Video – Letters from Iran
While winds of change have been blowing through the Arab world, Iranians have been forced to wait for political reform.
In 2009, in the aftermath of elections that saw Ahmadinejad’s return to power as president, millions of Iranians took to the streets to protest the result. But the demonstrations were brutally repressed and the hopes of the “green revolutionaries” dashed.
Since then Iran has closed itself off to international media, making it difficult to determine what happened to the many thousands of dissidents arrested and imprisoned during the protests, or the current scale of political opposition to the regime.
Yet this film reveals that opposition is still alive and kicking and just as eager for change as before. Letters from Iran paints a fascinating portrait of the aftermath of the Green Revolution and a country holding its breath.
Letters from Iran – YouTube.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How will this campaign help Iranians?
- Why another petition?
- What is the purpose of One Million Voices for Iran?
- You say your mandate is from people in Iran?
- What is the timeline for completion?
- Who runs the campaign?
- Don’t you know that sanctions only hurt Iranians?
How will this campaign help Iranians?
To date, advocacy campaigns and petitions which aim to address these issues have two main limitations: they are primarily reactive, and they have tended to focus on a single individual or specific group. Consequently, their aims tend to be short-term ones such as obtaining medical treatment or release of a particular prisoner. Others call for the attention of groups such as the UNHCR or EU Parliament. The specific request tends to be limited to calls for these organizations to issue stern statements of reprimand or to send an investigative team to Iran to review prison conditions. In the latter case, we know that permission for a UNHCR Special Rapporteur to enter Iran has been requested repeatedly since at least 2005 and continues to be denied by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In all cases, the aims of these campaigns are based on assumptions made by people outside of Iran about what needs to be done for those inside of Iran. One Million Voices for Iran is different: It takes its mandate from people inside Iran’s prisons, and has concrete, achievable goals.
Top of List
The petition is central to the campaign, but it is not the only facet. The people most interested in this work certainly include international human rights activists, but in the course of the campaign ordinary citizens will be educated about human rights violations, the international courts, and social activism. Activists throughout the world have been drawing attention to the Iranian regime’s flagrant and repeated violations of human rights, but these abuses have tended to be overshadowed by geo-political considerations in the region. The One Million Voices Campaign is sharply focused on building support for the prosecution of these unconscionable abuses of human rights. In doing so, it will forge a global chorus to amplify the Iranian people’s own compelling demands for international justice.
Top of List
What is the purpose of One Million Voices for Iran?
The purpose of this campaign is to deliver on the demands of those in Iran whose message we are relaying. They want increased sanctions specifically related to human rights issues and a recourse to legal action. In the course of our work we will raise awareness about the campaign goals, educate the public about the atrocities occurring in Iran, and promote social activism. Through these efforts, we will help to fulfill the Iranian people’s mandate and bring those responsible for human rights abuses to justice.
Top of List
You say your mandate is from people in Iran?
The people of Iran are no longer asking for their votes back. Nor are they asking for a major Western power to invade the country and wrestle control from the regime by force. They remain peaceful and resolute in their desire to be masters of their own fate.
What they do ask is:
- for world governments to support increased humanitarian measures, for example restricting travel to their country and freezing assets of individual regime leaders who are guilty of human rights abuses.
- that countries maintain and if necessary strengthen those humanitarian actions until all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners are free
- to find support for them from human rights defenders to press charges against these individual regime leaders in an international court so they can be brought to justice for their human rights crimes and violations.
The creation of an international court could either be approved by the UN Security Council, or by the government of a country which has ratified the Rome Statute and is sympathetic and supportive. This method, too, requires states to be members of the UN Security Council. A coordinated, systematic campaign would be essential to convince the UN or a national government to champion the creation of such a court. One Million Voices for Iran is intended to be just that campaign.
The One Million Voices Campaign echoes the demands of human rights activists, prisoners of conscience, political prisoners, and ordinary Iranian citizens seeking their deserved rights. Those demands are documented here.
Top of List
What is the timeline for completion?
To obtain a million signatures on anything naturally requires a lot of time. However, the petition is only one aspect of the campaign. That portion of the timeline ends when the campaign’s goals are met.
To create an arbitrary timeline would hurt the campaign and limit its effectiveness. We cannot predict what international actors (governments, human rights organizations, and the Iranian authorities) will do, or when. We will continue to advocate for the Iranian people until they are granted their deserved rights.
Top of List
The campaign is independent, non-political and run by volunteers of different nationalities and based in different countries. The campaign’s work is not designed to exist in one geographic area; in fact, the international nature of the campaign lends to its strength. By working in the global arena, the campaign stresses that human rights violations are unacceptable to the world community and no single government or culture directs this initiative. None of the people volunteering their time on this campaign are looking for personal publicity. Some of them are Iranians and they or their families would almost certanily be placed at risk if their identities are revealed.
Top of List
Don’t you know that sanctions only hurt Iranians?
There is evidence to suggest that broad economic sanctions do only strengthen the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who are quickly becoming the strongest economic power in Iran.
The One Million Voices Campaign does not call for sanctions. What we advocate is humanitarian actions, applied to individuals within the government who are documented human rights abusers, for example barring them from receiving travel visas and freezing their assets. These actions are powerful because they prevent the responsible individuals from doing business in foreign countries, or from representing the regime in the international scene, but do not punish ordinary Iranians. Furthermore, they are a recognition by the country taking the action that human rights abuses are occurring in Iran and that government leaders are aware of and responsible for the atrocities.
It is worth noting that we are strongly opposed to any form of military intervention or aggression against Iran.
Healing the Green Soul
As a therapist who specializes in the treatment of survivors of trauma, I hold a hope one day my services will not be needed because no one has to endure abuse or torture. One of the ways I work to achieve this goal is to speak for those whose voices are not heard. Please join me in supporting the One Million Voices for Iran Campaign to speak for the brave people who have survived the grievous human rights abuses inflicted by the Iranian Regime and bring an end to the oppression of the courageous people of Iran.
- Julianne Davis, creator of Healing the Green Soul, an English-and-Persian-language handbook for supporting victims of violent trauma.
Your Endorsement is Valuable
One Million Voices for Iran calls on all members of the international community who support and defend human rights and justice to endorse our new campaign.
The purpose of the campaign is to collect one million signatures and support for a petition demanding united global action against the human rights abuses perpetrated by the government of the Islamic Republic against its own people. Individuals and groups representing women, workers, lawyers, rights advocates, children, and ethnic and religious minorities are constant victims of repression at the hands of this government. This independent, non-political campaign echoes the demands of those seeking freedom and justice inside Iran.
We, the international community, must ensure the voice of the Iranian people is heard:
Our petition calls for European and other governments to restrict freedom of movement and freeze overseas assets of individuals in the Islamic Republic of Iran, targeting them specifically in protest of their documented human rights abuses and demanding the release of all political prisoners.
Additionally, it will demand from all potential sources of help the creation of a special court of human rights to prosecute the Islamic Republic’s leaders for their abuse of human rights, as described here by the Green Lawyers Movement.
We echo the demands of those in Iran working tirelessly for civil and political rights, and we are inspired by the many other human rights based initiatives that pursue goals in line with the One Million Voices for Iran campaign. We are open to the idea of affiliating with any like-minded individuals or complementary causes.
By focusing on human rights, and echoing the demands of those inside Iran, this is a campaign that transcends political or religious boundaries, and relies on recognition from prominent human rights organizations and activists.
As part of our activitives, we are actively seeking statements of support or endorsement from individuals and organizations that we can publish. We also appreciate your help in sharing or publicising this campaign with humanitarian and media contacts, and any assistance in gathering support for our cause.
Please send your message of support using the contact page, or add a Comment here on the website.
We are happy to receive feedback, comments, and suggestions on any aspect of this campaign, as our only goal is to make it a success.
