July 11, 1999
Web posted at: 10:39 p.m. EDT (0239 GMT)

In this story: Protests continue in Tehran Demonstrations strongest since 1979 RELATED STORIES, SITES

TEHRAN, Iran -- Thousands of Iranian students marched for a fourth day of protests on Sunday as the Iranian government fired two police chiefs it said were responsible for an unauthorized, violent police raid at a student dormitory last week.

The National Security Council issued a statement on state television saying that Brig. Gen. Sadat Ahmadi and his deputy had been dismissed and would be turned over to judiciary officials. The council also criticized Tehran's police chief, but did not fire him.

"It became clear that the commander of Tehran security region did not take the appropriate measures and was therefore reprimanded," the statement said.

Police and hard-line vigilantes stormed a Tehran University dormitory complex early Friday after a small demonstration by pro-reform students over the temporary banning of a leftist newspaper. At least 20 people were hospitalized and hundreds were arrested, newspapers reported.

The National Security Council said an off-duty soldier staying with friends was killed by a bullet in the raid, contradicting protest leaders, who said five students died in the attack.

The raid sparked large protests that continued Sunday in Tehran, where more than 10,000 demonstrators angrily denounced the crackdown.

"Either Islam and the law, or another revolution," marchers chanted.

But Iran's government warned students against holding new demonstrations, saying authorities would prevent unauthorized marches.

"Any assembly or march can be legally held only after obtaining a permit ... and any unauthorized assembly is deemed illegal and any violators will be dealt with according to regulations," the council said in its statement.

Student leaders, some of them wearing bandanas to conceal their faces, placed tires and barbed wire Sunday on the main road leading to their dormitory, closing off the street. Drivers caught up in the protest honked their horns in support of the students, while residents offered them ice water to counter the sweltering summer heat.

The protesters' main demand was that those behind the assault be punished, including the hard-line police chief, Hedayat Lotfian.

They also want control of the security forces transferred from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.

In his first comments on Friday's raid, Khatami expressed "deep regret" on Sunday, calling the assault an "ugly and bitter incident."

"I will continue investigations until all the aspects of the event are discovered and appropriate action is taken," Khatami said in a statement.

Iran's biggest moderate student movement, which claims 50,000 members, said the attacks on students by police and vigilantes of the Ansar-e Hezbollah group could not have been made without high-level support.

"Ansar commits crimes, and the leader supports them," some demonstrators shouted, referring to Khamenei. "Oh, great leader, shame on you."

University deans and members of its presiding board said Sunday they would stage their own two-hour sit-in Monday to show their "hatred toward the tragic and bloody incident" at the dormitory, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The university chancellor and Iran's education minister resigned Saturday in protest of the police action.

The protests were the strongest expression of discontent since the 1979 Islamic revolution. They showed the widening gulf between reformers, who support Khatami, and the conservatives who control the police and judiciary.

The crux of the power struggle between hard-liners and reformers is over the limited powers of the elected president.

Khamenei leads the hard-liners and controls the armed forces, police, judiciary, the Intelligence Ministry and the radio and television networks. But he is not elected.

The protests have been a wake-up call for hard-liners, who have spent recent months closing down moderate newspapers and arresting Khatami allies.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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