A leading MEP has urged all supporters of a free Iran to give their full backing to the rally in Paris on June 13 aimed at ending the repression, abuses and intimidation of the mullah’s regime.
Estonian lawmaker Tunne Kelam said the mass gathering of Iranian opposition and their supporters will be strongest collective call for an end to the repression that dominates both the media and everyday life inside Iran.
He wrote on the EurActiv website how MEPs and foreign reporters were all threatened by Iranian security forces during a visit to Tehran last week.
He said: “Reporters without Borders has ranked Iran among the worst jailers of journalists in the world.
“Even a brief glimpse at Iranian propaganda and the activities of Iranian security forces brings to light major facts about the nature of the Iranian regime and its relationships with the international community and its own people.
“First of all, confrontation with foreign powers, and especially with Western democracies, is central to the regime’s identity and its attempts to influence the thinking of Iranian citizens.
“Secondly, although it is clear from social media and the underground activities of the Iranian people that they overwhelmingly reject this propaganda, any efforts by those people to reach a foreign audience is fraught with difficulty.
“Notwithstanding the popularity of banned platforms like Facebook and Twitter in Iran, people who speak freely online are at risk for lengthy prison sentences on any number of vague charges such as spreading corruption or insulting the supreme leader.
“Direct activism carries an even greater risk, as evidenced by the hundreds of political prisoners being held in Iranian jails at any given time.”
And he said of Saturday’s rally in Paris: “I and many colleagues from the European Parliament and other national parliaments will attend this event.
“Now that the Iranian regime has tried once again to stifle foreign media and freedom of expression, it is more important than ever to use the June 13 gathering in support of the National Council of Resistance of Iran to demonstrate international support for freedom of expression for all Iranians, both inside and outside their homeland.
“Past iterations of this event have been like microcosms of Iranian society, with participation from young and old, rich and poor, from all walks of life. As such, this year’s event will also be a snapshot of what Iran would look like when Iranians of all stripes, together with foreign visitors, were free to speak to one another and to the media, without fear of intimidation or persecution.”
#Iran #IranFreedom
