Tehran: Protests brutally suppressed
Protests rose two-fold last month relative to same period last year

The suppression of freedoms, the deteriorating state of the economy and society as well as citizens' insecurity has led to intense protests across the country. The number of popular protests and workers' strikes have increased 100% in the past month compared with the same period last year, reports from Iran say.

Hundred of government department and firms staged a gathering last Tuesday afternoon in front of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and chanted slogans against the Labor Minister and the regime's leaders. They carried placards which read: "We have not been paid for 13 months."

Around 4:00 pm, the State Security Forces and the Guards Corps intervened and attacked the demonstrators with truncheons to prevent the spread of the protest. The clashes last for several hours. The regime's repressive forces finally dispersed the crowd by arresting a group of protesters.

Last Friday, under the guise of protecting the Friday prayers congregation, the Revolutionary Guards opened fire on a student protest held in Tehran University.

On Tuesday, Khatami met with clerics in charge of the politico-ideological section assigned to the task of inquisition in the State Security and armed forces. Heaping praise on the efforts of the State Security Force, Khatami described the situation as "sensitive." Reiterating that the regime cannot allow the society to "go into chaos," he encouraged them to suppress forcefully popular acts of protest.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
January 29, 1999

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