IRAN: UNIVERSITY PROTESTERS HECKLE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000395 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/29/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV IR PHUM SUBJECT: IRAN: UNIVERSITY PROTESTERS HECKLE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CLASSIFIED BY: Alan Eyre, Director, Iran Regional Presence Office, DoS. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 28 an estimated two thousand students dressed in green marched through the University of Tehran chanting "death to the dictator" as senior IRIG officials, including the controversial Higher Education Minister, were heckled while entering a (closed to students) ceremony on campus to mark the start of the academic year. Similarly, reformist websites report that on September 29 several hundred students at Sharif University in Tehran chanted slogans against the government after being barred from a similar ceremony attended by the Higher Education Minister. Preventive measures by the government, including widespread pre-term expulsions of politically active students and warnings that protests would not be tolerated, appear to have suppressed but not eliminated overt expressions of dissent on campus. END SUMMARY. Tehran University ¶2. (C) Though conservative news agencies downplayed the numbers, footage posted on the Internet corroborates reformist reports that on September 28 an estimated two thousand students dressed in green and carrying green balloons and banners denouncing the "coup d'etat government" and shouting slogans against the Ahmadinejad government marched through Tehran University's campus September 28 in defiance of an absolute ban on political activity at universities. Smaller numbers of pro-government students also shouted slogans, but the two groups did not physically clash. The commotion led the police to close the gates to the school to prevent passers-by from joining the march. Though some reformist websites reported at least two students were arrested upon leaving campus, the police apparently did not enter the campus. ¶3. (C) The protest march coincided with the on-campus ceremony to officially mark the opening of the academic year. Though President Ahmadinejad declined to attend for the second year in a row, senior IRIG officials including Higher Education Minister Kamran Daneshju and Health Minister Marzieh Dastjerdi were present. Photos from the event show no university-age individuals, giving credence to the rumor that students were barred from the ceremony. (NOTE: Daneshju, who oversaw the June 12 presidential election as Deputy Interior Minister, was recently accused of plagiarism by Nature magazine, and claims to have a doctoral degree from a non-existent British university. END NOTE). ¶4. (C) A day earlier on September 27, conservative MP and university professor Gholam Hadad-Adel was mocked by a small group (approximately 50, according to a reformist website) of jeering students when he sought to move around Tehran University. Haddad-Adel, who is related to the Supreme Leader by marriage, was barred from exiting the campus until he could add additional security to his entourage. Reformist websites quote a flustered Haddad Adel at the scene as saying to his security, 'you told me it was safe here,' 'why don't they respect university professors?..if university professors aren't respected, then nothing is.' Sharif University ¶5. (C) On September 29 unrest spread to Tehran's Sharif University during the school's own opening ceremony, also attended by Higher Education Minister Daneshju. Videos posted to the internet show several hundred students chanting slogans in support of reformist Grand Ayatollahs Montazeri and Sanaei, and calling on Ahmadinejad's "coup government" to resign. The Sharif protest appeared more spontaneous than the organized Tehran University march. As yet, there are no reports of the government's response to the students' actions. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Dynamics on the campuses of Iran's two premier universities, each with long histories of incubating student political activism, appear to generally reflect the status of the larger opposition movement: though relatively small groups of protestors can garner outside attention and be a thorn in the side of officials, at this point the scale is unlikely to threaten university operations or provoke significant clashes with security forces. Should the government feel threatened, however, no doubt it has the means to increase the severity of its counter-measures, to include closing campuses under the pretext of H1N1 prevention. END COMMENT. APPENDIX: SLOGANS CHANTED AT UNIVERSITY OF TEHRAN SEPTEMBER 27, 28 September 27 at Majlis Representative Haddad-Adel: - Death to the Dictator - Anti-National Representative, Shame, Shame - Be Quiet, Be Quiet, We are Students, Not Thugs - Haddad Adel is a Supporter of Murderers - Haddad Be Ashamed and Leave the University - Anyone Who is Illiterate is with Ahmadinejad - Coward, Leave - Don't Worry, We Don't Have a Kahrizak September 28 University Opening Ceremony: - Death to the Dictator - We Are Neda, We Are Sohrab, We are One Voice - Coup D'Etat Government Resign, Resign - Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein (i.e. Mousavi) - If Karrubi is Detained, Iran Will Revolt - Ahmadi the Liar, Where is Your 63 Percent - Karrubi the Idol-Smasher, Smash the Large Idol - Torture and Rape No Longer Affect Us - Ahmadi, Ahmadi, This is the Last Message - Iran's Green Movement is Ready to Rise Up - The Government Commits Crimes, The Leader Supports It - Sepah and Intelligence are Agents of Disgrace - Damned Jannati, You Are an Enemy of the Nation Anti-Green Path Slogans at September 28 Ceremony: - Green Shawls Don't Bring Freedom of Thought - Mousavi and Israel, Congratulations on your Union EYREA