WATERLOO, Ont. (CUP) – Kurosh Shahabi, a Wilfrid Laurier University sociology student and Iranian refugee, says he will walk to Ottawa and deliver a letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin, urging him to condemn the human rights abuses of the Iranian government.

Abuses are rampant in Iran, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and upwards of 100,000 dissidents have been killed since the 1979 revolution.

In February, Arash Cigarchi was sentenced to 14 years in prison for writing a blog that criticized the Iranian government, while in October 2003 Canadian photo-journalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested, tortured and killed for taking photos of an Iranian prison.

Expecting his journey to take at least 15 days, Shahabi noted if he were to launch a similar campaign in Iran, he would be arrested and tortured. He pointed out Canadians are lucky to live in a country where they can exercise such rights.

Conservatives regained control of the Iranian parliament in last year’s election, due to government interference against moderates. As a result, Shahabi worries the human rights situation in Iran is getting worse.

“People are struggling just to survive,” said Shahabi, adding many are so desperate, “they are forced to sell their organs.”

Canadians are in a unique position to enact positive social change in Iran, Shahabi said. Education “has made me what I am,” Shahabi contended, and he urged students to follow his lead and lobby their members of Parliament and the government.

Shahabi hopes Martin will take advantage of Canada’s international human rights reputation to press the Iranian government to end abuses at this year’s meetings of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which open on Mar. 15.

To achieve democracy in Iran, Shahabi said, international pressure must be used to force out the current regime. The best way to achieve this, he argued, is for the international community to force and monitor a referendum, asking the people whether they support the regime. Shahabi is confident “the people no longer support this government.”

While recent developments in Iraq and Lebanon provide “inspiration and morale” to the Iranian people, Shahabi stressed change must come from within Iran, and not be imposed by outside forces. Shahabi strongly opposes any U.S. intervention in the country because he believes this will only prolong the life of the regime.

“Invasion, attack, war — these only support the conservatives,” Shahabi said.

-Kris Cote

The Cord Weekly (Wilfrid Laurier University)