A tit for tat?
Tehran calls on Paris to end violence against demonstrators
07/02/2023, 3:35 p.m
Iran brutally suppressed the protest movement in its own country – several demonstrators have since been executed. The country is now calling on France to respect human dignity, freedom of expression and peaceful demonstrations.
Iran’s foreign ministry has urged the French government to “stop violent treatment of its people” and exercise “restraint” amid unrest in the country. The government and the police should “heed the demands of the demonstrators” and “avoid any violence,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on Twitter.
“The French government must put an end to the violent treatment of its people while respecting the principles of human dignity, freedom of expression and the right of citizens to demonstrate peacefully,” the spokesman continued. Kanani attributed the protests to discrimination against migrants, among other things.
“Certain European countries” did not face up to the problem of the bad treatment of people who had migrated there. This “creates unfavorable conditions for European citizens, including in France,” explained the spokesman. The ministry urged Iranians to “avoid non-essential travel to France.” The Iranian media gives a lot of space to the uprisings in France.
In Iran, the death of the young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in September triggered a protest movement that brutally crushed the regime. Several suspected participants in the protests were executed. The Iranian authorities had also sharply criticized the solidarity of European countries with the protest movement. In October, Kanani denounced President Emmanuel Macron’s “interference” in expressing his support for protesters in Iran.