International

Violence and repression. That has been the reaction to the continuing demonstrations in Iran. Protests from ordinary citizens against an oppressive regime. A regime that is trying, by bloody means, to hold on to power. Many people have lost their lives during these demonstrations, many more have been injured or thrown into prison.

by Krista van Velzen

The frequency of the protests has begun to decline, an Iranian human rights activist told me, although a large crowd of people gathered on Amsterdam's Museumplein last weekend to chant slogans against the dictatorship. People with green headbands, green armbands, green shirts and green placards. Green, the colour of hope for Iran.

Demonstrations were organised last Saturday throughout the world. Their purpose, to let the people in Iran know that they do not stand alone, that the misdeeds of this regime are being noticed internationally. That the whole world is seeing what is happening there.

And the regime reacted. By cutting off all telephone connections, so that no message of hope, support, solidarity could reach the demonstrators. The Internet down, no twitter, no filmclips on YouTube.

But, the Iranian activist said, the message has nevertheless reached Iran, the message that solidarity demonstrations were being organised on a world-wide scale. True, this only happened last Friday, but the message arrived! And so, they said, the message gave immediate hope, and immediate decisions were taken to get out on to the streets of Tehran on Saturday.

Hope, support, solidarity, these give people the energy to go on.

A determined mass of people can bring down a regime.