Security Forces Repress Tehran Protests
img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-17547" title="basiji" src="/files/wxrimport/2011-02/basiji.jpg" alt="" width="205" height="105" /><The Washington Post reports:
TEHRAN - Thousands of Iranian security forces dispersed anti-government demonstrators who tried to gather Sunday in Tehran's main squares to commemorate the deaths of two men killed during a protest Monday, witnesses reported.
Official media denied reports of heavy security presence and minor skirmishes with opposition supporters, stressing that the Iranian capital was calm. But witnesses described large groups of protesters at several locations in the city and a hefty number of security forces armed with clubs, tear gas and Tasers out to thwart them.
"Security forces are hiding their faces behind masks," said an office worker who was reached by telephone during the afternoon. "There are only small clashes and few slogans against the system. Still some main streets are very crowded, both with protesters and just as many security forces."
There were unconfirmed reports of gunshots, and a police commander said a person carrying explosives had been arrested. Some opposition Web sites said two people had been killed, but officials denied the reports. "Such news is totally unfounded, as there was no clash or disturbance in the capital today," said Safarali Baratloo, a security official, according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency.
Faezeh Hashemi, a well-known women's rights activist and daughter of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was arrested for "making provocative slogans, encouraging the rioters," the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. She was later released, Fars said. Rafsanjani, one of the country's leading clerics and politicians, has been under pressure recently after hard-liners accused him of being too close to the opposition.
Tehran had braced for violence after opposition groups called for protests Sunday and, in an apparent attempt to discourage protesters, state media warned of possible bloodshed by anti-government demonstrators. Fars reported that teams from the Mujaheddin-e Khalq, a banned opposition group based in Iraq, had entered Iran and planned to shoot people during the protest.
Witnesses reported that riot police were stationed in the city's main squares. In a significant change in tactics, Iran's opposition had called on supporters to occupy important squares across the city, rather than the six-mile-long Enghelab, or Revolution, Street, where they had organized previous marches.
Opposition Web sites said the Sunday demonstration was a success. "The widespread but unconcentrated presence of people on the streets created hassles, disorganization and frustration for police, security and intelligence forces. Thousands of extra police and security forces had to be brought to Tehran to be spread throughout the city," according to the Kaleme.com site.
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