Iran Students Vow Protest Will Continue

UNCLAS ANKARA 001753

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: CVIS PREL PINS PGOV PHUM SOCI SCUL TU IR
SUBJECT: Iran Students Vow Protest Will Continue


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On Wednesday December 9, CONOFF surveyed Iranian
non-immigrant visa (NIV) applicants regarding the Monday, December 7
and Tuesday, December 8 protests in Iran. According to applicant
reports, students vowed to continue their protests until the dean of
Tehran University, a hard-line Ayatollah, resigns. One applicant
reported violent clashes with the Basij in Tehran. Though no
definitive numbers could be given, applicants from various cities
said protests were country-wide and larger than the November 4
protest. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) A biomedical student from Shahid Beheshti University in
Tehran stated that the protest continued into Tuesday, December 8 in
support of those arrested during the previous day's demonstrations.
She said that students are now demanding the resignation of a
conservative Ayatollah who is dean of Tehran University. She added
that Basij forces in plain clothing mixed in with students and used
pepper spray in addition to beatings to try to break them up. A
student from Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran said demonstrators
had poured into the streets. Another student from Sharif University
of Technology in Tehran confirmed protests there had continued into
Tuesday and that students clashed with Basijis. The student was
unaware of any continuation on Wednesday. Another Tehran based
mechanical engineering student was unconvinced about the effect of
the protests as he viewed the "government is acting very strong" in
dealing with the protesters.


3. (SBU) Applicants from various cities agreed that these protests
occurred in all major urban centers and were much larger than last
month's protests, but none could quantify them. As one elderly man
from Tabriz noted, "if anyone gives a number it is a lie but they
were much larger than those of November 4." He added that he had
heard protests continued all over Western Azerbaijan as well as
Iran's Kurdistan region.


4. (SBU) COMMENT: Generally, most applicants, though skeptical
about any resolution to the political situation through the protest
movement, remain hopeful for eventual political change. As one
middle-aged Iranian woman noted while touching her heart, "the
people won't stop until they are satisfied." A self proclaimed
apolitical Tehran University of Medical Sciences student remarked
how Iran's government has wasted the resources of the country. He
added that Iran is a rich country with the youth to build it, and if
the government cared about its people and allowed true democracy
Iran would flourish. END COMMENT.



SILLIMAN