Monday, February 17th 2014

Vienna nuclear talks: Rally against Zarif and the Iranian regime

STOP THE BOMB holds rally, criticizes Fischer and Kurz for meeting Iranian FM

The coalition STOP THE BOMB will be holding a protest rally on Tuesday, 18 February 2014, 10:00AM in front of the Austria Center Vienna under the motto "No acceptance of the Iranian nuclear program, no threats against Israel, for a free and democratic Iran". The rally is supported by the Jewish Community of Vienna, the Social Democratic LGBT Organization SoHo, the Initiative against Anti-Semitism, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan PDKI, Homosexual Initiative HOSI Vienna and others. STOP THE BOMB also criticizes Austrian President Heinz Fischer and Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz for meeting with Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Stefan Schaden, spokesperson for STOP THE BOMB in Austria, demands: "Instead of rewarding the Iranian regime with billions of Euros for its policy of deception, its annihilation threats against Israel and its oppression of the Iranian people, we call for a policy of sharp and consistent sanctions." Stephan Grigat, Scientific Director of STOP THE BOMB, adds: "There is a legitimate concern that the current negotiations will lead to the acceptance of Iran's nuclear program rather than to its shutdown. Any agreement that does not provide for the removal of the infrastructure of the Iranian regime’s nuclear program would have catastrophic consequences."

Hiwa Bahrami, who represents the PDKI in Austria and Germany, describes the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Foreign Minister Zarif as "the smiling facade of the Iranian terror regime. Instead of meeting the Iranian FM like Austrian President Heinz Fischer and Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, the pressure on Tehran must be significantly increased and the opposition in Iran and in exile must be supported. While the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Tehran's ally Hezbollah are responsible for the slaughter of thousands of people in Syria, the number of executions in Iran is on the rise and religious and national minorities are still being persecuted, the West provides the regime with the opportunity to present itself as a trusted partner during the nuclear negotiations."