June 26, 2009 (amended June 30) -- Socialist Alliance stands in solidarity with the millions of
Iranians who are bravely demanding their rights in the streets despite
huge state-sanctioned repression. These are the biggest protests in
Iran since the 1979 protests in which the US-backed Shah was deposed.
Millions of people, old and young, ethnic and religious minorities,
have taken to the streets, day in and day out since the disputed
election on June 12. They have bravely defied the repressive regime of
Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to demand the most basic of rights: the right to
freely and transparently elect their representatives.
Some 27 people, including a young woman Neda Agha-Soltan whose death
was captured on video, have been killed in the crackdown on protests.
Several hundred have been injured, and a leading student activist is in
a coma. Government officials on June 24 announced that there had been a
total of 645 arrests in Tehran since June 13, 2009. Activists say that
several hundred more, including journalists, editors, students,
professors, party officials and unionists have also disappeared.