By Johanna Hung
Nightly demonstrations in Iran are continuing, a month after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on June 12.
In the aftermath of the contested election, which many have called the last straw for a generation of Iranians– 60-70 per cent of Iran’s population are under the age of 30– 20 protesters have died according to state reports, while other sources indicate as many as 200 are dead. According to observers there is a growing sense that demonstrators are calling for dramatic change in the structure of the Islamic Republic itself – the separation of religion from government, more transparency and the right to dissent.
On Saturday a top advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for the Supremum Leader to reach out to protestors.
“We cannot order public opinion to get convinced,” Mohammadian said, according to the Mehr news agency. “Certain individuals are suspicious about the election result, and we have to shed light on the realities and respond to their questions.”
On June 23, about 150 concerned Calgarians added their voices to the global chorus of “Stop the violence, stop the killing!”
“To me, it’s not about politics, it’s about human rights,” said rally organizer Liza Lorenzetti, a member of Calgary Democracy Iran. “We are here to support our sisters and brothers in Iran who are risking their lives for the basic fundamental human freedoms: the freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of belief.”