Open letter to Robert Malley, about his Tweet concerning human rights and Iran protesters

Dr. Amir Sharifi | Exclusive to iKurd.net

Open Letter to the US State Department
CC: Antony Blinken

Dear Mr. Malley,

As a Kurdish American advocate of human rights from Iran, I am outraged at your latest tweet, for you reduce the collective will of the Iranian protesters to a state plea for respect for human rights and you do so in the name of protesters. In your tweet, you state “

“Marchers in Washington and cities around the world are showing their support for the Iranian people, who continue to peacefully demonstrate for their government to respect their dignity and human rights,” These words are dubious and complicit in the face of protesters’ repeated outcry for the overthrow of the Islamic regime. Mr. Malley, you are expected to have precision, total transparency and solidarity with the protesters, particularly when the nuclear deal has been called off by the American government.

Let us not forget the Islamic regime has been launching pervasive massacre against all, particularly the Kurds ever since its inception. It has denied the Kurds the most fundamental cultural and linguistic rights. That is why, the official first name of the murdered young woman, Amini was Mahsa rather her Kurdish name Jina (pronounced Zhina). Kurds as vanguards of women rights and political struggle for freedom, have seen and experienced the most brutal crackdown in Kurdish cities against students, teachers, women, and men who have risen once again to overthrow the Islamic Republic. Baluchis, another religious and ethnic minority, have also borne the brunt of such a brutality in the bloodbaths of the Islamic regime. An unequivocal transparency would warrant an explanation into the reasoning behind your statement.

A more coherent and decisive foreign policy is required. The US administration has gone from seeing the nuclear deal as being “tenuous’ to “not [being] our focus” to becoming defunct now. Moreover, human rights and fundamental freedoms, cherished universal values, are anathema to the norms of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is paradoxical if any American administration harbours any hope in resuming talks with a regime that is brutalizing young women, men, students, prisoners, and even children.

The inspiring words of President Biden raised new hopes among protesters both inside and in diaspora. I find it infuriating to see both criminal violence on the streets, campuses, and prisons in Iran and the unbearable tragedies that Islamic regime’s drones and missiles have caused in “Kurdistan” in Iraq and Ukraine. The Kurdish and Iranian protesters both inside the country and in diaspora have found the solution in toppling the regime. For us, respect for human rights has always meant the systematic condemnation and investigation of the perpetrators of human rights abuses in international tribunals. The Iranian protesters are determined to end the regime and its repressive machinery.

For these reasons, I, as a Kurdish American expect, unconditional international solidarity in the struggle for freedom and democracy. A US led initiative of global solidarity will amplify the spirit of the uprising against the Islamic Republic in its totality and its relentless repression of human rights.

Cordially

Dr. Amir Sharifi
Lecturer in Linguistics
California State University, Long Beach

Dr Amir Sharifi, Co-Director of the Kurdish Human Rights Advocacy Group ( KHRAG), Los Angeles.

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