! Listen to what we say!” They also shouted “Ahmadinejad, show us where you got your 63% from!”
Likewise eye witness reports in Mashhad indicate that many students carried signs saying “Independence, Freedom, Iranian Republic” (as opposed to Khomeini’s slogan, “Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic”), and they shouted the slogan “The Embassy of Russia is the Den of Spies” (Iran calls the ex-US Embassy the Den of Spies). It is said that the students living on campus were preparing to continue their protests into the night.
Allameh Tabatabaie University was also the site of a widespread Green protest. According to Green Freedom Wave’s reporter in Tehran, today in the Econmoics department at Allameh, located at AbbasAbad street on the intersection with Bucharest street, nearly 200 students assembled near the south door of the University and shouted anti-government slogans, and they were met by support from the people living on AbbasAbad street. Nearly 2000 students assembled outside the university on AbbasAbad. After nearly 30 minutes of the students’ assembly, IRGC forces (wearing IRGC uniforms!) broke down the doors to enter the University and they proceeded to beat a number of male and female students severely – which resulted in one of the students getting a fractured skull. Likewise many tear gas canisters were fired into the University and 3 students were hit directly by these canisters. These IRGC forces who had violated the privacy of the University were confronted by even the university’s Basij student contingent – and they physically confronted the Basij students and intimidated them. All of the classes at Allameh were cancelled for the day.
Likewise thousands of students at Qazvin Free University (in the north of Iran) organized pro-Green assemblies there. These students shouted slogans supporting Mousavi and Karroubi.
Scattered reports across Tehran and from universities across the nation indicate that people are going to shout “Allah Akbar” tonight from 9pm to 10pm.