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He's been celebrated as a moderate and, in some circles, a martyr. But Tehran's suspended mayor, Gollamh Hossein Karbaschi, was painted as a villain during a public address he gave at Carleton University last night.
The 45-year-old Iranian politician had barely begun his remarks when one person after another stood up and began shouting at him, speaking mainly Farsi, calling him "killer" and "murderer."
"You don't represent the Iranian people," said one woman.
Those in attendance accused Mr. Karbaschi of being "affiliated with a murderous regime," while others said "we cannot sit here and listen to your garbage." Another asked, "What are you doing in Canada?"…
Several times people rushed to the front of the lecture hall and threw eggs at Mr. Karbaschi…
"I'm not quite sure when he became a moderate because the guy has been 'inside' for such a long time," said Sara Mirzakhani, 37, who runs the Sussex rug gallery in Ottawa.
Tempers did not cool down and once the floor was open to questions and answers, the shouting continued. The situation reached boiling point when a women rushed to the front and threw two eggs at the suspended mayor, one partly striking him…
Resistance Activities in 517 Cities, Iran Zamin News Agency, November 9
The Mojahedin Command headquarters inside Iran reported that the acts of protest and publicity campaign undertaken by the organization in the month of October spread to 517 cities in 27 provinces.
This major campaign on the occasion of the new academic year in Iran was carried out in educational centers and universities, with the slogan, "down with Khatami, down with Khamenei, hail to Rajavi."
These activities coincided with the Assembly of Experts' election sham and were conducted despite heavy security measures by the clerical regime. The Resistance's activities represented a 120% increase relative to the same period last year.
The number of social protests and strikes registered during October rose to 43, showing a three fold rise in the number of protests in the first seven months of this year relative to the same period last year.
Group Says to Hit If Ex-Hostages Return, Reuters, November 9
TEHRAN - An Iranian group naming itself after Islamists known for political assassinations said it would launch suicide attacks against former U.S. hostages if they visited Iran, a national newspaper reported on Monday.
"A group called Devotees of Islam announced it would follow the path of suicide martyrs...if Bruce Laingen, Barry Rosen and other persons related to the former U.S. den of spies return to Tehran," the conservative daily Qods said.
Students supporting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami suggested last week that all the former hostages should return to the Islamic republic as guests. Conservative and hard-line opponents of Khatami have spoken out against the invitation and said Laingen and Rosen were planning to come.
In a telephone call to Qods, a person saying he represented the Devotees of Islam recalled a 1983 suicide car bomb attack by radical Moslems which killed 241 U.S. servicemen in Lebanon.
The original Devotees of Islam (Fedayan-e Eslam), set up in the 1940s, was responsible for assassinations of opponents and state officials before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Conservative deputy Hassan Kamran on Sunday blasted officials for not blocking the invitation of the ex-hostages. "Why does the Foreign Ministry let anyone invite...spies?" Kamran said in a parliament debate carried on state radio. "Is there something secret going on? Our people will not allow anyone to make preparations for direct talks with America."
Group Threatens to Kill Former US Hostages, Agence France Presse, November 9
TEHRAN - An Iranian fundamentalist group has threatened to kill two former US hostages if they travel to Iran, a newspaper reported Monday.
A spokesman for the Fedayeen for Islam told the conservative Qods newspaper that they would commit suicide attacks against Bruce Laingen and Barry Rosen -- both of whom were held hostage for 444 days after a raid on the former US embassy here in November 1979.
The threat followed unconfirmed press reports that the two Americans have applied for visas to come to Iran after invitations from a student group here responsible for the seizure of the US embassy.
Facing a growing inquisition by the hardline press about the issue, the foreign ministry was compelled to react to the rumor on Monday, saying: "We have no information about any invitations" extended to the two Americans.
"Laingen and Rosen have not applied for visas to travel to Iran. No such invitation is valid without foreign ministry approval," it said, quoted by the hardline Kayhan daily.