Vigil In Harvard Square Protests Iran-Iraq War

A group of about 75 American and Iranian students and teachers from the Boston area held a candlelight vigil outside Holyoke Center last night in protest of the Iran-Iraq war.

The demonstrators marched quietly in a circle, carrying placards that called for the release of political prisoners and asked the Khomeni regime to stop sending children to the front lines of the war.

The newly formed committee for Peace and Freedom in Iran, which its 10 to 15 members called "a group of Iranians in exile," organized the protest and handed out leaflets, asking citizens to urge the government to "impose a real military boycott on both sides of the conflict."

The purpose of the vigil was "primarily to make the public aware about the atrocities Khomeni has been doing," said a spokesman for the group who requested anonymity, saying he feared Iranian authorities.

Marchers said they were concerned about the lack of women's rights in Iran, the ongoing war, and the Reagan Administration's arms sales to the Middle-East country.

The spokesman said his committee, which was formed about one month ago, said that about one-third of the protesters at yesterday's rally were Americans.

The group chose to demonstrate in Harvard Square because, the spokesman said, it was "the [best] place to get in touch with as many people as possible."