Iranian students, who've used protests, boycotts and sit-ins, have found a new and innovative way to express their disenchantment against the oppressive rule of the mullahs-- the water gun fight.
After last week’s large-scale water fight in Tehran resulted in the rounding-up and arrests of young participants, students are now preparing to once again take on the theocratic regime by organizing another water fight this weekend, and could set off a ripple effect of other water fights in the future.
Almost 1,000 young Iranians gathered on a hot summer day at Abo Atash Park in Tehran last Friday, at an event organized on Facebook, called “Tehran’s Water Gun Fight,” which invited young Iranians to bring water guns, bottles, and any other water games to the park.
Student organizers declared, “Water fights are our undeniable rights!” paralleling President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s claim about nuclear arms.
The event called the attention of government hardliners who dispatched authorities to the park to crackdown on the fun and games. Several male and female participants were rounded up and arrested.
Despite regime threats and arrests, the “Tehran’s Water Gun Fight” Facebook page is calling for another gathering this weekend and a larger event Sept. 2, following the end of the month of Ramadan.
Students in Tehran have told Fox News that the regime has prepared for another water fight by fortifying security and police presence at the park a day in advance, this time possibly preparing for an event that can have more serious consequences.
“They don’t think that water fights will cause a revolution, but it’s a start,” said Bahar Milani, a United Kingdom based activist working for the Iran Solidarity movement. Milani helped to create an English version of the Water Gun Fight Facebook page to link and unite the rest of the world to Tehran.
“It’s been a while that we haven’t heard any news from the people of Iran, but the young people are showing they world that they want change, and they want to challenge the regime,” Milani said.
More than 15,000 people have “liked” the original Facebook page in Persian and many have actively used the page, connecting to other participants and posting comments, pictures, videos and links.
Pictures from last week’s event have been plastered across the Internet on Facebook, blogs and other sites, showing the young people happy, laughing and soaking wet.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/08/05/students-preparing-to-take-on-authorities-by-staging-another-water-fight/#ixzz1UB9OrcJz
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