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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iranian student protests become too big to ignore |
| 2008-03-06 |
| Ardeshir Arian, Pajamas Media For nearly two weeks, Shiraz University in central Iran has been paralyzed by a student demonstration that refuses to die and appears to be encouraging an atmosphere of protest on campuses around the country. The protests began on February 24, when more than 500 students in Shiraz University marched from their dormitories into the main campus and demonstrated against the school’s chancellor Mohammed Hadi Sedeghi, demanding that he resign. The angry protests have taken place daily ever since. In another country, angry student protesters might be considered a campus matter and wouldn’t necessarily have national significance, but the Shiraz students rising up and rebelling against Sadeghi, a former Revolutionary Guard Corps commander who was personally appointed by Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in an effort to crack down on campuses and rid them of non-Islamic influences, has wider implications. Sadeghi is clearly a political figure and an Ahmedinejad ally — he was in charge of the upcoming parliamentary election committee in the province of Fars. . . . Naturally, little has been heard of the student uprising on official Iranian media. But Radio Farda, a Persian-language, 24/7 radio service financed by the U.S., interviewed some of the demonstrators inside the campus. Its reports have been translated by Radio Free Europe: Student Mohammad Mehdi Ahmadi complained to Radio Farda on February 26 of “pressures” the university chief, whom he identified as Dr. Sadeqi, was imposing on the campus. He said these included the disqualification of 108 students who had sought to run for seats in a student council, the expulsion of various students from dormitories, the closure or evacuation of dormitories for married students, and pressures on student journals and activists. “These all became a trigger for the … protests,” he said. As the protest has continued, the numbers of students has grown into the thousands, organizers say, despite attempts to break it up by the authorities, with actions such as shutting down the main water lines into the student dormitories. More details and video at the link. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #2 It is only big if the MSM says it is. After all, nothing in the world happens without their approval. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-03-06 11:51 |
| #1 maybe too big to ignore but no so big that the NYT won't be able to marginize it |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-03-06 11:33 |