Halifax rally shows support for protesters in Iran

Dozens of people gathered at the town clock on Citadel Hill in Halifax on Friday to show support for Iranians protesting their own government.

The internet in Iran has been cut off in response to the largest anti-regime protest the country has seen in years.

"They can't use their landlines, their mobile phones, their internet … and the last time that happened in Iran was in November 2019, which is now famous as Bloody November," Ziba Mashkuri, an organizer of the Halifax rally, told CBC News in an interview.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is accusing protesters of "ruining their own streets" to appease U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump pledged to support those who are peacefully demonstrating.

The Associated Press reported violence around the demonstrations has killed at least 62 people. It reported more than 2,300 others have been detained, and cited the U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency.

"There was a time they thought maybe reform could help, but they can see now that after 47 years it's not happening … so now what is happening you see in the streets of Iran is a call for regime change," Mashkuri said. "They want the Islamic government to be the end of it in Iran."

In an interview with CBC Radio's Mainstreet Nova Scotia on Wednesday, Iranian Nova Scotian Atefa Tabesh said the Islamic Republic is vulnerable and other countries need to support protests.

Tabesh has lived in Nova Scotia for decades, but grew up in Iran. Her mother was a political prisoner there four decades ago. Tabesh said the protests started because of financial insecurities in the country, but noted there has been 47 years of struggle and protest.

LISTEN | Atefa Tabesh's interview with Mainstreet:

"Change in Iran means greater global security, reduced funding and support for terrorism, less regional tension and fewer waves of forced migration, more stability in the global energy markets and ultimately a safer world with a lower security cost for western countries," Tabesh said.

"We are asking the world for support, not only out of compassion but because the interests of the Iranian people and the interests of the free world are deeply connected. This is a shared struggle. The people of Iran are paying the highest price, but the outcome will benefit everyone."

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