Breaking News

Up to 200,000 people estimated to travel to Vermont for total solar eclipse How fast will April’s total solar eclipse travel? The UN Security Council demands a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan Mexico in the emerging world order Pennsylvania State Guard Organizes Lithuanian Foreign Minister US Abstention from UN Security Council Resolution on Gaza – US State Department USA beats Mexico 2-0 thanks to goals from Adams and Reyna to win 3rd consecutive CONCACAF Nations League Mexico x United States | Highlights Meaning | The Case for American Intervention in Haiti Julian Assange to hear results of key US extradition ruling

WASHINGTON (AP) – Thousands of people marched through the streets of Berlin, Washington DC and Los Angeles on Saturday to show international support for protesters facing a brutal government crackdown on Iran. , caused by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. the supervision of the moral police of that country.

On the US National Mall, thousands of women and men of all ages – dressed in green, white and red, the colors of the Iranian flag – shouted in unison. “Be afraid. Be afraid. We are united in this,” chanted the protesters, before marching to the White House. “Say his name!” Mahsa!”

The demonstrations, organized by organizers from the United States, drew Iranians from across Washington D.C., with some traveling from Toronto to join the crowd.

In Los Angeles, home to the largest number of Iranians living outside of Iran, a crowd of protesters held a silent march on the blocks of a closed street in the city. They chanted for the downfall of the Iranian government and waved hundreds of Iranian flags that turned the horizon into a wave of red, white and green.

“We want freedom,” they thundered.

Shooka Scharm, a lawyer born in the US after her parents fled the Iranian revolution, wore a T-shirt with the words “Women, Life, Freedom” in English and Farsi. In Iran “women are like a second citizen and they are sick of it,” Scharm said.

The anti-government protests across Iran first focused on the country’s mandatory hijab covering for women after Amiri’s death on September 16. In Tehran on Saturday, many government protests were held in several universities.

Iranian security forces have dispersed rallies in that country with live ammunition and tear gas, killing more than 200 people, including teenage girls, according to rights groups.

The Biden administration has said it condemns the violence and repression of Iranian citizens and that they will seek ways to impose further sanctions against the Iranian government if the violence continues.

Between songs, the protesters in D.C. began singing, singing traditional Persian music about life and freedom – all written after the 1979 revolution that brought fundamentalists to power in Iran. They sang one in unison – “Baraye,” which means because, which has become the unofficial anthem of the Iranian resistance. The artist of that song, Shervin Hajipour, was arrested immediately after posting the song on his Instagram at the end of September. It generated over 40 million views.

“For women, life, freedom,” chanted the protesters, echoing a popular protest song: “Azadi” — Freedom.

The movement in Iran is affected by the same issues as the US and the rest of the world, said Samin Aayanifard, 28, who left Iran three years ago. “Hijab is enforced in Iran and here in America, after 50 years, women’s bodies are controlled,” said Aayanifard, who drove from East Lansing, Michigan to attend the D.C. He was referring to the repeal of abortion laws in the United States. “It’s about controlling women’s bodies.”

Many weeks of Saturday gatherings in the capital of the United States have increased the number of people.

In Berlin, a crowd estimated by German police in the tens of thousands turned out to show solidarity for women and activists who lead the movement for the past few weeks in Iran. The protest in the German capital, organized by the Woman(asterisk) Life Freedom Collective, began at the Victory Column in Berlin’s Tiergarten park and continued as a march through central Berlin.

Some protesters said they had come from other parts of Germany and other European countries to show their support.

“It is very important for us to be here, to be the voice of the Iranian people, who are being killed on the streets,” said Shakib Lolo, who comes from Iran and lives in the Netherlands. “And this is not a protest, a revolution, in Iran. And the people of the world should see it.”

Blood was reported from Los Angeles.

Follow AP’s coverage of Iran at: https://apnews.com/hub/iran

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *