Kaveh Shahrouz, A Supporter of Iran Sanctions

Kaveh Shahrouz is a member of the board of directors of the American organization “Human Rights Documentation Center” and one of the prominent figures supporting Iran sanctions, active in Canada.

We read his remarks about signing a new petition to support Iran:

You have probably already seen a petition addressed to the foreign ministers of G7 countries that is circulating on the internet, asking them to do two things:

First, to strongly demand that Iran immediately release all political prisoners; and second, that G7 countries expel Iran’s ambassadors and high-level representatives in international institutions.

We have been extremely fortunate in garnering international support. In just two or three days, four hundred and thirty thousand people from around the world have signed this petition. In fact, we are on track to become one of the most successful petitions ever collected in the history of Change.org; the website that hosts most of the world’s petitions. Due to the high success of this petition, many people have raised questions.

Our friends and civil activists want to know more about this petition and its effects, and I am happy to answer their questions.

Unfortunately, the Iranian regime and its supporters have spread a lot of misinformation about this petition, its effects, and those behind it. But I am here to refute these rumors and tell you the truth.

So who is behind this petition? This petition was published under my name, but it is not my personal petition. It is published under my name simply because I uploaded it to the Change.org website. The group behind this petition is called “Iranians for Justice and Human Rights.”

We are a very new group that was formed during the coordination of the October 1st march in Toronto. A march in which 50,000 people participated to demand an end to the Islamic regime and the achievement of rights and democracy for all Iranians.

You may have heard that this organization is affiliated with a foreign power or political party. I am here to tell you that all of this is false.

We are a civil organization and are not affiliated with any other party. We are not affiliated with any foreign organization or country. This organization is made up of civil activists, human rights activists, and active individuals in the Canadian Iranian community. Our most prominent member is someone you definitely know: Dr. Hamed Esmaeilion. A fearless man whose struggle in the case of flight PS752 has truly been inspiring to millions of people around the world.

You may also have heard from supporters of the regime that the expulsion of Iranian ambassadors will make your life difficult abroad. In fact, this is false. We are calling for the expulsion of Iran’s ambassadors and high-level representatives in international institutions. Consular affairs such as passport renewal or obtaining birth certificates, etc., can continue with the presence of lower levels of diplomacy that do not require an ambassador.

Another thing you may hear is that doing such a thing and signing a petition is useless and has no results. I am here to say that those who say this are often the same people who have been saying for years that efforts to sanction the Revolutionary Guards and Javad Zarif and the like are useless. These people do not say these things because they believe them; rather, they say these things to discourage you from signing this petition. The reality is that in the world of human rights and civil activism, things often seem difficult. They even seem impossible, until suddenly they become possible. The way they become possible is through creating public pressure, and this petition aims to do just that. It is very important to remember what is at stake. The Iranian regime is a gender-apartheid regime and it is imposing this gender apartheid.

It is very important that we deal with a gender-apartheid government the way we dealt with South Africa during apartheid. We must isolate it diplomatically and shame it on the international level. We must put pressure on it. Foreign governments must also work directly with the Iranian people so that the people themselves can bring their revolution to victory.

So, considering all these points, I hope that if you have not yet signed this petition, you will do so. I hope you will continue to support our movement.

Woman – Life – Freedom, in hope of Iran’s freedom