Tuesday April 6, 2010
The Hague, Netherlands
Today part of the Iranian embassy in the Hague has been occupied. The group of both Iranians and non-Iranians are protesting in solidarity with the Iranian people against abuses perpetrated by the regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei, which include torture, abduction, mass execution, repression of free speech and assembly, and use of the machinery of government to enforce religious edicts.
The current Iranian regime has established a reputation for repressing its citizens on many occasions since its inception in 1979, but the last 9 months have witnessed an escalation in its severity. Protesters and government forces clashed after the disputed elections of June 2009, the results of which Iranian protesters and many international analysts believe were tampered with by the government.
Today the protesters unfurled banners on the embassy building proclaiming “Free All Political Prisoners”, “End Executions and Torture” and “Freedom In Iran.” They also hung an image of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young Iranian girl who was gunned down by government forces in Tehran on June 20th 2009 as she stood observing the sporadic protests from a distance.
The protesters are strongly opposed to those Western voices calling for armed action against Iran, which would bring only destruction and misery, and force opponents of the regime to defend it rather than see Iran turned into another Iraq.
Rik Versteeg, one of the protesters, said “The fate of Iran belongs in the hands of the Iranian People - it should not be decided by dictators, clerics or international oil-thirsty war-mongers.”
The complete statement of the protesters is available online at: http://iranlives.blogspot.com
To speak with one of the protesters inside call:
0031-641-738-106 - for Dutch and English language interviews
0031-616-203-645 - for Farsi, Dutch and English language interviews
If neither of the above numbers is available the group can be contacted on 0031-645-148-976 (English language only).
Posted via web from lissping
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