Demo in London 19/08/05 (friday) for happenings in Rojhilat

[pepula]

kurdish media::

Kurds demonstrate in front of Iranian Embassy in London
16/08/2005 The Demonstration Organising Committee - By Kameel Ahmady
London (KurdishMedia.com) 16 august, 2005: Some two hundred Kurds and human rights activists mounted a picket in front of the Iranian Embassy on Saturday (13th of August) to draw attention to the oppression of the Kurds in Iran.

Some 30 people are reported to have been killed and hundreds of others are believed to have been arrested, including prominent Kurdish human rights defenders and activists during recent demonstration in Eastern Kurdistan.

Unrest began in the Kurdish town of Mahabad, in early July, following the shooting of Shivan Qadiri, a Kurdish opposition activist, as he was being arrested by the Iranian security forces. The unrest, ranging from peaceful sit-ins, closure of shops to violent clashes, soon escalated, spreading to many other cities in the region, as Kurds expressed their dissatisfaction with the cycle of violence, arrests and the violent behaviour of Iranian forces.

Unarmed civilians have been attacked by state security forces (involving the reported deployment of 100,000 troops to the region) and paramilitary vigilantes. Journalists and human rights activists have been picked up and detained. Civilians have been arrested arbitrarily and routinely tortured and also the head of Kurdish women originations, the indiscriminate arrest of civilians and the only two independent newspapers have been closed.

Accurate information is hard to come by but Kurdish activists are convinced that at least 30 people have been killed in the last month. In one incident, on the 3rd of August, in the city of Seqiz, a military helicopter gunned down civilians. The number of deaths and injured is rising.

Kurds make up some 10 percent of Iran’s population of 68 million, and have demanded for greater attention from the central government, citing provincial underdevelopment, inadequate political representation, and lack of attention to their cultural needs. Before the June presidential election, Kurdish demands prompted threats from the Guardian’s Council. During the campaign, reformist candidates paid particular attention to the demands of Kurds and other minorities.

The Demonstration Organising Committee has decided to organize another demonstration in Whitehall in front of 10 Downing Street on Friday, 19 August, 4-6pm.

london kurds, come this friday and fight for our rights.