Behind the Headlines/December 21

Jamshid Chalangi:

In tonight’s program we will talk to our guests Alireza Nourizadeh in London and Hermidas Bavand in Tehran to get their views about the following issues:

The continued strike by Iranian workers in various industries and the regime’s reaction to them.

What future for Iran’s oil and gas industries in light of current sanctions on them.

What is the truth behind the suspicious deaths of several Revolutionary Guard commanders.

Dr Alireza Nourizadeh:

We had heard that the longer the despotic regimes remain in power the more tolerant they become towards their opponents.
It seems to be the reverse with the Iranian regime as forty years after its inception it cannot even tolerate a woman lawyer who is simply asking them to respect the basic human rights of the Iranian people.
I do not know how a mother of two young children who has spent years in prison for practicing her job as a lawyer can threaten the existence of a regime that claims is standing up to superpowers!!!
Khamenei and his stooges must realise how much they are hated by the Iranian people and cannot afford to allow event the slightest opposition to their regime.

Dr Hermidas Bavand:

In our political party the National Front of Iran we very strongly believe in upholding the human and civil rights of our citizens and oppose any attempts to contravene them under false accusations.

We are also calling for the release of all Iranian political prisoners so the status of our country as a responsible member of the international community is restored.

Our people must be given the right to choose what type of governance they wish to have.

Only when all Iranians are free to express their wishes as to how the country must be run we can claim to be a free and prosperous nation.