Mass Protests in Iran

international | worker & community struggles and protests | other press Thursday February 17, 2011 18:54 by worker - CWI

The struggle spreads to Iran. The workers will topple the Dictatorship. This is by Hamid Azar, from ‘Offensiv’, weekly paper of Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna (CWI Sweden).

The 25 Bahman (14 February) was a day of revolt in Iran. Hundreds of thousands protested in Tehran and in other cities. They shouted, "Down with dictatorship!" and "After Ben Ali, now Sayed Ali [Khamenei]!"

Almost 50,000 people responded to a call on Facebook to support the protests. The official opposition leaders, Mehdi Karroubi and Mirhossein Mousavi, in a letter to the Minister of Interior sent earlier sought approval for a demonstration in support of the revolution in Egypt.

The regime was prepared for the protests, deploying plain cloth security forces, militia and police. They attacked demonstrators from motorbikes, used tear gas and fired directly at the protesters. Two young people were killed including a university student, and three wounded. Over 1 500 people were arrested in Tehran.

Young people and women played a major role in the protest. Mothers planned to participate in the Lale Park, Tehran, carrying photographs of their children killed in earlier protests. Most demonstrators were young people and students. Activists from many workplaces were also key participants. The bus driver’s union leader, Mansour Ossanlou, supported the demonstrations.