Iran Students Protest Their Nation’s Leader
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
TEHRAN, Iran — An estimated 100 students staged a rare demonstration yesterday against the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling him a “dictator” and scuffling with hard-line students at Tehran University.
Mr. Ahmadinejad, who was giving a speech to a select group at the university to mark the beginning of the academic year, ignored the chants of “death to the dictator” and continued with his speech on the merits of science and the pitfalls of Western-style democracy, witnesses said.
The protesters scuffled with hard-line students who were chanting “thank you, president” while police looked on from outside the university gates. The protesters dispersed after the car carrying Mr. Ahmadinejad left the campus. Students were once the main power base of Iran’s reform movement but have faced intense pressure from Mr. Ahmadinejad’s government, making anti-government protests rare.
