There is calm again in Tehran, but the peace is likely to be only temporary. After a fearsome counterstrike by conservative forces, the students demanding more freedom in Iran have retreated to their dormitories. But if their voices have been stilled, the reform movement that they have been spearheading has not been abandoned. Tactical considerations counsel a retreat. The real questions are: When will the forces demanding liberalization in Iran rear up again and how violent will the conservative reaction be?
For six days last week, students held increasingly violent demonstrations in Tehran and at least a dozen other cities, clashing with police and Islamic militias. A police crackdown coupled with warnings of severe punishment -- including possible death -- ended the protests. The students suspended the demonstrations, the largest since the revolution that overthrew the shah of Iran in 1979, but insist that their 14 demands be met.
The troubles began when students peacefully protested the closure of the reformist newspaper Salaam. The paper was shut by the authorities after it began to publish classified documents that explained the assassinations of six Islamic intellectuals earlier this year. Allegedly, the men were murdered because they were investigating corruption among the "bonyads," the "foundations" set up and run by religious groups that control much of the economy. Police and thugs supported by the fundamentalists broke up the initial protests, killing at least one student and injuring many more. That violence triggered the protests that then swept across Iran. Officials say two people were killed in the protests; dissidents claim the number is significantly higher.