This Saturday: "Stand in solidarity with Iranians and against U.S. intervention in Iran"

This Wednesday-Friday, July 22-24, Iranian students will stage a hunger strike in front of the UN, and Saturday the 25th is "A Global Day of Solidarity" -- rallies will be held around the world (in the U.S.: in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, and Orange County).


"Stand in solidarity with Iranians and against U.S. intervention in Iran"

guest post by Sean Penn, Ross Mirkarimi and Reese Erlich
July 20, 2009

During our travels to Iran in 2005, Penn and Erlich interviewed numerous ordinary Iranians. People were very friendly towards us as Americans but very hostile to U.S. policy against their country. We visited Friday prayers where 10,000 people chanted “Death to America.” Afterwards those same people invited us home for lunch.

That contradiction continues today as Iran goes through its most significant upheaval since the 1979 revolution. Iranians are rising up against an authoritarian system but don’t want U.S. intervention.

Many Iranians believe that they have experienced a coup d’état, in which the military and intelligence services have hijacked the presidential election. Through vote buying and manipulation of the count, Ahmadinejad had guaranteed himself another four years in office.

In June over a million Iranians marched in the streets of major cities across the country. The spontaneous demonstrations included well-to-do supporters of opposition candidates, but also large numbers of workers, farmers, small business people and the devoutly religious. They were fed up with 30 years of a system that used Islam as an excuse for union labor strike breaking, lack of women’s rights and repression.

The Iranian government responded to these peaceful protests with savagery, killing dozens of people. Some human rights groups put the number at over 100. The government admits arresting 2500 people nationwide and continues to hold at least 500. Most are being held without charges or have simply disappeared.

The repression hasn’t killed the movement. On July 17, over 10,000 people came to Friday prayers in support of the opposition. Instead of chanting “Death to America,” they chanted “Death to the Dictator,” a reference to supreme leader Khamenei. Police attacked them with clubs and teargas.

Meanwhile in Washington, some politicians tried to use the crisis for their own ends. Senator John McCain criticized President Obama for not taking a stronger position against the Iranian government. It’s ironic to hear McCain and other conservatives proclaim their support for the people of Iran when a few months ago they wanted to bomb them.

That doesn’t exactly build credibility among Iranians.

President Obama faces tough choices on Iran. If he speaks out loudly against Ahmadinejad, he is accused of meddling in Iran’s internal affairs. If he says too little, then right-wingers in the U.S. accuse him of being soft on Ahmadinejad.

In reality, the U.S. has very little ability to impact what has become a massive, spontaneous movement for change. And it shouldn’t. The CIA overthrew the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953, bringing the dictatorial Shah back to power. The Bush Administration attempted to overthrow the Iranian government by funding and arming ethnic minority groups opposed to Tehran.

The U.S. government has no moral or political authority to tell Iranians what they should do. Iranians are perfectly capable of deciding for themselves.

That’s why citizen diplomacy is so important. Iranian demonstrators welcome the support of ordinary Americans. Joan Baez recorded a Farsi language version of “We Shall Overcome” that has shot around the world on You Tube.

Iranian activists are holding a hunger strike in front of the UN in New York from July 22 to 24 demanding that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon send a special commission to Iran.

We urge you to participate in the July 25 demonstrations around the U.S. and in Europe. Stand in solidarity with Iranians and against U.S. intervention in Iran.

For information about the San Francisco rally, check out www.NorCal4IRAN.org.


Sean Penn is an actor, director and writer who visited Iran in 2005. Ross Mirkarimi is a San Francisco supervisor, the first elected Iranian-American to hold that office. Reese Erlich is a freelance journalist and author of The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of US Policy and the Middle East Crisis.



July 25, A Global Day of Solidarity: Stand with the Iranian People

On Saturday July 25, people around the world have the opportunity to support the people of Iran in their struggle for democracy, freedom and basic human rights by attending rallies in dozens of cities around the world.

Why a global day of action?

On June 12th, Iranians participated in a presidential election marred by accusations of widespread fraud and voting irregularities. In the days that followed, hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest the official election results. The Iranian government's brutal response to these protests has left at least 17 people dead, hundreds more badly injured, and still hundreds more arrested and at high risk of torture and execution. These acts are a direct assault on the Iranian people's human and civil rights – and those of everyone who supports these ideals around the world.

Since the contested elections on June 12th, hundreds of thousands of people have participated in hundreds of demonstrations in at least 40 major cities in 15 countries. However, no globally coordinated event has yet been organized. On July 25 people around the world can support the people of Iran in their struggle for democracy, freedom and basic civil rights.

Why July 25?

The inauguration of Ahmadinejad will take place sometime between July 26th and August 19th, and there is a likelihood of civil action in Iran near that date.

What do we believe in?

We agree with the following values and visions:

"If one country sincerely wants to support democracy in another country that is under dictatorial rule, the only thing to do is to support the freedom fighters who stand for the democratic institutions of that country. Done this way, the sapling of democracy will bear the flower of freedom." – Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner

"The Campaign is founded on these principles: that human rights in Iran, and in every country, are a matter of legitimate international concern and essential to establishing international peace and security; that human rights in Iran can only be implemented with the assistance of civil society, whose role must be protected and sustained; that human rights compliance in Iran should be approached from a non-partisan perspective, and detached from political objectives; and that solidarity with any and all peoples prevented from enjoying their human rights is a moral imperative of our time." –International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

We do not have any political agenda; our only aim is to support the people of Iran in their struggle for democracy, freedom and basic civil rights.

What's the status?

• Rallies are currently scheduled in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Orange, County, London, Zurich, Frankfurt, Stockholm.
• Current event sponsors include:
  - League for Defense of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
  - International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
  - Amnesty International USA
  - Omid

What can you do?

Spread the word. Follow us on twitter and Facebook. Attend or organize a rally in your city. Write to your newspaper. Call your elected officials and ask them to stand out. Email united4iran@gmail.com to volunteer.