TIMES ONLINE: It was meant to be a solemn religious ceremony in a cemetery where countless Islamic revolutionaries and martyrs are buried. Instead, the security forces turned the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery near Tehran into a battlefield yesterday, attacking hundreds of mourners with batons and teargas and driving opposition leaders away before they could even offer their prayers.
The occasion was the end of the 40-day mourning period for Neda Soltan, the student who became an icon of the opposition movement when she was killed in one of the protests after the disputed re-election of President Ahmadinejad.
It was marked not by prayers and readings from the Koran but by the desecration of the cemetery and, on the streets of the capital, battles between the regime’s forces and thousands of defiant Iranians who have refused to abandon their dreams of freedom.
As darkness fell the clashes continued. Observers said that the demonstrators were becoming increasingly fearless and that other protests held recently had been broken up much faster. “They are holding their own. They’re taking the beatings in their stride,” said one witness.
Tyres and rubbish skips burnt on the pavements, the air reeked of teargas and there were reports of gunfire. Many were arrested and the Basij smashed the windows of cars whose drivers supported the protesters by hooting.
The demonstrators, however, had once again made their point: seven weeks after the election, and despite their brutal tactics and mass arrests, the security forces have conspicuously failed to crush the opposition.
“We’re here to show that we’re here to stay. We are a fact the Government has to face,” said Ahmad, a shopkeeper. Maryam, an office worker, said: “We’re out here to show our hatred. You keep hearing about what they did to people in these prisons and all you feel is anger and disgust.”
The inauguration of Mr Ahmadinejad, which is due to take place on Wednesday, will lead to more demonstrations. Mir Hossein Mousavi, his defeated challenger, is expected to build on the opposition’s unexpected momentum by starting a broad political movement to fight for justice and democracy. >>> Martin Fletcher | Friday, July 31, 2009
