Warning issued to Iran's hardliners
Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has warned of internal conflict if hardliners continue to stifle student dissent. He told university officials and students: “When universities protest against the establishment, it should be understood that there is a deficiency in the society. In a healthy society, opposition is recognised officially, legally and safely.”
Human rights trial adjourned
The trial of two Ethiopian human rights activists has been adjourned until April. There are fears that the authorities are delaying hearings into allegations that the two instigated last April’s student riots at the University of Addis Ababa. Geography professor Mesfin Wolde-Mariam, chairman of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, and Berhanu Nega, director of the Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute, have been released on bail.