Although this news has been met by silence from the West, the United States has not ignored the issue. The White House, last week, called on Iran to immediately release all of the people that were arrested for participating in the protests. This is just one more step that the US is taking to exert pressure on the Iranian regime.
Last week, President Trump made it clear that he was not going to issue any more waivers of sanctions and urged the Europeans to fix the nuclear deal, otherwise he said he would pull out of it.
In the White House statement regarding the detention of protesters, the White House expressed its concern for the citizens that are exercising their right to peacefully protest. The statement said: “The Trump Administration is deeply concerned by reports that the Iranian regime has imprisoned thousands of Iranian citizens in the past week for engaging in peaceful protests.”
The statement also made mention of the people that have been tortured and / or killed while they were in prison, describing this situation as “disturbing”. It also said that the “true brutal nature” of the Iranian regime is coming to the forefront.
“We will not remain silent as the Iranian dictatorship represses the basic rights of its citizens and will hold Iran’s leaders accountable for any violations. The United States calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Iran, including the victims of the most recent crackdown.”
The people took to the streets on 28th December last year and made calls for the end of the rule of the Iranian regime. For many years, the people have been struggling and the recent economic reforms have meant that the people are struggling to even provide themselves with the most basic of essentials.
The protests were widespread and the people are determined to ensure that their voices are finally heard and counted. Unlike the 2009 protests, all sectors of society took part in the protests and they were not centred around large towns and cities. In fact, many of the protests and anti-government demonstrations started in small towns where the inhabitants are especially feeling the effects of the economic crisis.
There have been reports of several men who have died while in prison. The authorities are passing their deaths off as suicide, but the families and the wider public are voicing their scepticism. They have pointed out numerous holes in the accounts given by authorities.
It is time for the voice of the people to be heard by the international community. It is also time for the international community to make their voice even stronger.
