(Fwd) [70] IRANIAN POLICE ARREST HUNDREDS OF DEMONSTRATORS OUT

["Curtis Price" <cansv@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Sun, 16 Feb 1997 12:55:55 -0500
From:          NewsHound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (NewsHound)

Subject:       [70] IRANIAN POLICE ARREST HUNDREDS OF DEMONSTRATORS OUTSIDE OIL

MINISTRY
Selected by your NewsHound profile entitled "RIOTS". The selectivity score was
70 out of 100.

Iranian police arrest hundreds of demonstrators outside Oil Ministry
By AFSHIN VALINEJAD

Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Riot police broke up a protest by striking oil refinery
workers in Tehran on Sunday, detaining hundreds of demonstrators and taking them
 away in buses.

It was not clear where the workers were taken after their peaceful demonstration
 outside the Oil Ministry in the heart of the Iranian capital.

Unauthorized demonstrations are illegal in Iran.

Some 300 riot police armed with batons took positions outside the ministry after
 breaking up the demonstration.

Witnesses said hundreds of workers from an oil refinery in southern Tehran
converged outside the ministry early Sunday chanting ``We demand our rights.''

The cause of the protest was not immediately clear, but the official Islamic
Republic News Agency said the workers were demonstrating against low wages.

A few hours after the demonstration began, IRNA quoted an unidentified Oil
Ministry official as saying the workers had returned to work following
negotiations with ministry officials.

The official did not say how the dispute was settled. He was quoted only as
saying that an ``understanding'' had been reached.

The Tehran refinery, a huge complex that employs thousands of workers, is
located on the southern outskirts of the city. A shift supervisor at the
refinery, speaking on condition of anonymity, said work at the installation was
not affected.

There have been no known disputes between the workers and the ministry in recent
 months.

Ministry officials reached by telephone refused to comment on the demonstration.

Iran is a world's third-largest oil producer, pumping 3.6 million barrels of oil
 per day.

AP-WS-02-16-97 1155EST



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