In the last few months, the U.S. government has increased its threats and provocations against Iran. All the while, the mainstream media machine has been working overtime to deliver manipulations and misinformation in the news. To give just a few examples of the way media mainstream media is lying about Iran:
- In May 2018, U.S. President Trump took the U.S. out of the international deal with Iran and started imposing sanctions on Iran. However, now that Iran is increasing uranium enrichment, headlines are claiming Iran is “breaking the deal” - a deal that is defunct since the U.S. already illegally broke it and renewed its harsh sanctions on Iran!
- The U.S. flies spy drones over Iranian airspace, a violation of Iranian sovereignty and security. On June 20 Iran shot down a U.S. drone which was violating Iranian airspace. The U.S. government pointed the finger of blame at Iran, despite Iran’s right to defend its airspace, and even came close to launching airstrikes on Iran.
- While there was a flurry of headlines when Iranian boats intercepted a British tanker on July 11 and on July 19 seized a British tanker, the media barely blinked and ignores the fact that on July 4, Britain seized and is still holding an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar.
It is clear that now more than ever, antiwar groups and peace-loving people must take a stand against U.S. threats, provocations and sanctions against Iran. Last month the U.S.-based United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) called for International Days of Action against war on Iran. Here in Vancouver, Canada, Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO) endorsed the call.
On June 12, MAWO organized a rally and petition drive demanding “No War on Iran!” in downtown Vancouver. The action attracted the attention of people who stopped at the information table to talk to organizers and to pick up antiwar literature. MAWO’s chairperson Alison Bodine took to the microphone and spoke to protesters and passersby about the dangerous U.S. threats and actions against Iran. With banners and picket signs reading “Don’t Attack Iran!” anyone walking by could see that there is more to the story than the news is telling them, and that there is an antiwar group they can get involved with!
The next day on June 13, MAWO organized a public forum at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch. The forum started with Alison Bodine, MAWO chairperson, who was the MC of the evening and outlined the importance of protesting the U.S. actions against Iran. The forum included a series of video clips, detailing the history of Iran/U.S. relations and the recent threats and attacks by the U.S. against Iran. The speaker of the evening was Ali Yerevani, who is an Iranian social justice activist, editor of the Fire This Time Newspaper and was a participant in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Ali took the U.S/Iran conflict to its roots, and framed his talk saying “The best and only way to understand this conflict between the U.S. and Europe with Iran, is to understand that the foundation of the conflict is between the sovereignty and self-determination of the Iranian people, against the domination and bullying of imperialist countries…” and how the U.S. government “wants to take away that independence and sovereignty, for further economic and political advantages and domination in the Middle East.” Ali’s talk backed up this premise with the long history of foreign imperialist and colonial domination in Iran, from the British empire, to the U.S./UK-backed coup against Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953, and the propping up of the a monarchy in Iran which was overthrown in the 1979 Iranian revolution – bringing us to today and the drive of U.S. imperialism to dominate Iran, a country with huge influence in the region, in order to gain hegemony in the entire Middle East.
On July 7, MAWO had a table at the Commercial Drive Car Free Festival in East Vancouver. This popular annual festival brings out hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom stopped at the MAWO table to get more information, to sign petitions and to talk to organizers.
To find out about the next MAWO event and how to get involved, visit www.mawovancouver.org, follow MAWO on Facebook or on Twitter @MAWOVan
Follow Janine on Twitter: @janinesolanki
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