DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian holy city has been the scene of a big anti-government protest, following a funeral of the country's most senior dissident cleric.
According to witnesses, tens of thousands of mourners filled the streets of the city of Qom (kohm), chanting "death to the dictator" and slogans in support of the country's opposition.
The crowds waved green banners in the colors of the opposition.
According to opposition Web sites, some mourners clashed briefly with security forces. A Web site says Iranian militiamen tore down banners of mourning, and ripped up posters of the cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri (hoh-SAYN ah-LEE' mon-tah-zeh-REE').
The cleric's body was carried to a shrine today in the holy city.
His death yesterday at the age of 87 put Iranian authorities in a difficult spot. They were obliged to pay respects to him, since he was one of the patriarchs of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But officials were worried that today's events could give a new push to opposition protests.
Montazeri had broken with Iran's clerical leadership, and became a critic of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (hah-meh-neh-EE'). He had said Iran's post-election crackdown was the work of a dictatorship.
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<<APPHOTO BEI107 (12/21/09)>>
: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Dec. 21, 2009.
<<APPHOTO VAH118 (12/21/09)>>
: Mourners surround the casket of the Iranian Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the spiritual father of Iran's reform movement, during his funeral ceremony, in the city of Qom 78 miles (125 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. Montazeri, who died Sunday at the age of 87, was a key figure in the 1979 Islamic Revolution who later accused his fellow clerical leaders of imposing dictatorship in the name of Islam.
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