Anniversary rift arises in Tehran
Anti-U.S. rally draws opposition
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Male Iranian school students, who are members of Basij militia, which is a unit of the Revolutionary Guard, burn a US flag, in an annual demonstration in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday.
Photo by Vahid Salemi
Thousands of Iranians took to the streets Wednesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, but the annual state-sponsored anti-American rally turned into another sign of the deep divisions persisting in this country.
As pro-government demonstrators ritually chanted “Death to America!” outside the former U.S. Embassy, opposition protesters used the occasion to vent their anger over a disputed presidential election in June and the harsh crackdown that followed it. Converging on a square about half a mile from the former embassy, the opposition marchers denounced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with shouts of “Death to the dictator !”
A new theme emerged, with many protesters declaring their impatience with President Barack Obama’s ...
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Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/05/2009
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