Times series – By Natalie O’Neill – 30th June 2011
BARNET residents joined hundreds of thousands of exiled Iranians from around the world to mark the Day of Martyrs and Political Prisoners.
More than 100,000 people attended a ceremony held in the Villepinte Auditorium near Paris which was fronted by Maryam Rajavi, the President elect of the Iranian Resistance.
Anglo-Iranians from Barnet joined protests, calling for the immediate protection of Camp Ashraf which is occupied by 3,400 members of the Iranian resistance, Peoples of Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI).
The PMOI movement has been based in Iraq since the 1980s and raises awareness of human rights violations in Iran.
It calls for an end to what it refers to as a “two-year-long inhumane siege of Ashraf”, suppressing residents and limiting supplies including medication.
The camp has become an icon of hope for a free democratic Iran but it was reported on April 8, the Iraqi army shot its unarmed civilians, leaving 34 dead and hundreds more injured.
Director of Association of Anglo-Iranian Women in the UK, Laila Jazayeri said: “So many people went from Barnet because they have loved ones in Camp Ashraf and they are seriously worried about their safety.
“They don’t want another massacre to happen.”
