Residents in Naqadeh and Pars-Abad in Azerbaijan, and Meshkinshahr in Ardabil provinces attacked government buildings and prevented the governor’s speech

NCRI - Yesterday in the fifth day of the uprising by Azeri speaking provinces, thousands of demonstrators in Meshkinshahr and Naqadeh staged anti-government demonstrations.

State Security Forces (SSF) and Revolutionary Guards special anti-riot units in an unsuccessful attempt to curb the demonstrations opened fire into the crowd, killing six demonstrators and wounding dozens of others in Naqadeh.

Angry residents attacked government buildings and offices including the Governors’ mansion.

In Meshkinshahr, demonstrators attacked the state-run newspaper Iran, which had published the insulting cartoons, and Governor’s Office while chanting slogans against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Guidance Minister.

In Pars-Abad, the demonstrations by thousands of protesters reached a peak at 5:00 p.m. Residents prevented the Governor from speaking and torched several government offices as they marched.

Thousands of people in Meshkinshahr marched toward the Governor's Office and the local Intelligence Department, and shattered the windows of the buildings by throwing stones. Protestors shouted slogans against Ahmadinejad and his Guidance Minister and clashed with the suppressive forces. A number of people were arrested and taken to SSF centers aboard buses.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, hailed the popular uprising in Azeri speaking provinces and described them as the outcry of the people in this region for justice and as an example of the Iranian nation's hatred and indignation toward the mullahs’ dictatorship.

The Iranian Resistance calls on all international human rights organizations and personalities, particularly relevant United Nations agencies, to condemn the brutal attacks by SSF and other suppressive forces on Iranian youth and people and demands urgent action to save the lives of those arrested.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
May 26, 2006