At the end of last year, millions of Iranians took to the streets to protest against the Iranian regime and its corruption and mis-management of the country’s resources. The protests quickly turned into a nationwide uprising and it shook the regime to the core. During the anti-government demonstrations people were heard chanting “Down with Rouhani” and “Down with Khamenei”. The people made it very clear that they want regime change and to this day they are still protesting.
This has really affected the Iranian regime and it knows that it cannot ever gain the trust of the people. As usual, the regime has resorted to threatening the people and blaming the situation on outside factors. More than 20 people died at the start of the protests and at the beginning of the year Brigadier Hossein Ashtari, the police chief, blamed other countries for the public unrest. He said that the United States is the one leading it all.
The people have been supressed by the Iranian regime for decades. Much of this suppression is physically violent, as Ashtari knows. The country’s police and paramilitary forces are the main executors of the violent suppression
The Iranian police, formerly known as the Law Enforcement Force (LEF) of the Islamic Republic of Iran is charged with physical, moral and social security, according to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Supreme Leader himself appoints the police chief and he is in charge of enforcing the regime’s Islamist ideology. Another force in Iran is the Basij, or religious police, which is also notoriously violent.
These forces are responsible for the death of dozens of protesters and the arrest of thousands in recent months. They regularly carry out human rights violations and enforce requirements such as the wearing of the hijab. The organisations have declared the they will not tolerate defiance and will deal with protesters “firmly”.
During the height of the protests, they fired shots into crowds of unarmed protesters and deployed forces to intimidate the people and to dissuade them from joining protests.
Forces should be on the street to protect the people, not harm them. The Iranian people deserve to exercise their right to protest and they should not be harmed in the process.
The main opposition to the Iranian regime, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has been calling for support from the international community. It wants to ensure that those in charge of perpetrating attacks on the people are held accountable and it calls on the United States and European Union to sanction the officials in charge.
On 30th June, the NCRI will be hosting the annual Free Iran rally in Paris. As with previous years, tens of thousands of Iranians from around the world will be in attendance to hear from officials, dignitaries, lawmakers and politicians from a wide range of countries about how they are supporting the resistance movement and what they are doing in their countries to push for a free and democratic Iran where the people’s human rights are respected.
Source » ncr-iran