Police clash with protesters in Iran
Source: Agencies |
November 5, 2009, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Iranian security forces beat anti-government protesters with batons yesterday on the sidelines of rallies to mark the 30th anniversary of the US Embassy takeover.
Authorities dispatched paramilitary units to key locations and disrupting mobile phones, text messaging and Internet access to frustrate protest organizers.
The contrasts in the latest protest wave were stark: people chanting "Death to America" outside the former US Embassy while hundreds of opposition marchers in central Haft-e-Tir Square denounced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported police also used tear gas to disperse protesters in other parts of the city. There was no independent information on injuries or arrests, but state-run Press TV said no one was hurt.
Authorities appeared determined to avoid opposition rallies overshadowing the anniversary of the embassy takeover.
They had warned protesters days in advance against attempts to disrupt or overshadow the annual gathering outside the former embassy.
Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days in 1979 in a crisis that began a three-decade diplomatic freeze between the two nations.
US President Barack Obama noted the anniversary of the takeover of the US Embassy and urged the two countries to move beyond the "path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation."
The hostage crisis "deeply affected the lives of courageous Americans who were unjustly held hostage, and we owe these Americans and their families our gratitude for their extraordinary service and sacrifice," Obama said in a statement.
Authorities dispatched paramilitary units to key locations and disrupting mobile phones, text messaging and Internet access to frustrate protest organizers.
The contrasts in the latest protest wave were stark: people chanting "Death to America" outside the former US Embassy while hundreds of opposition marchers in central Haft-e-Tir Square denounced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported police also used tear gas to disperse protesters in other parts of the city. There was no independent information on injuries or arrests, but state-run Press TV said no one was hurt.
Authorities appeared determined to avoid opposition rallies overshadowing the anniversary of the embassy takeover.
They had warned protesters days in advance against attempts to disrupt or overshadow the annual gathering outside the former embassy.
Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days in 1979 in a crisis that began a three-decade diplomatic freeze between the two nations.
US President Barack Obama noted the anniversary of the takeover of the US Embassy and urged the two countries to move beyond the "path of sustained suspicion, mistrust and confrontation."
The hostage crisis "deeply affected the lives of courageous Americans who were unjustly held hostage, and we owe these Americans and their families our gratitude for their extraordinary service and sacrifice," Obama said in a statement.
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