Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the ITUC: I present a message of solidarity with the Iranian people
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), an international labor union with over 200 million members globally, has declared its support for those taking part in the Iran protests for freedom.
Ms. Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the ITUC, expressed her organization’s support for the Iran protests, in a video message on Twitter on December 19.
“Today I present a message of solidarity with the Iranian people. When a government attacks its own people. When hundreds are killed and thousands injured because a government is in denial of the fundamental rights and freedoms that people want,” said Ms. Burrow in her video message.
“If there is no freedom of association, if there is no freedom of assembly, if people don’t have the right to represent each other when they’re exploited in the case of workers or to argue for expanding democratic space, then this is not a free country,” she added.
Deep solidarity with protestors in Iran fighting for liberation and justice amidst a brutally repressive government trying to squash dissent. ??✊? https://t.co/n26LCrsuZq
— Global Labor Justice (@GLJhub) December 19, 2019
While referring to the total internet blackout imposed by the Iranian regime during the first days of the Iran protests to hide its crime Ms. Burrow said: “When the government shuts down the Internet and excludes people from communication with the outside world, well that’s a symbol for oppression, for authoritarianism, for a world where people are losing hope in the future.”
“We say to you, your courage is extraordinary. Your fight is in line with fights all around the world, so the ITCU family, 200 million members stand with you, we stand behind you. I salute your courage solidarity,” she told the protesters in Iran.
BACKGROUND
The nationwide Iran protests erupted in mid-November 2019 and became the greatest existential crisis in the regime’s 40-year history. Protesters took to the streets in over 191 cities across Iran and called for regime change. According to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the Iranian regime launched a deadly crackdown on these protests, killing at least 1500 protesters and arresting at least 12,000. The MEK has so far identified 547 of these martyrs. The regime also imposed a total internet blackout on across the country for a week, blocking images of the protests from reaching the outside world.
