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Defying regime, thousands mark riots anniversary

Teheran July 10. Tens of thousands of people defied a huge police deployment yesterday night by taking to an area around Teheran University in their cars to mark the fourth anniversary of bloody pro-democracy student riots, but authorities did at least manage to prevent renewed clashes.

Despite a blanket ban on any gatherings, masses of vehicles were seen jammed around Enghelab (revolution) Square and the tense city-centre campus well into the early hours today.

The university facility was closed by authorities in what had been part of a determined bid to prevent any display of public anger against the clerical regime on the increasingly symbolic date.

Hundreds of anti-riot police, decked out in combat fatigues and protective gear, lined the streets, while members of the hardline Basij and Ansar Hezbollah militias — fierce defenders of the nearly 25-year-old Islamic regime — whizzed around on motorcycles.

The bumper-to-bumper jam of around 10,000 cars — each carrying on average two people — was accompanied by a deafening cacophony of car horns as, in a repeat of anti-regime protests last month, residents made their frustrations heard.

The bizarre logjam came despite concerted efforts by authorities to prevent further expressions of anger over the seemingly intractable political deadlock between entrenched hardliners and elected reformist MPs loyal to the embattled President, Mohammad Khatami. — AFP

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