Iran student protests bring out tens of thousands

[TomClash]

Source: AP

Dec 7, 5:12 PM EST

Iran student protests bring out tens of thousands

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Tens of thousands of students, many shouting "Death to the Dictator!" and burning pictures of Iran's supreme leader, took to the streets on more than a dozen campuses Monday in the biggest anti-government protests in months.

Riot police and pro-government Basij militiamen on fleets of motorcycles flooded Tehran's main thoroughfares, beating men and women with clubs as crowds of demonstrators hurled bricks and stones. Some protesters set tires and garbage cans ablaze.

"Death to the oppressor, whether it's the shah or the leader!" the students chanted, according to witnesses - making a daring comparison between Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the pro-U.S. shah, despised in Iran since his overthrow in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAN?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME

[SkyDaddy7]

1. The resolve of the Iranian People is awesome!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[d3m0l1sh3r]

2. =] Good For them

=] Good For them
It's nice to see things happening in the world, not just reports of bad events something should be done about, but someone trying to fix it. In this case, tens of thousands of someones

[rayofreason]

3. I applaud their courage...

...and wish them the minimum number of dead and injured by government thugs.

I guess we will know before too long.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

4. Very brave souls.

[parts]

5. idealism

most found in the student kind, possibly the greatest motive force in the world

God bless them

[yava]

6. yes, God bless them

they are agaist mixing religion with government!
Will you still bless them?

[parts]

8. Double Plus YES. religion has no place in government

Was that even a serious question, directed at me? :)

[struggle4progress]

7. Iran streets and campuses erupt in protest (LAT)

By Borzou Daragahi
December 8, 2009

Reporting from Beirut - ... Witnesses and Iranian news sources also reported numerous arrests, including those of Majid Tavakoli, a student leader who was hauled away after delivering a speech at Tehran's Amir Kabir University, and two Iranian journalists reportedly filming the protests for foreign television stations, Iranian media reported.

Iranian security forces had been cracking down in anticipation of the demonstrations, arresting student activists and warning others against taking to the streets to mark the 1953 protest during a visit by then-Vice President Richard Nixon. His trip followed a Washington-bankrolled coup d'etat that overthrew the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and reestablished the absolute rule of monarch Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi.

The day was traditionally marked by pro-government rallies but has been co-opted by reformist student groups since a 1999 uprising. In the hours before Monday's protest, pro-government Basiji militiamen had been allowed to flood university campuses in an attempt to inhibit the protests ...

"They ask us to forget about the election results as if the problem is only the elections," Mousavi said in a recent statement published on the Internet. "The problem of our people is not who the head of the government is or who is not. The problem is that this few are bolstering their egos to the shame of a great nation ...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-iran-protests8-2009dec08,0,1623707,full.story

[rollin74]

9. K&R

Excellent!!

Good Luck to the demonstrators.
They are very brave.