The Socialist International condemns Iranian State violence and shows solidarity with protesters.
For more than two months, massive popular protests have been going on in Iran. The movement was triggered by the death of a young Kurdish girl, Mahsa (Jina) Amini, under the blows of the ‘morality police’, in Tehran. Demonstrations spread throughout the country and most components of the Iranian society, inside the country and abroad, joined the movement in an unprecedented momentum of solidarity.
Instead of conducting a proper investigation and holding those responsible for Jina Amini's death accountable, the Iranian regime has resorted to repression against protesters. Hundreds of demonstrators were killed by security forces and thousands more were injured and arrested. Repression in regions inhabited by ethnic groups and minorities, such as Kurdistan and Balochistan, has been even more severe. Furthermore, seeking to distract the public opinion from the events inside Iran and break the unity of the Iranians, the Islamic Republic has undertaken a campaign of bombardment of the bases of the Iranian Kurdish political parties based in the Kurdish Region of Iraq. As these strikes targeted Iranian Kurdish refugee camps and their schools, there were many civilians, including women and children, among the victims and the wounded. Yet, the Iranian Kurdish parties, although supporting the peaceful protests of the population, had not undertaken in the period under consideration any armed activity against the Islamic Republic.
While the starting point of the movement was to protest the restrictions imposed on women by the regime and women are still at the forefront of the protest movement, the demands of the protesters are much more general and radical. They are fighting for all their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Faced with the denial and repressive attitude of the regime, Iranians are asking for a regime change and the advent of a democratic regime, representative of all and respectful of the legitimate rights of its citizens.
Over the past two months, Iranians’ courage and resilience in their unified struggle for freedom and democracy has aroused unprecedented international admiration and solidarity, which has translated into some concrete actions aimed at pressuring the Iranian regime and supporting the legitimate struggle of the Iranians. The Socialist International endorses those measures and calls for more effective international measures.
Reiterating the position taken in its previous statement, the Socialist International condemns the acts of violence perpetrated by the Iranian forces, including against the Kurds of Iran, and expresses its solidarity with the peaceful protesters who fight for freedom and democracy. In particular, the SI expresses its full support to the two main Iranian Kurdish parties that are members of the IS family, namely the KDPI and other Kurdish political parties in their responsible struggle for the achievement of the legitimate rights of the Kurdish people in Iran and for the establishment of a democratic political framework in Iran.