The past few months, have held a turbulent political atmosphere in Iran; and we, the organizers of Victoria for Iran, have once again organized a show of solidarity with the brave women and men who have taken to the streets of Iran to defend their democratic rights.

Iran’s tenth presidential election took place on 12 June 2009. The two main contenders were the reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi, and the hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. After the closing of the polling stations, more than 39 million handwritten paper ballots were “counted” in a matter of hours, and Ahmadinejad was declared the winner by a large land-slide. A strong suspicion of election process to have been “rigged,” has caused millions of Iranians to pour onto the streets of all major cities in Iran in peaceful protests to simply ask “where is my vote?”.

They however, have been confronted with brutal suppression. The protesters are beaten with batons, chains, knives, and tear gas, by plain clothed militia and intelligence forces. They have been massively attacked, arrested, tortured, raped, forced to confess, and at times brutally murdered. Students have lost their lives in mid-night attacks to their dormitories, while some have been shot in the streets, and others have died under torture. To date, official sources have confirmed 72 deaths, while unofficial estimates reach 400. More than 4000 persons have been arrested. Means of communication such as phone lines, text messaging, and internet, have been severely restricted, and media censorship has reached a new peek.

It is in this coup d’Etat- like atmosphere, that on September 22nd to 24th, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is traveling to New York to participate in the United Nations General Assembly as Iran’s head of state. Hence, in the memory of the lives lost, in genuine support of those injured and arrested, and in absolute unity with the multitude that fiercely remains, we will gather together to firmly stand against Ahmadinejad’s presence at the UN. On Thursday, September 24th we will meet at 6:00 PM in front of the BC Legislature and march towards Centennial Square via Government street, to ask our fellow Victorians, other Canadians, and the world to voice our demands:

Mr. Ahmadinejad is not Iran’s president. He is an illegitimate and unelected dictator, and as such should not be permitted to participate in the UN General Assembly. We hereby ask the UN member states to not welcome Ahmadinejad and walk out as he is delivering his speech.

We further ask the UN member states and the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to demand the Security Council to forward Iran’s case of Crimes against Humanity to the International Criminal Court.

We demand that the Obama administration and other Western governments do not interfere with the Iranian people’s democratic right by granting legitimacy to the Ahmadinejad government through negotiations.

Finally, we ask the Canadian government to not recognize Ahmadinejad as Iran’s president, and to support the basic human rights of the Iranian people. (The Canadian government’s recent changes to immigration laws have restricted immigration and travel visas for Iranian political prisoners and their families, while providing new venues for wealthy corrupted Iranian government officials to migrate to Canada. We therefore ask the Canadian government to reconsider privileging wealthy criminals over those fighting for their rights.)

Please join us to support the people of Iran in condemnation of the coup d’Etat like behavior of the government against peaceful demonstrators, and in their right to fight for democracy. We ask you to join us in asking the Iranian government to stop the persecution of the Iranian people, to end the violence against protesters, to release all associated prisoners, to resume all means of communication, and to respect the Iranian democratic will. Finally, it should be noted that we strictly and loudly oppose any forms of economic sanctions or military intervention against Iran. The Iranian people have suffered enough and should not be punished for the crimes of their totalitarian leaders.

We are counting on your support.

Victoria for Iran is an independent student grassroots movement and is not affiliated with any political organizations or factions.