"Death to the Dictator" Protests in Iran

(Tehran) Despite government crackdowns leading to the arrests of activists, journalists, bloggers and opposition leaders, thousands of protesters chanted "death to the dictator" as they "streamed down the avenues of the capital" yesterday. Official reports indicate that 1,000 to 2,500 people have been arrested since the election, including a former vice-president and former cabinet members.

Witnesses said the protesters were assaulted by security forces firing tear gas and wielding batons.

Turning garbage bins into burning barricades and darting through choking clouds of tear gas, the opposition made its first foray into the streets in nearly two weeks in an attempt to revive mass demonstrations that were crushed in Iran’s postelection turmoil.

Iranian authorities had promised tough action to prevent the marches, which supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi have been planning for days through the Internet. Heavy police forces deployed at key points in the city ahead of the marches, and Tehran’s governor vowed to “smash” anyone who heeded the demonstration calls.

In some places, police struck hard. Security forces chased after protesters, beating them with clubs on Valiasr Street, Tehran’s biggest north-south avenue, witnesses said.

Women in headscarves and young men dashed away, rubbing their eyes in pain as police fired tear gas, in footage aired on state-run Press TV.

Predictably, Iranian authorities blame the protest on enemy nations and "counterrevolutionary networks" attempting to thwart the Ayatollah-certified election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.