Iranians are marking University Student Day, traditionally an anti-US event that commemorates the killing of three students in 1953. Opposition supporters are expected to try to hijack official protests by chanting their own anti-government slogans.
Olivia Cornes navigates some of the opposition chants heard in Iran since June’s disputed presidential elections, with the help of BBCPersian.com and protesters themselves.
The waves of street chanting among anti-regime protesters are spontaneous but many are not new.
Slogans that Iranians used 30 years ago to call for an end to the Shah’s regime are now thrown back at the Islamic regime which replaced it.
In some cases, “Allahu Akba” (Eng: God is great) or “Marg bar dictato” (Eng: Death to the dictator) – the chants have not changed at all.
The night-time cries of “Allahu Akba” from people’s rooftops continued for months in the early stages of the revolution which overthrew the Shah.
The current Islamic government sees the same chant as a threat.
Rooftop protests heard at the height of the unrest in June and July stopped after Basiji forces started patrolling at night, marking the buildings where the chant could be heard above.
Arrests would be made the next day.
‘Iran first’
Parvaneh, a student and opposition supporter in Tehran, told the BBC the chants had become more personal … >>>