Iran’s leaders in move to crush opposition press and parties

          
          5/27/2011
          Article - Untitled Article
          Publication: Guardian 1821-2000; Date: Aug 21,1979; Section: None; Page: 7
          Iran's leaders in
          move to crush H
          opposition press.
          and parties
          From Rester
          in Tehran
          Iran's rulers yesterday shut
          dowir —22 opposition news
          papers , and ordered political
          orgaulsalions which oppose
          Islamic rule to hand over their
          guns.
          Spurred by reports of a Kur
          dish rebellion in the W t7
          trewdsof demonstrators
          attended the Tehran funeral of
          Revolutionary Guards killed in
          weekend fighting in the region
          and called for the execution of
          Kurdish leaders.
          Among the papers tilenced
          on the orders of the Tehran
          revoluUonary prosecutor, An '
          tollab Abmad .Azari Qomi,
          were the official organs of the
          ‘tudeh (Communist) Party, the
          Marxist People's Fedayeen
          guerrilla group, and the Cc i i-
          Inst Nation-al Democratic
          Front.
          A Turkish-lan;uage paper,
          alleged to have insulted Aya
          tolZah Khomeini in a cartoon,
          was also shut down.
          A delegation of the Mujahi-
          deen Khalq National Movement
          yesterday left for Qom, for
          talks with Ayatollah Khomeini
          on saving theIr Tehran head-
          quarters from takeover by the
          Government. The Mujahideen,
          were served notice to surrender
          their weapons and building to
          the prosecutor.
          In a separate order, Ayatol-
          lah Qoml ordered all political
          parties and groups, “especially
          those whose politics go against
          the wishes of the Iranian
          nation,” to surrender
          taken from military arsenals
          during the February revolu-
          tion.
          The reference to the
          “1 ran ian nation,” was a
          f,.nsflln to describe the
          overwhelming majority of the
          electorate who voted for an
          Islamic Republic in last
          March's referendimi, and the
          order was apparenUy directed
          principally at opposition party
          militias.
          In a message to the Kurdish
          people broadcast on State ...Jl&
          yesterday Ayatollah Khomeini
          c a I I e d on the civilian
          population to cooperate with
          Government forces to hunt
          down members of the Kurdish
          Democratic Party. — -
          State radio broadeast the
          shouts of an emotional crowd
          at the funeral, who called for
          the execution of Mr Quassem-
          Iou and of the Kurdish spiri-
          tual leader Sholhh Czzedhn
          Hosseint
          On Sunday, Ayatollah Kho-
          meini ordered military mobllls
          ation to crush an alIeg d
          Kurdish rebellion, which ire
          centredon the city of
          Sanandaj.
          Witnesses In Sananda) yes
          terday, said the city was peace-
          ful. They said six tanks and
          some 100 Revolutionary Guards
          were stationed at the airport,
          and troops commanded hllitop
          positions, but there was no in
          dicatlon fighting had taken
          place.
          Sources close to the pro-
          Soviet Tudeh Party said its
          leadership was meeUn to dis-
          cuss the future of its daily
          paper Mardom and might de-
          cide to go underground.
          Sources said the party's
          offices in Isfahan, Buthire,
          Sari, and ‘Yabris had been ran
          sacked over the weekend.
          Pars news agency yesterday
          said that crowds In Isfaha'n
          had attacked the International
          Press office In the city, and
          had destroyed all English-lan-
          guage books and foreign news
          papers.
          Sources said that Revolu-
          tionary Guards yesterday broke
          Into the offices of the National
          Democratic Front, and into the
          home of its leader, Hedayatol .
          lah Matins Daftarl. The offices
          were sealed at the weekend
          after art arrest warrant was
          Issued for the NDF leader,
          Sheiklt Ezzethn Rossein4,
          and Mr Qassemlou, are In the
          I{urdisb western border region.
          TIw State Radio yesterday
          said the Region was peaceful,
          and under Army control. No
          independent reports on the
          situation could be obtained.
          Ayatollah Hussein All Month.
          zen was chosen president of
          the assembly of e cperLs which
          will write a new Iranian Con-
          stitution, the 3t4 mews
          agency Pars reported yester
          day.
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          5/27/2011 Article - Untitled Article
          Iteferriag to the l C D ? as the UPY adds from Lausanne: A
          party of Satan. Ayatollah Kho• group of exiled Kurds appealed
          inein i said: “It is your dwine to the UN Secretary-General
          duty to show the hiding places yesterday to intervene with the
          of (he XDP to the authorities.° jjr .nj n Government and the
          Be called for the arrest of the major powers to nrevant the
          KDP leadership, which is mass slaughter of Kurds. The
          headed by Abdulrahaznan Quas- Kurdist.an Liberty aS Pro.
          aernlou. gross Party, formed In April
          this year by exiles, said The
          genera] mobilisatlon is “practi-
          cally an invitation to genocide.”
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