Letter from 100 civil society activists to overcome the "thief rule"; Tabarzadi: The Islamic Republic is not acceptable to the Iranian people
In a letter to the United Nations, dozens of political activists inside Iran called the Islamic Republic's government a "thief" and called for support for the Iranian people in transitioning to a new government through a referendum.
This letter, a copy of which was also sent to VOA, was signed by more than 100 civil and political activists, including Shahla Entesari, Akbar Amini, Issa Khan Hatami, Yasmine Hanifeh Tabatabaei, Hashem Khastar, Zaratosht Ahmadi-Ragheb, Kourosh Zaeem, Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, Behfar Lalehzari, Farangis Mazloum, Abdul Hamid Masoumi Tehrani, and Mohammad Nikbakht.
The addressees of the letter are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, US Ambassador to the UN and current President of the UN Security Council Linda Thomas-Greenfield, as well as other members of the council. Calling the Iranian government a “thief-tyrant,” these civil society activists called for the support of civil society organizations for the transition from democracy to a secular democratic government and constitution, through a national referendum.
Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, a political activist and one of the signatories of this letter, said in an interview with Voice of America, referring to the low turnout of the people in the 11th term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections: "The regime has shown its inefficiency in governing the country, economic, social and political issues. This regime is not accepted by the Iranian people and responds to the legitimate demands of the people with bullets. Therefore, when a regime is repressive, inefficient and not legitimate, the people have no choice but to ask for help from international institutions."
Part of the letter, a copy of which was also sent to Voice of America, refers to the widespread aspirations of the Iranian people to achieve a secular democratic government and states: "We believe that the United Nations Security Council has the necessary and sufficient moral capacity and commitment to advance such a peaceful transition in line with the ongoing violations of the human rights of the Iranian people, in the shadow of safety, security, and peaceful coexistence with other nations of the Middle East and the world."
Mr. Tabarzadi also referred to the support of the permanent members of the Security Council for changing the apartheid regime in South Africa in the 1990s and the change in the Chilean constitution in 1978, telling VOA: "In Iran today, the worst kind of religious, ideological, and even gender and ethnic discrimination is being practiced, and we want to write a secular democratic constitution, and the Iranian people expect the international community to support the Iranian people in this regard, especially by completely boycotting the regime."
The United States has repeatedly and on various occasions condemned the Islamic Republic's violent confrontations and widespread repression of protesters and civil activists, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens.
Source: Voice of America
