ID :
192712
Mon, 07/04/2011 - 11:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/192712
The shortlink copeid
Iran Deplores Britain's Suppression of Popular Protests
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast blasted London for suppressing peaceful protests in the country, and urged Britain to show more tolerance and respect for democracy and freedom of expression.
Mehman-Parast asked the British government to avoid violence against the British people's peaceful protests.
"The behavior of the British police towards people's peaceful demonstration on July 1 is yet another indication of (London's) opposition to the legitimate rights of the people to express their beliefs and have gatherings," he said.
"We ask the British government to respect the rights of the detainees and avoid any kind of violent action against the peaceful protests of the people who poured to the streets to defend their rights," the Iranian spokesman concluded.
The British police forces arrested 37 demonstrators as hundreds of thousands of people in different cities of Britain walked off the job to protest at pension cuts on Friday.
Airport operators warned there could be long lines at immigration entry points because of walkouts by passport officers on Thursday.
Unions estimated that up to 750,000 teachers and civil servants joined the one-day strike, which disrupted courthouses, tax offices, employment centers and schools.
Thousands of union members marched through London and other cities to demand that the government rethink plans to curb public-sector pensions.
The walkouts are the first salvo in what unions said they hope will be a summer of discontent against the Conservative-led government's austerity plans.
At a rally in the city of Manchester, Helen Andrews of the National Union of Teachers said that teachers were being asked to "pay more, work longer, get less."
The government insists everyone must share the pain as it cuts $130 billion from public spending to reduce Britain's huge deficit, swollen after the government spent billions bailing out foundering banks.
It is cutting civil service jobs and benefits, raising the state pension age from 65 to 66, increasing the amount public-sector employees contribute to pensions and reducing their retirement payouts.
Unions said their members work many years for modest pay on the promise of a solid pension, and accuse the government of reneging on that deal.
Mehman-Parast asked the British government to avoid violence against the British people's peaceful protests.
"The behavior of the British police towards people's peaceful demonstration on July 1 is yet another indication of (London's) opposition to the legitimate rights of the people to express their beliefs and have gatherings," he said.
"We ask the British government to respect the rights of the detainees and avoid any kind of violent action against the peaceful protests of the people who poured to the streets to defend their rights," the Iranian spokesman concluded.
The British police forces arrested 37 demonstrators as hundreds of thousands of people in different cities of Britain walked off the job to protest at pension cuts on Friday.
Airport operators warned there could be long lines at immigration entry points because of walkouts by passport officers on Thursday.
Unions estimated that up to 750,000 teachers and civil servants joined the one-day strike, which disrupted courthouses, tax offices, employment centers and schools.
Thousands of union members marched through London and other cities to demand that the government rethink plans to curb public-sector pensions.
The walkouts are the first salvo in what unions said they hope will be a summer of discontent against the Conservative-led government's austerity plans.
At a rally in the city of Manchester, Helen Andrews of the National Union of Teachers said that teachers were being asked to "pay more, work longer, get less."
The government insists everyone must share the pain as it cuts $130 billion from public spending to reduce Britain's huge deficit, swollen after the government spent billions bailing out foundering banks.
It is cutting civil service jobs and benefits, raising the state pension age from 65 to 66, increasing the amount public-sector employees contribute to pensions and reducing their retirement payouts.
Unions said their members work many years for modest pay on the promise of a solid pension, and accuse the government of reneging on that deal.
