Iranian students call president ‘dictator’

DAREINI TEHRAN – About 100 students staged a rare protest on Monday against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling him a ‘dictator’ as he gave a speech marking the beginning of the academic year at Tehran University.

The protest prompted scuffles between the demonstrators and hardline university students loyal to Ahmadinejad, who ignored chants of ‘Death to dictator’ and continued his speech on the merits of science and pitfalls of Western-style democracy, witnesses said. The hardline students chanted back ‘Thank you president’ as police looked on from the outside the university’s gates.No physical altercations took place, and the protesters dispersed after the car carrying Ahmadinejad left the campus.Students were once the main power base of Iran’s reform movement but have faced intense pressure in recent years from Ahmadinejad’s hard-line government, making anti-government protests rare.The president faced a similar outburst during a speech in December when students at Amir Kabir Technical University called him a dictator and set fire to his picture.Hoping to avoid a similar disturbance on Monday, organisers imposed tight security measures, checking the identity papers of all students entering the university and allowing only selected students into the hall.But the protestors were somehow able to gain entrance.Iran’s reform movement peaked in the late 1990s after former reformist President Mohammad Khatami was elected and his supporters swept parliament.But during that time, hard-liners who control the judiciary, security forces and powerful unelected bodies in the government, stymied attempts to ease social and political restrictions.Reformists – who want to loosen Iran’s social and political restrictions and favour better relations with the US – were further demoralised and divided after the 2005 election that brought Ahmadinejad to power.In recent months, dissenters have witnessed an increasing crackdown in Iran, and hundreds have been rounded up on accusations of threatening the Iranian system.Numerous pro-reform newspapers have been shut down and those that remain have been muted in their criticism fearing closure.Nampa-APThe hardline students chanted back ‘Thank you president’ as police looked on from the outside the university’s gates.No physical altercations took place, and the protesters dispersed after the car carrying Ahmadinejad left the campus.Students were once the main power base of Iran’s reform movement but have faced intense pressure in recent years from Ahmadinejad’s hard-line government, making anti-government protests rare.The president faced a similar outburst during a speech in December when students at Amir Kabir Technical University called him a dictator and set fire to his picture.Hoping to avoid a similar disturbance on Monday, organisers imposed tight security measures, checking the identity papers of all students entering the university and allowing only selected students into the hall.But the protestors were somehow able to gain entrance.Iran’s reform movement peaked in the late 1990s after former reformist President Mohammad Khatami was elected and his supporters swept parliament.But during that time, hard-liners who control the judiciary, security forces and powerful unelected bodies in the government, stymied attempts to ease social and political restrictions.Reformists – who want to loosen Iran’s social and political restrictions and favour better relations with the US – were further demoralised and divided after the 2005 election that brought Ahmadinejad to power.In recent months, dissenters have witnessed an increasing crackdown in Iran, and hundreds have been rounded up on accusations of threatening the Iranian system.Numerous pro-reform newspapers have been shut down and those that remain have been muted in their criticism fearing closure.Nampa-AP