Lots of of 1000’s of individuals marched down Yonge Street to the beat of drums and chants of “King Reza Pahlavi” at a rally in North York, as similar protests took place in major cities world wide.
Protesters held aloft and draped themselves in red, white and green flags emblazoned with a golden lion — the flag Iran used before the Islamic Republic got here to power in 1979, toppling the previous monarchy.
Demonstrators called for an end to government repression in Iran as widespread protests contained in the country have been met with violent crackdowns.
Toronto police estimated 350,000 people took part.
In Vancouver, the police chief said around 50,000 people marched there.
“It’s hard to see that our friends and families in Iran are being kept in prison for no reason, being shot in the pinnacle for (using) their democratic voice,” said Nima Najafi on the Toronto protest.
Najafi said he attended a protest two weeks ago in solidarity with anti-government protesters in Iran that took place at Toronto’s Sankofa Square. He said Saturday’s protest was twice as large.
Toronto police said 150,000 people attended the Sankofa Square rally.
Najafi and others called for the return of Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, saying he’s the one leader able to helping Iran eventually transition to a democracy.
Hundreds of protesters held pictures of Pahlavi on the march, alongside photos of individuals killed in Iran.
Arshia Aghdasi, a protester who said he flew to Toronto from Florida to hitch the rally, called on foreign powers to intervene in Iran, specifically the U.S.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the U.S. could attack Iran over the killing of peaceful demonstrators within the country. Some protesters Saturday held signs with Trump’s face on them, calling on the U.S. president to finish nuclear negotiations with Iran and take military motion.
Najafi said he was initially against calls for foreign powers to intervene in Iran but now he believes it’s the only path forward.
“I had a friend who got shot in the pinnacle. He died. He was a pharmacist … a highschool friend,” he said. “I had one other friend who’s imprisoned because he was a physician treating patients.”
Iran has been gripped by countrywide protests since late December, sparked by an ongoing economic crisis that has sent the country’s currency into freefall.
While protesters were initially focused on Iran’s economy, demonstrators pivoted to calling for an end to Iran’s Islamic Republic, with some supporting the return of the ousted monarchy to power.
Iran’s government, which has cracked down on protests and implemented an online blackout, said greater than 3,000 people have been killed since protests broke out.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran, put the death toll at over 7,000.
Arash Karimi said he was protesting on Yonge Street in solidarity with unarmed civilians who’ve been killed in Iran, calling government crackdowns a “one-sided war against the people.”
“Every Iranian knows someone, relatives or friends, (who’ve been) killed,” he said.
Amirali Ahzan, a protester who wore an Iranian lion and sun flag in addition to a rainbow Pride flag on his back, said he hoped the present unrest in Iran results in political change that can guarantee more rights for the Iranian people.
Ahzan said he fled Iran three years ago because he feared for his safety as a member of the LGBTQ community. Homosexuality is criminalized in Iran.
Before he fled, Ahzan said he was briefly jailed in Iran for attending a celebration where alcohol was present. Consuming alcohol can be banned in Iran.
Ahzan said it’s unclear what number of LGBTQ Iranians have been killed or imprisoned since protests broke out. He said he was marching Saturday of their honour.
“I feel it’s my duty to be their voice,” he said. “There are such a lot of people like me who’ve been marginalized and criminalized. I do need to rise up for them.”
Ahzan said he wants Pahlavi to steer a “free Iran” and called on the exiled crown prince to enhance women’s rights, trans rights and human rights within the country.
Saturday’s rally was one in every of many happening worldwide as a part of what Pahlavi has labelled a Global Day of Motion.
Pahlavi said Toronto, Munich and Los Angeles could be the predominant gathering points for Iranians living abroad to protest and call for regime change in Iran.
A protest in Munich was attended by greater than 200,000 people, in response to German news agency dpa.
Police warned the general public to keep away from the realm around Saturday’s protest, which they said would cause extreme traffic and transit delays. Police closed roads, including portions of Yonge Street and North York Boulevard, ahead of the rally.
The protests got here as Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced Canada is imposing additional sanctions on seven people under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations.
A news release from Global Affairs Canada said the people being sanctioned have ties to Iranian state organizations answerable for “intimidation, violence and transnational repression targeting Iranian dissidents and human rights defenders.”
It said Canada has now sanctioned 222 Iranian people and 256 Iranian entities.
— With files from The Associated Press
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