Clashes erupt at Iran mass rally

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Thousands of opposition supporters have clashed with security forces during a government-sponsored rally in Tehran.

Iran's reformists had been warned not to try to turn the pro-Palestinian Quds (Jerusalem) Day marches into anti-government protests.

Reports say opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and former President Mohammad Khatami were attacked.

The opposition has been banned from holding rallies since the disputed presidential election in June.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8262273.stm

[marybourg]

1. For "pro-Palestinian" read "anti-Israel and holocaust denial" rally. nt.

[fbahrami]

2. Thousands march in Iran opposition protests

Source: Yahoo!

"The opposition held its first major street protests since mid-July, with marchers decked out in green — the reform movement's color — waving V-for-victory signs on major boulevards in the capital.

The commemoration, known as Quds Day, is a major political occasion for the government — a day for it to show its support for the Palestinians. Quds is the Arabic word for Jerusalem. But the opposition was determined to turn the day into a show of its survival and continued strength despite a fierce three-month-old crackdown against it since the disputed June 12 presidential election. Top opposition leaders joined the protests, in direct defiance of commands by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who barred anti-government demonstrations on Quds Day.

Several tens of thousands joined the opposition marches, witnesses said — far smaller than the masses that turned out in the Quds Day rallies, which were helped by government organizing. Police and security forces, along with pro-government Basij militiamen, fanned out along main squares and avenues and in many cases tried to keep nearby opposition protesters away from the Quds Day rallies to prevent clashes, witnesses said.

Opposition supporters poured onto main boulevards and squares, wearing green T-shirts and wristbands and waving green banners and balloons. They chanted, "Not Gaza, not Lebanon — our life is for Iran" — a slogan directly challenging the government's support for anti-Israeli Palestinian militants in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla. Some shouted for Ahmadinejad's government to resign. Some women marched with their children in tow."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090918/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_20