Interior Minister Under Fire by Student Basij
August 17, 2000 - 0:0
TEHRAN The Basij (volunteer forces) students of Tehran universities attacked the Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari for terming "illegal" last Sunday's gathering before the Majlis in support of the Leader's decision to kill an scheduled debate by the MPs on amending the Press Law.
In a letter entitled "Is the Interior Ministry Being Exploited Factionally", the signatories asserted that "the files of the political officials of the Interior Ministry are intertwined with factional considerations." The letter also took a swipe at the Interior Ministry's handling of last July's unrest and a speech delivered by Deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh, after hardline vigilantes and plainclothesmen stormed Tehran University dormitory complex to quell a peaceful students demonstration staged over the closure of a first reformist daily, Salam.
The unrest triggered six days of a bloody riot in the capital which later spread to other cities. It was believed to be the worst of the kind in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
The Basijis in their letter said those who attended the rallies held on May 23 (on the occasion of President Mohammad Khatami's landslide victory) and gatherings held on May 25 and another one on July 8 marking the start of bloody riots, were "hooligans".
It also criticized the Interior Ministry's indifference toward the issue.
"This question and tens of others prove domination of a suspicious political clique over the Interior Ministry which seems to have factionally exploited you and your ministry," the letter, addressed to mousavi Lari, read in part.
"Needless to say, issuance of legal permission is possible just within the shadow of a real law-abidingness on part of the Interior Ministry and its refraining from political and factional biases.
Otherwise the Interior Ministry is exploiting the law to confront the same." The Interior Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that gathering in front of the Majlis last week was unauthorized and lashed out the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) for its coverage.
(IRNA)
In a letter entitled "Is the Interior Ministry Being Exploited Factionally", the signatories asserted that "the files of the political officials of the Interior Ministry are intertwined with factional considerations." The letter also took a swipe at the Interior Ministry's handling of last July's unrest and a speech delivered by Deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh, after hardline vigilantes and plainclothesmen stormed Tehran University dormitory complex to quell a peaceful students demonstration staged over the closure of a first reformist daily, Salam.
The unrest triggered six days of a bloody riot in the capital which later spread to other cities. It was believed to be the worst of the kind in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
The Basijis in their letter said those who attended the rallies held on May 23 (on the occasion of President Mohammad Khatami's landslide victory) and gatherings held on May 25 and another one on July 8 marking the start of bloody riots, were "hooligans".
It also criticized the Interior Ministry's indifference toward the issue.
"This question and tens of others prove domination of a suspicious political clique over the Interior Ministry which seems to have factionally exploited you and your ministry," the letter, addressed to mousavi Lari, read in part.
"Needless to say, issuance of legal permission is possible just within the shadow of a real law-abidingness on part of the Interior Ministry and its refraining from political and factional biases.
Otherwise the Interior Ministry is exploiting the law to confront the same." The Interior Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that gathering in front of the Majlis last week was unauthorized and lashed out the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) for its coverage.
(IRNA)