Iranian President Mohammed Khatami on Monday urged students to be patient as he inaugurated the new academic year for some of the strongest supporters of his reform program.
About 1,500 students, not of all whom could cram into the university amphitheater, cheered the reformist president, shouting, "Khatami we support you, Khatami we love you!"
In his speech Khatami called on students to "show patience so that respect for the law and others becomes a norm in our society," the official IRNA news agency said.
Khatami's appearance marked the beginning of the new university year amid pledges of calm from his student supporters after violent unrest marred a pro-reform student conference in Khoramabad last month.
Students have vowed to maintain an "active calm" to avoid further outbreaks of violence like that in the western city, where one person died and dozens were wounded in several days of riots and clashes.
The disturbances, which broke out when a mob at Khoramabad airport blocked two leading critics of the clerical regime from addressing the conference, gave rise to fears of further violence on university campuses.
Khatami supporters have claimed that the unrest was orchestrated by conservatives in a bid to undermine the president's bid for re-election next year.
Tehran University director Mansur Khalili Araghi also called on authorities to "show more tolerance for students," IRNA said.
Khatami supporters have seen every major pro-reform newspaper and journal closed down by the conservative courts since April.
Iran saw its worst unrest in some 20 years last summer, when demonstrators at Tehran University were attacked by police and Islamic vigilantes, setting off six days of deadly riots – TEHRAN (AFP)
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