Marchers hold the flag of Iran as they proceed through Caracas, repudiating the US-Zionist aggression on Iran. Photo: José Negrón Valera/Sputnik.
“For sovereignty and the right to live in peace!” With this slogan, the International Platform for Solidarity with the Palestinian Cause called for a rally in front of the diplomatic mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Venezuelan capital, in order to express support for the Iranian people and government that are facing US-Zionist military aggression, including the assassination of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and systematic attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Activists, representatives of social movements, and citizens carrying flags of Venezuela, Iran, and Palestine chanted slogans against the disproportionate war by Western powers and the Zionist entity against Iran.
“They attacked hospitals, schools, and ambulances”
In statements to Sputnik, the Iranian ambassador to Venezuela, Ali Chegini, thanked the revolutionary social movements, whom he called “lovers of justice and freedom in the world.”
Chegini emphasized that the solidarity represents “all the peoples and countries that appreciate and value independence, justice, peace, territorial integrity, and dignity.”
He also provided chilling details about the nature of the attacks suffered by Iran. He cited two specific crimes as examples.
“In the early moments of the aggression, they attacked a girls’ school and murdered more than a hundred girls. Then they attacked a sports facility for women.,” he pointed out.
He added that several hospitals nationwide were targeted by bombings, including the Gandhi Hospital—named in honor of the Indian independence leader—where patients and staff were injured and the hospital became non-operational.
The diplomat said that this offensive is part of the broader imperialist aggression. “The criminal violation against Iran is the continuation of the criminal violation by the Zionist regime and the United States against Venezuela and Palestine,” he declared.
“We came to express our love”
Hindu Anderi, coordinator of the International Platform for Solidarity with the Palestinian Cause, explained to Sputnik the deep motivations that led social movements to march in Caracas.
“We are here because of our revolutionary coherence, militancy, and solidarity, which we also consider as the tenderness of the peoples and which is now our everyday life due to the situation humanity is experiencing,” she stated.
Anderi explained the multiple purposes of the gathering. First of all, “we came to express our love, our gratitude to the people of Iran, to the government of Iran that has been so good to the people and the government of Venezuela.”
US-Israeli War on Iran Is Not About Nuclear Weapons. It’s About Imperialism.
Secondly, the movements expressed their condolences for the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was the “spiritual leader of Islamic communities around the world.”
Another purpose was to condemn the death of civilians, especially minors, in the US military aggression.
The activist emphasized that the revolutionary commitment to the Iranian cause is part of the same global anti-imperialist struggle.
“We understand that united peoples together will be able to stop this barbarism that is destroying the life of the planet and the human species,” she said. “We had to be here, because we are Chávez and BolĂvar, because we are with Maduro, because we are with this government and this revolution.”
She explained that, despite the adverse circumstances, “the people have the duty to speak, to act, to march. We cannot remain silent because silence is not a friend of oppressed peoples.”
The march proceeded without incidents and lasted for more than two hours, during which attendees laid floral tributes at the embassy gates and chanted slogans like “From Gaza to Tehran, one cause will prevail!”
(Sputnik) by José Negrón Valera
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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