A crowd of Edmontonians, mostly of Iranian decent, gathered in front of the Alberta Legislature on Saturday in solidarity with those demonstrating in Iran following that country’s presidential elections.
Speaking at the event were federal Members of Parliament as well as social activists who condemned the actions of the Iranian regime and called for the release of political prisoners and journalists.
Conservative MP Laurie Hawn (Edmonton Center) expressed concern for the human rights situation in Iran and demanded the release of Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari who has been detained as part of the regime’s crackdown on media following the protests.
The announcement of the results of the presidential elections on June 12th, giving the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a landslide victory, triggered protests in Tehran which soon spread to other cities.
The protesters have been violently confronted by government forces. According to Iran’s state media, at least 17 deaths have occurred. However, other news reports put the death toll as high as 100. It has been difficult to ascertain the true number as the regime has restricted all foreign media.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Mr. Hawn said that it is important for the Canadian government to stand behind the people of Iran.
“When Iranian-Canadians gather together like this to express support, solidarity for the people of Iran, it’s important that they understand that the government of Canada is behind those efforts and is behind the Iranian people as they search for what we take for granted here, and that’s basic democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law,” he said.
Mr. Hawn added that Canadians are concerned when other people don’t enjoy the same kind of freedom and justice they have, and that’s why Canada is involved in the United Nations and stands up for those “who are not free in their struggle to get the kind of things that we take for granted.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper released a statement early last week condemning the crackdown on the demonstrators and called on the Iranian authorities to “cease the use of violence against their own people” and to release all political prisoners and journalists.
In her speech at the rally, New Democrat MP Linda Duncan (Edmonton-Strathcona) also called for the release of political prisoners and journalists and expressed concern about the allegations of fraud in Iran’s presidential election.
Ms. Duncan told The Epoch Times that she is concerned about the “reprehensible” response of the Iranian government to the peaceful demonstrations.
“It’s very important for our federal government to stand firm for the protection of the people who have been demonstrating peacefully who were simply asking for a recount, and absolutely for the release of any of the political prisoners,” she said.
Long time Edmonton resident Mr. Akbar Bardestani, who helped organized the rally, said it was a spontaneous decision to hold the event to reflect “the inside voice” of Iran to the outside world.
Mr. Bardestani said his friends in Iran have emailed him indicating that the best thing people outside the country can do is “raise our voice” and “tell the truth of what is going on” in Iran.
He said independent media coverage has been effectively blocked in Iran, noting that state television shows “cooking classes” while “a few million” people are demonstrating on the streets.
“Even when Neda [died], which is the symbol of the resistance, they even said it was all fabricated,” he said, referring to the graphic death of a young girl named Neda Agha-Soltan captured by amateur video which has been circulated widely on the Internet.
“You cannot really find a word for this kind of injustice,” said Mr. Bardestani.
The rally concluded with the crowd shouting “Freedom for Iran, democracy for Iran.”
