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NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > DOZENS MISSING AS IRAN CRACKS DOWN ON ILLEGAL WATER GUN FIGHT
DOZENS MISSING AS IRAN CRACKS DOWN ON ILLEGAL WATER GUN FIGHT
August 6 2011
Tehran, Iran – Despite a slowing of the pace, the uprising that began earlier this year across Africa and the Middle East continues, even amidst brutal and consistent crackdowns. In Iran the latest such uprising came in the form of a massive water fight, which was quickly quelled by Iranian officials.
The battle, which was organized on Facebook like so many revolts this year, saw hundreds of Iranians flooding the streets, literally and figuratively, with water balloons and squirt guns amidst the 40+ degree heat. Within minutes of the gathering, however, police had moved in, cracking down on the rioters causing multiple injuries, handful of arrests, and dozens of disappearances.
“Many of the participants in these water battles were behaving abnormally and that required us to take action. We will always act against individuals who disrupt public order and security,” said city Police Chief Hossein Sajedina. “We were required to act against these individuals. Their resistance did result in some minor injuries. We will not comment any further on this incident but we do want to make it clear that any future water fights will also result in action.”
Dozens of water guns were confiscated and destroyed following the conflict.
“We were engaging in peaceful protest. This is typical of the government and their aggression towards their people. This is completely unacceptable and this will only further our actions against the regime,” said one reveller who was soaked. “This is only the beginning of these actions. We will continue to fight until this regime recognizes the rights of individuals and until we are free to spray water over each other.”
A planned wet Burqa contest was cancelled following the crackdown.
“The Iranian situation is a very tough one. It isn’t like what happened in Egypt or what has been happening in Libya. The Iranian regime is far more firmly entrenched than those governments and so any effort to push them out is going to have to be monumental,” said Scrape TV International analyst Gustav Hander. “I doubt very much that any water fight, no matter how big, is going to unseat the government. They are a tough cookie and a lot more than a little bit of water is going to be required to push them from power.”
It’s not clear what the protestors had planned for a replacement government had the fight been successful.
“One thing this will do is make water fights a symbol of revolt across the region. Now that all these people have gone missing, now that they have been so trodden upon, they will likely come back even harder than ever particularly if the temperature stays up,” continued Hander. “I’d imagine too that this is going to make it a lot harder to get access to water and water-related supplies throughout the country. That is really one of the inherent dangers when dealing with the Iranians, they tend to have a pretty harsh reaction to things including water.”
Thus far, Iran has only restricted water access to people under 25.
Emil Uliya, International Correspondent
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