Violent clashes rock Oshnovieh

SMCCDI (Information Service):

Violent clashes rocked, today, the City of Oshnovieh as brutal militiamen attacked the youth who were showing joy due to the approach of the traditional "Tchahr Shanbe Souri" (Fire Fiest).

Islamic regime forces attacked tens of young who were soon supported by hundreds of residents who retaliated to the regime use of clubs and Tear-gas with powerful hand made grenades and Molotov Cocktails. Overwhelmed official forces had to pull back at several occasions while the streets' initiative felt into residents hands.

Women were seen throwing stones and even eggs on the security forces which resulted in heavy damages made to several patrol cars and injured several militiamen.

Soon the increasing crowd marched in the city and damaged several official buildings and banks' on its way. Angry demonstrators shouted slogans against the regime and its leaders, such as, "Marg bar Jomhoori e Eslami" (Down with Islamic Republic).

The situation returned to a relative calm by the beginning of night but the noise of powerful fire crackers were heard till very late, giving prelude to the nightmare which is waiting for the Islamic regime's leaders during next Tuesday night's general celebration of "Tchahr Shanbe Souri" itself. read more

On that night, millions of Iranians will defy, once again, one of the ideological and religious taboos that incenses the Islamic Republic regime by renewing ancestral traditions qualified as "Paganistic," by the dogmatic clerics. Iranians will gather in all cities and villages of Iran and in many of the cities around the world to celebrate the famous tradition, by jumping over burning bushes and detonating fire crackers and other fireworks.

The religiously banned celebration will become as not only another act of joy and renewing with the Persian Cultural Heritage, but also as an act of political civil disobedience, and a show of attachment to Iranians' national values.

The Movement's Coordinator and speakers of various opposition groups have reiterated the importance of the continuation of such action in various interviews made with most Persian satellite TV and radio networks broadcasting to Iran. Aryo B. Pirouznia of SMCCDI has stated, on several occasions, that the persistence of Iranians to show their attachment to their cultural heritage that contradicts Shia principles and show their deep rejection of the main basis of the Islamic regime. "Tchahar Shanbe Souri is not only a Persian cultural event but also an evident and noticeable show of opposition opportunity" he has added in various interviews made since last month.

The Islamist clerics have always tried, especially since taking power in 1979, to ban such tradition that date before the Arab/Islamic invasion of Iran which lead to the forced conversion of Iranians to Islam. The clerics see it, the fire fest, as a threat to their spiritual and political existence.

In Year 2000, the number of bushes set on fire were to the point that a landing Air France plane tried to change its trajectory as the pilot thought a revolution was taking place in Iran. At least 6 celebrators were killed and hundreds of others beaten and arrested by the regime forces. The Capital Law Enforcement Forces declared that the deaths were due to the explosion of fire crackers at their homes but a month later and in an unprecedented manner, the head of the regime's Medical Legalist, confessed that no deaths due to explosion were brought to his services and on that night most deaths were caused by heads of victims smashed with heavy objects.

The Islamic regime forces made, on that night, a wide spread use of heavy clubs and chains in order to attack the demonstrators.