گزارش تظاهرات علیه سخنرانی عبدالکریم سروش در کتابخانه فرویو تورنتو

درروز پنجشنبه، ۱۲ جولای ۲۰۱۸ ،  بار دیگر نیروهای  آزادی خواه و برابری طلب با برپایی تظاهراتی در جلوی کتابخانه فرویو در تورنتو نفرت و انزجار خود را به مناسبت سخنرانی عبدالکریم سروش، یکی از دست اندرکاران اصلی پروژه جنایتکارانه ‘انقلاب فرهنگی’ ابراز کردند . اگرچه قرار بود که سخنرانی سروش از ساعت ۸ شروع شود ولی تظاهر کنندگان قبل از ساعت ۷ شب مجهز به بلندگوهای قوی در انتظار این جنایتکار اسلامی بودند. تا اینکه او بالاخره از ترس مواجهه شدن با خشم تظاهرات کنندگان از درب پشت و مخفیانه وارد کتابخانه شد. درمدت بیش از دوساعت تظاهرات، سخنرانان یکی بعد از دیگری به افشای  نقش سروش در جنایت هولناک ‘انقلاب فرهنگی’ پرداختند. صدها اعلامیه بزبان انگلیسی و فارسی درمیان عابرین کنجکاو پخش شد. رهگذران فارسی زبانی که سروش را میشناختند با ما تظاهرات کنندگان اظهار هم بستگی کرده و مخالفت خود را به مسئولین کتابخانه که اجازه سخنرانی به این جنایتکار داده است را ابراز کردند. این تظاهرات بعد از بیش از دوساعت به کار خود پایان داد. تظاهرات مشابه ای در روز جمعه ۱۳ جولای نیز برگزارشد.

دراینجا جا دارد که یاد آوری کنیم  که در روزهای قبل از تظاهرات عده ای از شهروندان کانادایی- ایرانی به مسئولین کتابخانه تماس گرفته  و در ضمن توضیح نقش سروش در جنایت انقلاب فرهنگی خواهان لغو سخن رانی او شده بودند. دراین رابطه و از جمله ، آقای رضا مریدی نماینده سابق منطقه ریچموند هیل در مجلس استان اونتاریو نامه ای به شهردار تورنتو نوشته بود. خانم سایه حسن از وکلای کانادایی- ایرانی نیز نامه ای به یکی از کانسولرهای شهر تورنتو فرستاده بودند. هردونفر درنامه های خود که کپی آن نیز به کتابخانه فرستاده شد خواهان لغو سخنرانی سروش شده بودند. درهمین رابطه، مقاله افشاگرانه ای از طرف خانم سایه حسن در روزنامه  کیهان لندن (انگلیسی) درج شده است. ما در اینجا از همه انسانهای شریفی که از طریق ایمیل و یا تلفن به مسئولین کتابخانه اعتراض خود را از سخنرانی سروش اعلام کردند نهایت سپاس و قدردانی را داریم.

بسیار شرم آور است که مسئولین کتابخانه فرویو با آگاهی کامل از سابقه جنایی سروش ،در کشور ایران، کماکان اجازه سخنرانی به او دادند. ولی ما در کمپین بین المللی بر علیه اعدام به همراه سایر آزادی خواهان و مخالفین جمهوری اسلامی کمپین اعتراضی خود را برعلیه سروش و سروش هائی که فکر کرده اند درزمان فروپاشی رژیم جمهوری اسلامی شهر تورنتو میتواند  جای امنی برایشان باشد ادامه خواهیم داد.

شانزدهم جولای ۲۰۱۸

کمیته بین المللی علیه اعدام – تورنتو

رونوشت به:

آقای رضا مریدی

خانم سایه حسن

ضمیمه ها: نامه خانم سایه حسن به یکی از کنسولرهای  تورنتو؛ نامه آقای رضا مریدی به شهردار تورنتو؛ مقاله خانم سایه حسن به روزنامه کیهان لندن

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Former Director of Islamic Culture Group in Iran to speak at Fairview Library in North York, Canada

July 10, 2018 — By Sayeh Hassan

Abdolkarim Soroush, former director of the Islamic Culture Group, a group responsible for the purging of students and academics during Iran’s Cultural Revolution, is scheduled to speak at Fairview Mall Library, a publicly funded entity, on July 12^th 2018.

The Cultural Revolution in Iran was a period of time between 1980 and 1983 when universities were shut down and students and academics were purged of non-Islamic or Western influences. During this time, thousands of students and professors were expelled and/or fired, and once the universities re-opened many books were banned.

The Cultural Revolution was implemented by the Islamic Regime shortly after the 1979 revolution.  At the time the universities had become a hot bed of opposition against the Islamic Regime, which was imposing Islamic Sharia law and arresting, torturing and murdering its opponents on a systematic basis.  The Cultural Revolution became an effort by a dictatorship regime to shut down opposition and align universities (both students and professors) with new Islamic principles.

Many students who resisted the closing of universities and the new purging of non-Islamic students and academics were beaten, injured and some were even killed during this time. Many students were arrested for their membership within opposition political organizations or for opposing the Islamic Regime.

The early 1980s was a very dark period in Iran’s history when thousands of Iranians young and old, were arrested, tortured and executed summarily for opposing the Regime. The Cultural Revolution is a part of that very dark history.

In 1983 Abodokarim Soroush resigned as head of the Islamic Culture Group,  however in the last 35 years he has never apologized to the people of Iran for his not insignificant role during the this period in Iran’s history.

Many Iranians who currently live in Toronto and in particular in the North York area are the very people who were expelled from universities during The Cultural Revolution. They are the same people who were arrested and imprisoned for their opposition to the dictatorship, the very same people who watched their friends be beaten by regime thugs for daring to speak out for their rights.

Not surprisingly many of these same Iranian-Canadians are deeply concerned about the fact that a publicly funded library is hosting an individual with such a dark past and a significant role in The Cultural Revolution in Iran.

It is even more troubling that an establishment dedicated to learning is hosting a man who was responsible for shutting down universities and purging students and academics whose views and opinions did not align with the dictatorship in Iran.

As an Iranian-Canadian pro-democracy activist I would urge the Fairview Mall Library to refrain from hosting Abdolkarim Soroush on

July 12^th 2018, and at any future date.

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Vic Gupta

Chief of Staff

Mayor of Toronto

Dear Mr. Gupta:

I learned that Mr. Abodokarim Soroush, a former director of the “Council of the Islamic Cultural Revolution of Iran” (established by the order of Ayatollah Khomeini just after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran) is scheduled to speak at Fairview Mall Library on July 12, 2018.

In a short few months after its establishment, the Council purged thousands of professors and students from the Iranian universities, and furthermore shut down all universities and colleges for three years!

Some of those purged academics and students were arrested, imprisoned and executed by the regime and others managed to escape Iran – some of them currently live in the GTA.

I was one of those academics purged by Mr. Soroush and his Council.

The Iranian community in general and I in particular am deeply concerned that a publicly funded library in the City of Toronto allows a person with such a background in violation of human rights uses its facility to promote his ideology.

I would appreciate it if you would bring this matter to the attention of HW Mayor Tory as well as to the attention of the Toronto Library Board.

Regards,

Reza Moridi

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Communiqué on the rally protesting Abdul-Karim Soroush’s talk at Fairview Library

Organizations as well as individuals standing for freedom and equality once again expressed their vehement objection to Abdul-Karim Soroush giving a speech in Toronto on Thu., July 12, 2018. Soroush is one of the main executors of the so-called “Cultural Revolution”, a criminal project executed in Iran in 1980.

Soroush’s speech was planned to start at 8 PM. However, the demonstrators, equipped with powerful speakers, were already waiting for this criminal at 7 PM. So, fearing the demonstrators’ outrage, he had to enter the Library secretly through the back door. During the rally, which lasted for two hours, speakers constantly exposed Soroush’s criminal role in the so-called “Cultural Revolution”.

Hundreds of leaflets, written in Persian as well as English, were handed out to curious passers-by. The Iranian Passers-by that knew who Soroush was expressed their sympathy with the demonstrators and gave voice to their disagreement with the Library officials that had facilitated his talk. The rally lasted for over two hours. A similar rally was held on Fri., July 13.

It should be mentioned that on the days prior to the rallies a number of Iranian Canadians had already contacted Fairview Library officials, explained Soroush’s complicity in the murderous “Cultural Revolution”, and demanded the cancellation of his speech. Further, Mr. Reza Moridi, former MPP from Richmond Hill, had written to Mayor John Tory, and Ms. Sayeh Hassan, lawyer, had written to a Toronto City councilor. In their letters, copies of which had been sent to the Library officials, they had both demanded the cancellation of Soroush’s talk. Sayeh Hassan had also an article published in Keyhan, Persian newspaper in London, calling out Soroush and his criminal background. We hereby express our deepest appreciation to all the people who had e-mailed or phoned Library officials expressing their objections to Soroush’s talk.

It is a total disgrace that Fairview Library, knowing what they knew about Soroush’s criminal background, went ahead and let him hold his talk. However, we, at the International Committee Against Execution, together with all other freedom loving adversaries of the Islamist regime in Iran, will continue our campaign against Soroush and all his criminal peers who are under the false impression that Toronto will be a safe refuge for them at a time when their regime is crumbling.

International Committee Against Execution

July 16, 2018

CC: Reza Moridi; Sayeh Hassan

Attachments: Sayeh Hassan’s letter to a City Councilor; Reza Moridi’s letter to Mayor John Tory; Sayeh Hassan’s article published in Keyhan of London