Iran: Information on anti-government demonstrations in Tehran in May and June 1992 at Vanak Square, in March and April 1994 at Sharivar 17 Square, and in December 1994 and January 1995 at Fatemi Square
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IRN29294.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Iran: Information on anti-government demonstrations in Tehran in May and June 1992 at Vanak Square, in March and April 1994 at Sharivar 17 Square, and in December 1994 and January 1995 at Fatemi Square, 1 May 1998, IRN29294.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acab8.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A 1 June 1992 article in The New York Times reported protests leading to riots involving thousands of people in the city of Meshed on 30 May 1992. The participants were protesting the eviction of squatters from buildings in the city. The article added that the events in Meshed followed "earlier protests in Teheran, Khorramabad, Shiraz and Arak ( in which hundreds of people have been wounded or arrested." The article did not state where in Tehran the protests took place, the reasons for the protests, nor the precise dates of the events in Tehran.
On 25 June 1992, Moneyclips carried a report, based on information provided by the Paris office of the Iranian Mojahedin opposition organization, that there had been riots in a southern suburb of Tehran on 23 and 24 June 1992, when the municipal authorities began to demolish 300 homes in the area. The municipal authorities called in the 10th division of the Revolutionary Guards Corps when they met with resistance. Vanak Square is not mentioned in the report.
In April 1994, local residents and representatives of the opposition Mojahedin organization claimed that five thousand students of Tehran University had staged a demonstration at which they chanted anti-government slogans, clashed with police and smashed windows. The demonstration allegedly began on 20 April 1994 and lasted until the morning of 21 April (Reuters 21, 23 Apr. 1994). A representative of the university denied that the demonstrators "had clashed with police and smashed windows," but he did state that a number of students had gathered outside the office of the manager of the dormitory "to protest that four of them had food poisoning at the cafeteria." Sharivar 17 Square is not mentioned in either Reuters dispatch.
No reports on demonstrations in Tehran in December 1994 or January 1995 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in preparing this Information Request.
References
Moneyclips. 25 June 1992. "Dissidents Report Rioting in Tehran Suburb." (NEXIS)
The New York Times. 1 June 1992. "Violence Spreads in Iran as the Poor Are Evicted." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 23 April 1994. BC Cycle. "Tehran University Official Denies Riot Allegation." (NEXIS)
_____. 21 April 1994. BC Cycle. "Tehran University Students Demonstrate." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
The Middle East [London]. May 1992-June 1992, December 1994-January 1995.
Middle East International [London]. 4 March-13 May 1994, 2 December 1994-3 February 1995.
Electronic sources: IRB databases, FBIS, Global NewsBank, Internet, Keesing's, REFWORLD, WNC.