The Diaspora’s Role in Iran’s Struggle for Democracy

FOREIGN POLICY ASSOCIATION

June 14th, 2013

by Soushiant Zangenehpour and Alireza Ahmadian  

What happened? Nearly four years ago today, the world witnessed an orchestrated mass deception called “election” unfold over the course of a few hours in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Some of us in Vancouver, Canada drove to Seattle to vote hoping to see the departure of the incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. We returned home to a distorted reality; an Ahmadinejad landslide “victory.” The unfathomable election results were announced by midday, in a country where hand counting prevails. In the days following this deceitful “victory,” we witnessed a moving and powerful display of coordinated, creative and non-violent civil disobedience from millions of Iranians who demanded a recount under the campaign of “Where is my vote?” Their peaceful protests were met with sheer brutality. Horror stories unfolded in the days ensuing.

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