The Times UK along with other sources are reporting of renewed street protests in Iran. Again these protests are being met with a government crackdown that uses tear-gas against its own people.
Police fire tear gas and bullets to disperse Tehran protests
Iranian police fired tear-gas and shots into the air today to disperse thousands of demonstrators who had defied official warnings and staged a march to mark the 10th anniversary of a bloody student uprising.
Protesters chanted “Death to the dictator” as they gathered in the streets around Tehran University, the epicentre of the 1999 protests, which were crushed by police and Basiji vigilantes.
Today, police deployed reinforcements after a first volley of tear-gas failed to disperse the demonstrators, who continued to grow in number, according to eyewitnesses. Police then fired a second volley of the gas.
“Police used tear gas twice to disperse the crowd. There was also many Basij militia on motorbikes patrolling the area,” said one witness.
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Officers in riot gear had been out in force to try to stifle any follow-up protests after President Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election last month, which brought hundreds of thousands out onto the streets and left 20 dead..
