Posted on 12/21/2006 6:22:37 AM PST by King of Florida
TEHRAN, Dec. 20 — As protests broke out last week at a prestigious university here, cutting short a speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Babak Zamanian could only watch from afar. He was on crutches, having been clubbed by supporters of the president and had his foot run over by a motorcycle during a less publicized student demonstration a few days earlier.
But the significance of the confrontation was easy to grasp, even from a distance, said Mr. Zamanian, a leader of a student political group.
The student movement, which planned the 1979 seizure of the American Embassy from the same university, Amir Kabir, is reawakening from its recent slumber and may even be spearheading a widespread resistance against Mr. Ahmadinejad. This time the catalysts were academic and personal freedom.
“It is not that simple to break up a president’s speech,” said Alireza Siassirad, a former student political organizer, explaining that an event of that magnitude takes meticulous planning. “I think what happened at Amir Kabir is a very important and a dangerous sign. Students are definitely becoming active again.”
The protest, punctuated by shouts of “Death to the dictator,” was the first widely publicized outcry against Mr. Ahmadinejad, one that was reflected Friday in local elections, where voters turned out in droves to vote for his opponents.
The students’ complaints largely mirrored public frustrations over the president’s crackdown on civil liberties, his blundering economic policies and his harsh oratory against the West, which they fear will isolate the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
why arent they strapping on some explosives and going to 'heaven' ?
What goes around...
Dude, these guys are on our side.
All we can do is hope for the best. Part of that hope is that Bush is doing whatever can be done behind the scenes to help the good guys in Iran.
Here's hoping Khamenei goes to Allah and Ahmadinejad no longer has someone covering his back.
Seems our students would be happier in Iran and theirs would be happier here.
There are a lot of good Persians, terrific people. I don't know if there are enough, though.
They need our full support
BUMP
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