By Andrew L. Jaffee, December 6, 2003
Posted on 12/06/2003 4:50:15 PM PST by forty_years
| Reports of Riots/Uprising in Iran By Andrew L. Jaffee, December 6, 2003 |
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The were two reports of "rioting" and "uprising" out of the Iranian province of Baluchistan yesterday. The WorldNetDaily.com reported 30 dead and 80 wounded in the disturbances which they termed an "uprising," while the BBC reported 5 dead in a "riot." Baluchistan has distinct ethnic groups, mainly Baluch/Baloch and some Pathan/Pakhtuns, and is spread across Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. The region has a long and rich history. Baluchis make up 2% of Iran's population.
The BBC gave little detail, saying only that "clashes broke out when police shot and killed a motorcyclist who had refused to stop" and mentioning that there is tension between Sunni Muslim-dominated Baluchistan and the rest of Shia-dominated Iran.
The WorldNetDaily.com provided much more detail:
Iranian Supreme Revolutionary Guard forces under the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly killed a 10-year-old boy in the country's minority Baloch region yesterday, touching off a massive uprising against the Islamic regime countered by a deadly crackdown and imposition of martial law, according to sources on the scene.
Amid burning banks, stores and government offices, at least 30 Baloch protesters are dead and 80 injured in the southeastern city of Saravan near the Pakistani border...
The report claimed that Baluchi residents attacked members of the Revolutionary Guard, and that later thousands of people poured into the streets to protest the boy's killing. Apparently, the Revolutionary Guard opened fire on the protestors. WorldNetDaily.com claims Baluchistan is now in chaos:
The entire city and surrounding area is raised up against the Tehran government ... burning down symbols of the regime and attacking Iranian officials.
Crowds reached the offices of the mayor, commissioners and chief of police and beat them, ... and many soldiers have been beaten by unarmed citizens.
The director of the hospital has been warned by the government to not take in any wounded protesters, and some Balochs have been shot in front of the hospital ...
... security forces went to the hospital and killed people in their rooms.
About 300 people have been jailed, and uncooperative prisoners have had their tongues cut out...
How does one go about doing this? I mean, those tongues are pretty slippery...
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