Thursday, December 1st 2011
Withdraw ambassador, sanction Iran's central bank!
STOP THE BOMB calls for dismantling relations with Iran and support for new sanctions
The coalition STOP THE BOMB calls on the Austrian Federal Government to follow the British, Dutch, French and German example and immediately recall the Austrian Ambassador Thomas Buchsbaum from Teheran in response to the storming of the British Embassy. STOP THE BOMB spokesperson Simone Dinah Hartmann calls yesterday's announcement by Austria, not to withdraw its ambassador, a scandal: "This is weakening efforts to make it finally clear to the regime in Tehran that for the West and the EU there are red lines, which already have been crossed by far. The time is more than ripe to downgrade diplomatic relations to a minimum, as announced by the British government yesterday. That would actually be an expression of European solidarity, of which Austrian Foreign Minister Spindelegger keeps talking about."
STOP THE BOMB also calls on Austria to support sanctions against Iran's central bank, as advocated for example by France and Great Britain, the sanctioning of Iranian oil and gas exports and more sharp restrictions on the supply of industrial goods to Iran at today's meeting of EU foreign ministers. Such sanctions may offer the only possibility to stop the Iranian nuclear and missile programs.
Madeleine Petrovic, former chairwoman of the Green Party in Austria and supporter of STOP THE BOMB, calls for stronger measures in light of the continued repression of the Iranian freedom movement: "I would hope that Austria plays a leading role when it comes to enforcing human rights."
Queries:
Simone Dinah Hartmann
Phone: +43 650 344 88 58
E-mail: info@stopthebomb.net
