November 11, 2022
The Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan (CRC) wishes to
express its solidarity with the protesters in Iran who have taken to the streets to
protest for their rights and in favor of freedom, dignity, and humane government.
These are demands that Ukrainians understand very well: during the 2014
Revolution of Dignity Ukrainians rose up against a cruel and abusive government
and, like the protesters in Iran today, they were greeted by brutality and violence
for daring to speak up.
Today, Iranians and Ukrainians are both risking their lives in the face of
authoritarian regimes that have no regard for democracy or human life, bloated by
their own opulent corruption while ordinary people struggle and suffer. Indeed,
while the Iranian government kills its own citizens for daring to speak up against
repression, it also supplies the Russian government with drones and missiles that
are being employed to destroy critical infrastructure and kill innocent civilians.
This cynical and murderous authoritarian alliance demands understanding and
cooperation between Ukrainians and Iranians, both of whom struggle against a
common enemy. The truth is that Russia needs Iran as much as Iran needs Russia,
and the democratic sovereignty of both the Iranian and Ukrainian peoples
depends on the defeat of both.
The CRC therefore looks forward to standing in solidarity with the Iranian
community in Michigan and worldwide in their struggle for freedom and dignity.
The Iranian people are fighting to end any form of dictatorship and attain a free
republic based on democracy and the separation of religion and state. Let
Ukrainians and Iranians stand side by side with one another in their shared fight
for a better future.
Слава Україні!
[Glory to Ukraine!]
آزادی , آزادی, آزادی!
[Freedom, freedom, freedom!]