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Western Powers Urge Iran to Allow Peaceful Protests

   VOA News  February 15, 2011
   EU  High  Representative  for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton arrives
   for  an  EU  Foreign  Ministers meeting at the EU Council in Brussels,
   January 31, 2011

Photo: AP

   EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton (file)

   European  Union  foreign  policy  chief Catherine Ashton has called on
   Iran  to  allow anti-government demonstrations as long as the protests
   are peaceful.
   She  commented  Tuesday,  a  day after witnesses in Iran said security
   forces fired tear gas and paintball guns to disperse activists who had
   gathered in the capital for an unsanctioned rally.
   In  a  statement  released  by  her  office,  Ashton  said  freedom of
   expression  and  the  right  to  assemble  peacefully are "fundamental
   rights" which need to be respected.
   France  has condemned Iran's crackdown on protesters. Foreign Ministry
   spokesman  Bernard  Valero  said  Tuesday  his  government opposes the
   violence  committed  against demonstrators and has called for detained
   protesters to be freed.
   On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the Iranian
   demonstrators  as  courageous.   Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary
   William  Hague  urged Tehran to exercise restraint and allow people to
   freely express their views.

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