New Protests in Iran After Ayatollah Photos Burned
Iran is erupting in demonstrations again, after state television repeatedly broadcast video of people burning pictures of the Ayatollah Khomeini and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Police surrounded the campus of Tehran University on Sunday, trapping hundreds of students protesting what they said were fabricated government images of the burning of a photo of the Islamic Republic’s revered founder.
State television has repeatedly shown images, ostensibly taken during student-led protests on Dec. 7, of unidentified hands burning and tearing up pictures of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. It was a grave and illegal insult against the former leader still widely respected in the country and the elite Revolutionary Guard, the country’s most powerful military force, called for the trial and punishment of those responsible.
Video circulated widely on the Internet on the day of last week’s protests also showed photos of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being burned as well as one photo of Khamenei and Khomeini side by side going up in flames. The faces of those burning the pictures could not be seen and loud chants against the government were heard in the background. …
Students, who led Sunday’s protests, contended the images of burning photos were fabricated by government agents as a pretext for further crackdowns on the opposition.
Frank says: