BFF-02 Iran blocks internet on third night of protests

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Iran blocks internet on third night of protests

TEHRAN, Dec 31, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – Demonstrators attacked a town hall in the
Iranian capital Saturday as protests spilled into a third night despite
government warnings against any further “illegal gatherings” and moves to cut
off the internet on mobiles.

Unverified videos on social media appeared to show thousands marching
through the western cities of Khorramabad, Zanjan and Ahvaz, while reports
spread rapidly that several people had been shot dead by police in the town
of Dorud.

A swirl of wild rumours, combined with travel restrictions and a near-total
media blackout from official agencies, made it difficult to confirm the
reports.

The authorities appeared to respond by cutting internet access to mobile
phones, with the main networks interrupted at least in Tehran shortly before
midnight, AFP reporters said.

Several Iranian news agencies warned Telegram, the most popular social
media service in the country, might soon be shut down after communications
minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi accused one popular channel, Amadnews,
of encouraging an “armed uprising”.

Meanwhile, the conservative Mehr news agency posted videos of protesters
attacking a town hall in central Tehran, overturning a police car and burning
the Iranian flag.

There was chaos earlier around the capital’s university as hundreds took to
the streets, blocking traffic and shouting slogans against the regime.

But the authorities could also count on a show of strength, with hundreds
of counter-demonstrators seizing control of the university entrance, chanting
“Death to the seditionists”.

Annual rallies marking the defeat of the last major protest movement in
2009 had already been scheduled for Saturday morning and brought thousands of
regime supporters to the streets across the country.

“We urge all those who receive these calls to protest not to participate in
these illegal gatherings as they will create problems for themselves and
other citizens,” said Interior Minister Abdolrahman Rahmani Fazli.

– ‘A new plot’ –

The protests began in the second city of Mashhad on Thursday as an attack
on high living costs but quickly turned against the Islamic regime as a
whole.

There were even chants in favour of the monarchy toppled by the Islamic
revolution of 1979, while others criticised the regime for supporting the
Palestinians and other regional movements rather than focusing on problems at
home.

State news channel IRINN said it had been banned from covering the protests
that spread to towns and cities including Qom and Kermanshah.

“The enemy wants once again to create a new plot and use social media and
economic issues to foment a new sedition,” Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, a
prominent cleric, told a crowd in Tehran, according to the conservative Fars
news agency.

MORE/MSY/0820 hrs

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Other officials also pointed the blame outside Iran.

“Although people have a right to protest, protesters must know how they are
being directed,” Massoumeh Ebtekar, vice president in charge of women’s
affairs, wrote on Twitter.

She posted images from Twitter accounts based in the United States and
Saudi Arabia, voicing support for the Mashhad protests.

US President Donald Trump tweeted later that Iran’s people wanted change
and “oppressive regimes cannot endure forever”.

“The day will come when the Iranian people will face a choice,” he wrote,
his second time addressing the subject in as many days. “The world is
watching!”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders added: “The days of America
looking the other way from the Iranian regime’s oppression are over. America
stands with the Iranian people.”

Trump’s tweets on Friday prompted Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Bahran
Ghasemi to dismiss his remarks as “opportunistic.”

– ‘Serious challenges’ –

Iranian officials warned against dismissing the public anger seen in recent
days.

“The country is facing serious challenges with unemployment, high prices,
corruption, lack of water, social gap, unbalanced distribution of budget,”
tweeted Hesamoddin Ashena, cultural adviser to President Hassan Rouhani.

“People have the right for their voice to be heard.”

There has been particular anger at welfare cuts and fuel price increases in
the latest budget announced earlier this month.

Since the 2009 protests were ruthlessly put down by the Revolutionary
Guards, many middle-class Iranians have abandoned hope of pressing for change
from the streets.

But low-level strikes and demonstrations have continued, with bus drivers,
teachers and factory workers protesting against unpaid wages and poor
conditions.

Some of this week’s protests were directed against financial scandals
linked to unauthorised lending institutions which collapsed with the loss of
hundreds of thousands of accounts.

Payam Parhiz, editor-in-chief of reformist media network Nazar that broke
the news of the Mashhad protests, said they were more focused on the economy
than those in 2009, which were sparked by allegations of election-rigging.

“Then, they were middle-class and their slogans went beyond economic
matters to things like cultural liberties,” he told AFP.

“Today, the concerns are economic. There are people who have lost their
life savings. They will protest until their problems are resolved.”

Since taking power in 2013, Rouhani has sought to clean up the banking
sector and kick-start the economy, but many say progress has been too slow.

Aware that economic problems can quickly spiral into political chaos,
officials from across the political spectrum have called for greater efforts
to tackle poverty and the 12 percent unemployment rate.

“Solving people’s economic problems is the chief priority in the country,”
tweeted Ebrahim Raisi, the hardline cleric defeated by Rouhani in May’s
presidential election.

BSS/AFP/MSY/0820 hrs