Letter from Hundred Civil Activists to Bypass ‘Kleptocratic Rule’; Tabarzadi: Islamic Republic is Not Acceptable to Iranian People
Dozens of political activists inside Iran have addressed a letter to the United Nations, calling the Islamic Republic government a “kleptocracy” and calling for international support for the Iranian people to transition to a new government through holding a national referendum.
The letter, a copy of which was also sent to Voice of America, has been signed by more than one hundred civil and political activists including Sheila Entesari, Akbar Amini, Isa Khan Hatami, Yasmin Hanifeh Tabatabai, Hashem Khavastegar, Zoroaster Ahmadi-Ragheb, Kourosh Zaeem, Hashmatallaah Tabarzadi, Behnaz Lahelzari, Frangis Mazloom, Abdolhamid Masoomi Tehrani, and Mohammad Nikbakht.
The letter is addressed to António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations and President of the Security Council of the United Nations, and other members of the council. These civil activists, by calling the Iranian government a “kleptocracy,” are calling for the support of civil institutions to transition from the current system to a democratic secular government and constitution through a national referendum.
Hashmatallaah Tabarzadi, a political activist and one of the signatories of this letter, in an interview with Voice of America, referring to the low voter turnout in the eleventh parliamentary elections, stated: “The regime has shown its inefficiency in running the country and in economic, social and political matters. This regime is not acceptable to the Iranian people and responds to the legitimate demands of the people with bullets. Therefore, when a regime is oppressive, inefficient and illegitimate, people have no choice but to seek help from international institutions.”
In a section of the letter, a copy of which was also sent to Voice of America, referring to the widespread nature of the Iranian people’s aspirations to achieve a democratic secular government, it states: “We believe that the United Nations Security Council has the necessary and sufficient capability and moral commitment to advance such a peaceful transition in line with addressing the continuous violation of the rights of the Iranian people in the context of security, safety and peaceful coexistence with other nations of the Middle East and the world.”
Mr. Tabarzadi, also referring to the support of the permanent members of the Security Council for changing the apartheid government in South Africa in the 1990s and changing Chile’s constitution in 1978, told Voice of America: “Today, the worst kind of religious, ideological, and even gender and ethnic discrimination is being practiced in Iran, and we want to write a democratic secular constitution, and the Iranian people expect the world community to support them in this regard, especially through a complete boycott of the regime in this direction.”
The United States has repeatedly condemned the violent crackdowns and widespread suppression of protesters and civil activists, as well as the continuous and repeated violation of the rights of Iranian citizens by the Islamic Republic.
Source: Voice of America
