Iranian-Descent Swedish Parliamentarian: Supporting Iran’s Protesters is Supporting Democracy

Azadeh Rajkhan-Gustavsson, an Iranian-descent member of the Swedish Parliament, told Deutsche Welle regarding the protests of Iran’s people that when democratic principles, human rights, and freedoms are violated in a country, parliaments of other nations should respond to it.

A group of Swedish parliamentarians gathered on Tuesday, November 19 (November 28 in the Persian calendar), in front of the Swedish Parliament building and took a group photo while holding placards inscribed with “Iran protests hashtag.”

Azadeh Rajkhan-Gustavsson, one of the organizers of this gathering, told Deutsche Welle about this: “I and four other Iranian-descent representatives who were in contact with each other decided to support the people of Iran through a simple act and asked all five Swedish political parties to join us. Our goal was to declare through this photo that defending protesting Iranians is not a partisan issue; it is a matter of democracy, freedom of speech, human rights, and freedom of assembly. Rights that every parliament should defend. Because these principles are the foundation of democracy, and if these principles are trampled upon in a country, other parliaments should respond to it.”

This Social Democratic Party representative told Deutsche Welle that other measures are also underway: “Among other things, we are in the process of planning a seminar in which we will inform other representatives, political activists, and the general public about the situation in Iran.”

Ms. Rajkhan-Gustavsson praised the Swedish Foreign Minister’s initiative in publishing a tweet in English and said it is expected that the Swedish government, as a democratic government, defend the civil liberties of citizens of other countries.

Earlier, Ann Linde, Sweden’s Foreign Minister, had written in a tweet: Many Swedes have relatives and friends in Iran, and for them, the escalation of tensions in this country is concerning.

She also wrote that Sweden’s Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Tehran are carefully monitoring the current situation in Iran. She has called on the parties to the conflict to exercise restraint.

Source: DW