Protest Against Ahmadinejad

Here is what happened:

Students of Shahid Beheshti University protested an unannounced visit to their campus by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this morning, opposition website RaheSabz reports. The students were met with a large number of security forces upon entering the university grounds, with members of the police, security forces, and basij militias guarding key routes around the campus. The pattern of secrecy and security surrounding Ahmadinejad’s university visits is emblematic of a concerted approach to possible protests against the government in the weeks leading up to the June 12 anniversary of the controversial presidential elections in Iran last year. On April 27, opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Moussavi called for Green Movement supporters to protest on the anniversary of the elections.

While RaheSabz reports that the students were numbered at approximately 1000, RajaNews, a pro-government website puts the number at roughly 100. YouTube videos of the demonstrations show that the numbers far exceed that which was reported by RajaNews.

Ahmadinejad refrained from visiting any universities following widespread student demonstrations against the current Minister of Science, Research, and Technology who was formerly a member of the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of counting votes, during the disputed 2009 election. While it has always been customary for the president to visit the University of Tehran for the new school year, the minister gave a speech in an auditorium sealed off to students.

The visit to Shahid Beheshti University marks the second surprise visit by the president to a major school in a little over a week. On May 1, Ahmadinejad surprised the students of the University of Tehran by giving an unannounced speech in commemoration of Iran’s Teacher’s Day. Upon hearing of his arrival, students began protesting near the university’s Persian Literature Department and went on to the school’s main amphitheater, while shouting “death to the dictator,” “long live Moussavi, long live Karroubi,” and “the coup d’état government must resign,” according to opposition sites Kaleme and RaheSabz.

This pattern of surprise visits by Ahmadinejad marks a change in the government’s approach to universities, traditionally a hotbed of opposition sentiments and calls for reform. Lately, attendees of the president’s speeches at universities have been heavily pre-screened and are issued passes for attendance long in advance. Security and militia forces are deployed on short notice in force to strategic locations around entrances to the building and area of campus the president uses, to prevent protesters from gaining any access or proximity to the event.

This may signal a more ubiquitous approach by the government as the anniversary of the June 2009 election draws near. Traditionally, every June the president visits the University of Tehran to give a speech on the anniversary of the presidential election. It remains to be seen whether Ahmadinejad will visit the university this year, but given that Moussavi and Karroubi have already signaled a call to demonstrations, exceeding security measures are being carried out across universities in Tehran.

Eyewitnesses tell InsideIRAN that both the University of Tehran and Sharif University have had security cameras installed in key locations on campus as part of the crackdown.

In a meeting with journalists, the interior minister, formerly the defense minister, declared today that the president “puts great emphasis on responding to those who act illegally and undermine the country’s security.” He made these remarks in response to a question about the government’s plans to respond to growing “hooliganism and delinquency” in society. The government has long been known to use those terms in regard to pro-opposition protesters.

The coming weeks will reveal how the government will adapt the strategies used at universities to the public at large as the election’s anniversary, barely a month away, draws nearer.