Azeri-Rights Protesters Demand Khatami Apology May 24, 2009 (RFE/RL) -- Hundreds of ethnic Azeri students in several Iranian cities have gathered at rallies to express anger over perceived discrimination that was highlighted in a YouTube video that appears to show former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami making an ethnic joke at their expense, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. Khatami, who bowed out after flirting with a fresh bid for the presidency, is campaigning for fellow reformist candidate Mir Hossein Musavi. Separate protests at Tehran University in the capital and at Sama University in Umiye demanded an apology from Khatami and the passage of antidiscrimination legislation in the parliament. One participant in the Tehran demonstration told RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service that more than 100 demonstrators were on hand to condemn "chauvinism" and "apartheid" in Iran. "Khatami should apologize via official media -- print and television," the student added. Demonstrators insisted that Khatami should be banned from wearing religious garb, since they say he misused religion by making fun of the way Azeris tell religious stories in a remark recorded at a private gathering. They also urged all candidates in Iran's June 12 presidential election to express their views on issues of minorities and discrimination. On May 23, several hundred protesters gathered in front of Musavi's campaign office before police dispersed them and made at least three arrests, journalist Ismayil <b>...</b>