Water battles among young people frighten the Ayatollah
Numerous arrests of young people across the country since July, for engaging in battles with water bottles and water pistols in parks. The regime's fear: "This is not simply a game. This an act is being guided from abroad".
Tehran (AsiaNews/agencies) – Iranian police have arrested on September 2 a group of people responsible for having a waterfight in a Tehran Park. The acting commander of Iran's police, General Ahmad Radan, said that the group had planned the battle thanks to the Internet and "intended to break customs".
The police have intervened several times during the summer to suppress water battles. In the first incident in July, hundreds of young men and women took part in a waterfight in the capital's popular Water and Fire park, with water pistols and plastic bottles. The police detained dozens of fighters. Many others have been arrested since then.
Fundamentalists consider it improper and immoral for men and women to mix freely, much less douse each other with water. In addition, there is the fear that these gatherings could weaken the regime's grip on young people, or even lead to protests against the regime. Since the 2009 demonstrations, any type of gathering that is not controlled arouses the suspicion of the authorities.
On September 5, judiciary official Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi accused unknown foreign persons of organizing campaigns for waterfights in the country: "This is not simply a game with water", he said "this act is being guided from abroad". Ejehi said Friday that some of those arrested admitted "they were deceived, and some said they came out based on a call from a counter-revolutionary". The state television has moved in the same line, transmitting the confessions of some participants who admitted having been invited to participate from abroad. But some conservatives, close to the regime, claim that arresting youth for waterfights is excessive.
All these statements and opinions help to understand the restlessness of Tehran's top brass, who barely managed to subdue through force the so-called "Green wave", the movement following the fraudulent election of Ahmadinejad in 2009.
The Green wave has features very similar to the revolts of the Arab spring, in an attempt to bring more democracy, less corruption, more freedom and work. Paradoxically, Iranian leaders have applauded the Arab Spring, hoping for an end to the U.S.-backed regimes in the Arab world. But ithey will not allow a little spring to bloom in their homeland, as well.
The police have intervened several times during the summer to suppress water battles. In the first incident in July, hundreds of young men and women took part in a waterfight in the capital's popular Water and Fire park, with water pistols and plastic bottles. The police detained dozens of fighters. Many others have been arrested since then.
Fundamentalists consider it improper and immoral for men and women to mix freely, much less douse each other with water. In addition, there is the fear that these gatherings could weaken the regime's grip on young people, or even lead to protests against the regime. Since the 2009 demonstrations, any type of gathering that is not controlled arouses the suspicion of the authorities.
On September 5, judiciary official Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi accused unknown foreign persons of organizing campaigns for waterfights in the country: "This is not simply a game with water", he said "this act is being guided from abroad". Ejehi said Friday that some of those arrested admitted "they were deceived, and some said they came out based on a call from a counter-revolutionary". The state television has moved in the same line, transmitting the confessions of some participants who admitted having been invited to participate from abroad. But some conservatives, close to the regime, claim that arresting youth for waterfights is excessive.
All these statements and opinions help to understand the restlessness of Tehran's top brass, who barely managed to subdue through force the so-called "Green wave", the movement following the fraudulent election of Ahmadinejad in 2009.
The Green wave has features very similar to the revolts of the Arab spring, in an attempt to bring more democracy, less corruption, more freedom and work. Paradoxically, Iranian leaders have applauded the Arab Spring, hoping for an end to the U.S.-backed regimes in the Arab world. But ithey will not allow a little spring to bloom in their homeland, as well.
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