A ‘human-chain’ was created in front of the Kelowna Art Gallery on Saturday afternoon to show support for the Iran Revolution.
Around 50 people gathered, held hands and chanted as they spread awareness to the Iran Revolution against their government, or as they call it, ‘the regime’.
Iranians in #Kelowna gather in front of the Kelowna Art Gallery to bring awareness to #IranRevoIution @KelownaCapNews @BlackPressMedia pic.twitter.com/GQtR2yS5XU
— Jordy Cunningham (@CunninghamJordy) January 21, 2023
“I’m so happy to see it’s not only Iranians, we have people from all nations – We have Ukrainians, we have Canadians,” said UBCO professor and protest organizer Ray Taheri. “It’s not about only one region, it’s about a regime like Iran [government], it can threat the entire planet. This is racial, gender, political race discrimination.”
The Iranian government believes that anyone that goes against them, goes against God, Taheri explained. In Zahedan, Iran, for the last seven or eight weeks, the regime massacres a group of people that support the Iran Revolution, Taheri continued. Despite doing this, the regime doesn’t take responsibility for it.
“The regime is continuously executing people. I don’t even think the word execution is correct, this is political murder,” said Taheri. “It shows more irrational and corrupt they are and the level of the violation of human rights.”
Sunday is a critical day for the Iran Revolution around the world, explained Taheri. It is because the European Union will decide if the regime can be defined as a terrorist group or not. If this happens, the regime and its leaders will have to freeze and confiscate all their assets.
“That was a significant impact on the violation of human rights and not allowing the regime in Iran to continue,” said Taheri.
Saturday’s event in Kelowna took place in front of the art gallery because two Canadian-Iranian artists, Reyhan Yazdani and Nasim Pirhadi, launched art exhibits in the facility earlier in the day. Pirhadi is from Kelowna and studies at UBC Okanagan.
“Their support for this event is monumental,” said Taheri. “It’s very sad that in Iran for 43 plus years, women can not sing and dance publicly in their own country and their own language.”
Yazdani’s and Pirhadi’s displays entitled ‘We Are Countless’ will be in the Kelowna Art Gallery from Jan. 21 until April 16.
@cunninghamjordy
jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com
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