Saturday, May 26, 2012


Persian Letters

Students Protest At Azad University

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A protest gathering was held today at the Central branch of Azad University in Tehran. The website "Daneshjoonews," which covers issues related to Iran's student movement, has posted a video of the protest in which students are singing a protest song.



A student activist who did not want to be named told RFE/RL that Basij forces at the university attacked protesting students and injured several of them. He said students were chanting "Death to the Dictator" and "Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein." "Daneshjoonews" reports that some were also calling for the release of their jailed colleagues. According to the website, several hundreds students took part in the protest.

Last week two student leaders, Bahareh Hedayat and Milad Assadi, were sentenced to heavy prison terms in what has been described by observers as an attempt by the Iranian establishment to intimidate students ahead of the June 12 anniversary of last year's disputed presidential vote.

-- Golnaz Esfandiari
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by: Dylan from: Baltimore, MD
May 23, 2010 23:00
1) From what I see in this video, there are only a handful of people actively participating in the protest, the rest are just observing.

2) If the protesters are chanting "Ya Housain, Mir-housain", it shows that the protests are not at all anti-Islamic in nature (in stark contrast to what is usually reflected in the media), but rather anti-establishment. I am suspecting that these anti-establishment protestors are, as their comrades in other parts of the world, all talk and no action, and no substance to their protest (e.g. the Greeks protesting the state of the country’s economy, while the government is broke and people refuse to pay their taxes).

3) The term "Basij forces" is used. Apparently whenever the Iranian protestors come across individuals that do not support their cause, they call them "Basij forces" - implying that they are paid operatives of the regime. This is text-book behavior of anti-establishment protestors around the globe: they initiate physical confrontations with civilians that do not agree with their cause, and then accuse the other party of being a paid operative of the establishment.

About This Blog

Persian Letters is a blog that offers a window into Iranian politics and society. Written primarily by Golnaz Esfandiari, Persian Letters brings you under-reported stories, insight and analysis, as well as guest Iranian bloggers -- from clerics, anarchists, feminists, Basij members, to bus drivers.

Guerrilla Translators

Seen anything in the Iranian blogosphere that you think Persian Letters should cover? If so, contact Golnaz Esfandiari at esfandiarig@rferl.org