Iran: Police Attack Women's Day Celebration

[democratic]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/0ead934ab6f2e9e124df8d9cb1bdddca.htm

(New York, March 9, 2006) – Iranian police and plainclothes agents yesterday charged a peaceful assembly of women's rights activists in Tehran and beat hundreds of women and men who had gathered to commemorate International Women's Day, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack took place shortly after participants in the celebration assembled at Tehran's Daneshjoo Park at 4 P.M. on Wednesday, March 8.

"The Iranian authorities marked International Women's Day by attacking hundreds of people who had peacefully assembled to honor women's rights," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Once again, Iran's government has signaled that it is ready to use violence to suppress peaceful public assembly of any sort."

The security forces then dumped cans of garbage on the heads of women who were seated before charging into the group and beating them with batons to compel them to leave the park.

Since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in August, security forces have repeatedly resorted to violence to suppress peaceful gatherings. In January, security forces in Tehran attacked and arrested hundreds of striking bus drivers who were protesting working conditions.

[ECH1969]

1. Iran would never do such a thing

[951-Riverside]

4. America would never do such a thing

...if the protesters were either Neo Nazi's or had the proper permit, licensing and came in a small group. :D

[Just Me]

2. OMG!!!!

;(

[ECH1969]

3. Bull

Since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in August, security forces have repeatedly resorted to violence to suppress peaceful gatherings. In January, security forces in Tehran attacked and arrested hundreds of striking bus drivers who were protesting working conditions.

They need to prove it or shut up.

[OKNancy]

6. It's happened many times and Iran is not known for equal

rights for women. I realize there are people who think it's propaganda, but I believe Human Rights Watch. Just because Bush has his sights on Iran doesn't make their problems go away.
Iran is in the hands of Taliban-like religious nuts.

[Marie26]

7. Human Rights Watch

isn't especially biased on this. They care about human rights, not Bush's agenda.

[movonne]

9. Well this country has no right to criticize them, are we not doing the

same thing...

[phrenzy]

5. The Real Tragedy Is...

I have no idea what to believe anymore. While I know that the theocracies in the ME will do horrible shit to women - I have NO idea if any particular story is true, or just manufactured by war cheerleaders to show how eeeeevil the Iranians are and why we need to go get our 'war on'.

My trust has been so violated that I don't know what to believe. This administration has cried wolf so many times, it is now safer to believe these stories are LIES than to believe they are true. It's totally fucked.

We've had so much'babies snatched from incubators' and 'rape room' propoganda that I we now do not know what is part of a psy-ops campaign and what is truly happening. And, yes, even though it is 'human rights watch' - That doesn't mean shit. It could just mean that psy-ops is getting good at staging or tricking seemingly unbiased, credible sources of information to unknowingly run their stories.

And worst of all, even if it is ALL truly happening what the hell can be done about it? The current American Chimpire can NOT be trusted to handle it under any circumstances since it will only be used as a window dressing excuse for them to execute their real agenda (which has nothing to do with protecting women in the ME)

[Marie26]

10. Trust yourself. n/t

[OKNancy]

8. Direct link to Human RIghts Watch

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/09/iran12832.htm

The commander of security forces at the scene, Ghodratollah Mahmoudi, told the Iranian Labor News Agency that “this gathering was held without an official permit. The response by the security forces prevented the gathering to take on a political dimension.”

Among those present at the gathering was Simin Behbahani, a renowned Iranian poet. According to an eyewitness, “Behbahani was beaten with a baton, and when people protested that she is in her 70s and she can barely see, the security officer kicked her several times and continued to hit her with his baton.”

The security forces also took several foreign journalists into custody and confiscated their photographic equipment and video footage before releasing them.

On the previous day, March 7, the Iranian interior ministry summoned several women’s rights activists and warned them to cancel the gathering. The activists responded that the event is an annual celebration by many women’s rights groups and that they were not organizing the event.