Current Event #10: Kurds Stage Strike in Iran to Protest Executions of Activists

Click here to read The New York Times article from May 13th, 2010 by Nazila Fathi. The largest strike in Kurdish areas since 2005 recently took place as Iranian Kurds closed shops in Eastern Iran to protest the executions of Kurdish activists. The government claimed that these activists were charged with deadly bomb attacks. Iran has long feared the possibility of the creation of a Kurdish nation, composed of Sunni individuals from Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. With a rise in protests following the fradulent election, sensitivity regarding the Kurds and other ethnic groups has grown. According to an anonymous source in Sanandaj, “The city is deserted. People have stayed home and the entire bazaar is closed.” Protests have also taken place in Stockholm and Paris where oppositionists to the executions claim that authorities should have been focusing on other cases with more solid evidence. As of now, the authorities are not planning on returning the bodies of those who were recently executed. This article is important because it deals with the ethnic and religious cleavages in Iran, as well as how the Iranians view their government.

Thanks to rawa raza for the image!

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