MKO supporters protest in Hague
By ANTHONY DEUTSCH
Sept 7, THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Thousands of Iranian refugees
and dissidents marched in The Hague today to denounce Tehran's clerical
regime and rally support for the pro-democracy movement in Iran.
Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran made speeches,
chanted and waved Iranian flags outside the Parliament building before
marching through the streets. Organizers said up to 8,000 protesters took
part; police, who said there was no violence, put the number closer to
3,000.
Banners, projection screens and publicity stands filled the square in
front of Parliament, where protesters shouted slogans against the Iranian
government and handed out leaflets citing alleged executions, torture and
other human rights abuses in Iran.
``We want the Dutch government to end support for the Iranian regime
and boycott trade with them,'' said Vajihe Nabavian, a former teacher who
left Iran over a decade ago. She said she came to the Netherlands after
she was jailed for protesting the slayings of 16 of her students.
The protest coincided with today's launch of a Dutch government review
of its foreign policy with Iran. A delegation of exiled Iranian resistance
leaders met with the chairman of the committee conducting the review.
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