Arcadia Foundation

Iranian police clashed in Tehran today with opposition demonstrators seeking to renew their challenge to the government six months after a disputed presidential election, witnesses said.

Police fired teargas at supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi when a state rally marking the killing of three students under the former Shah turned violent.

“I saw at least 10 people being arrested and taken to minibuses,” said one witness.

Authorities shut down the mobile phone network in central Tehran to stop opposition protesters from contacting each other, the reformist website Rah-e Sabz said. At least two women supporters of Mousavi were among those arrested, it said.

The June 12 presidential election, which secured President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election, sparked Iran’s worst unrest since the Islamic revolution three decades ago and exposed deep divisions in the establishment. Authorities deny allegations of vote-rigging.

Security measures taken by the authorities on “Student Day” displayed their determination to uproot the opposition movement, which Mousavi said Sunday would continue despite pressure.

Witnesses told press outlets that police fired teargas and clashed with protesters in various Tehran squares to disperse them, but there was no independent confirmation because foreign media were banned from leaving their offices.

“Police fired teargas at demonstrators in Vali-ye Asr Square … they are clashing with protesters,” said a witness.

Journalists working for foreign media were told by officials not to leave their offices to cover stories from December 7 to 9.

The proposed regional autonomy in the draft Constitution is the key reason why most Kenyans are looking forward to the referendum, Transparency International has said.

In an opinion poll released today at Nairobi’s Hilton Hotel, the Kenyan governance lobby said one in three Kenyans interviewed, cited devolution as the major reason that will influence their voting decisions.

Mr Mwangi Kibathi, a researcher with TI-Kenya, said that even though a huge chunk of the respondents withheld their reasons, the influence of tribe was “paltry” as only 4 per cent cited it as a motivation.

Devolution, a concept that has been a hot-potato in the political circles, ranked high in Coast and Western Provinces with half the population in these areas supporting it.

The concept has often been confused with federalism (majimbo) instead of it being looked at as a way of bringing services closer to the people.

“Of course, it depends how these people understand devolution,” said Mr Kibathi. “To them is it simply economic autonomy or political autonomy or both.”

The survey was conducted within the week prior to the release of the harmonised draft Constitution (November 11-18) and saw 1,718 people interviewed.

Religious views and political party positions were also given as reasons that are likely to influence people to vote in the referendum.

Only one in every five persons cited the need for change as their reason to await the poll on the draft law.

However, half of the respondents polled said their political decisions were shaped from “discussions with friends”.

Honduras’ deposed President Manuel Zelaya said on Sunday that he would stay in the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital for as long as Brasilia allowed him to and that he would be willing to talk to the new president-elect.

“As long as I have Brazil’s support, I will be here,” Zelaya told Reuters by telephone from the embassy, which is ringed by Honduran soldiers around the clock.

Opposition candidate Porfirio Lobo won a presidential vote last weekend and could allow Honduras, which is suffering from an aid freeze, to overcome the five-month crisis.

Regional power Brazil signaled late on Friday it may consider Lobo’s victory as separate from the coup and potentially legitimate.

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