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| Simin Sabri |
Political activist Simin Sabri spoke to Voice of America, stating that Iranian opposition forces abroad, who currently have media power, are not loyal to the slogans and essence of the recent mass protests in Iran.
Sabri explained that with the decline of street protests in Iran, Farsi-language media operating abroad has started to cover diverse perspectives within Iranian society less than before.
Sabri pointed out that forces that ignore the diversity within Iranian society are being promoted by leading Farsi-language media:
"Due to the shows staged by forces supporting a centralized system in Iran, both inside and outside the country, it has been reflected in such a way that political alternatives are now only in the hands of those supporting a centralized system. It is portrayed that only they are the leaders... Now that the voices have decreased, many people say that the people's struggle has been co-opted by those who claimed it as their own, and the people have retreated and sat at home."
Simin Sabri found the statement released by 20 opposition organizations inside Iran, which consist of labor, student, women’s, and human rights groups, to be promising.
The document titled “Minimum Demands Declaration of Iran’s Independent Labor and Civil Organizations” published by the 20 organizations outlines demands such as the release of political prisoners, the abolition of the death penalty, the guarantee of press and freedom of expression, gender equality, the protection of workers' rights, and an end to discrimination against various ethnic and religious minorities.
"I hope the signal sent by the cultural groups inside will reach abroad as well," Simin Sabri said.
Sabri emphasized that in meetings held abroad under the name of unity and promoted by mainstream media, there has been no room for discourses represented by women and non-Persian communities.
"We don’t see women who fought on the front lines of the discourse, whether they are from our community or feminists from the Persian ethnic community. Abroad, things have taken such a wrong turn that they both ignore nations and gender equality," the political activist added.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Simin Səbri: Millətlər və qadınların haqlarını tanımayanlar İranın gələcəyinə siyasi alternativ kimi təqdim edilir