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Iran press reports Kurdish riots
27.7.2005
By Frances Harrison, BBC News, Tehran |
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The Iranian media has
reported more disturbances in Kurdish areas of the
country after several days of riots.
Two people were wounded on Monday when "hooligans"
caused disorder in the town of Oshnavieh, the
hardline newspaper Jumhuri Islami said.
But Kurdish journalists report that three people
were killed on Monday and seven died in previous
days.
Kurds are saying the unrest is a sign of frustration
over the denial of minority rights in Iran.
Chief among these is frustration over the denial of
the right to be educated in the Kurdish language.
The Iranian government has said the unrest over the
last two weeks is not political at all, but it
appears that ethnic resentment is simmering - partly
because Kurds see the situation improving next door
in Iraq since a Kurd became president there.
The trouble began in Iran two weeks ago when a
Kurdish man in the town of Mahabad was shot by
police then tied to a car and dragged all the way to
the police station, where he was allegedly tortured
until he died.
He was accused of calling for autonomy for the whole
of Kurdistan and celebrating the appointment in Iraq
of Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as president.
When the man's dead body was returned to his family
they photographed it and put the pictures on the
internet to show he had been tortured.
His funeral sparked unrest and clashes with the
police for the next week, which then spread to other
Kurdish towns.
www.bbc.co.uk
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