a call for human rights

Written Wednesday. Posted here far too late. C’est la vie?

Green balloons and Farsi chants filled the streets Wednesday as thousands of protestors gathered to oppose Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech to the United Nations.

Just blocks from the United Nations Plaza, organizers from the New York chapter of advocacy group Where is My Vote began setting up early Wednesday morning. The international group formed in Iran shortly after the contested June election, when Ahmadinejad won over opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi due to what many suspected was a corrupt electoral process. In the weeks that followed, a series of peaceful protests in Iran lead to violence.

Where Is My Vote, which called its protest “Voices for Iran: No to Ahmadinejad, Yes to Human Rights,” plans to ask the UN to appoint a commission to investigate human rights abuses that occurred in the election’s aftermath. Spokesperson Navid Hazeghi said the group has been working with international advocacy group Human Rights Watch to draft a request for UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

“Basically we want to raise awareness on the human rights issue in Iran,” Hazeghi said. “Raise awareness, educate and have the people of Iran know that outside of Iran, the Iranian diaspora is behind them.”

He said organizers expect between 10,000 and 15,000 protestors to rally leading up to Ahmadinejad’s speech to the General Assembly, scheduled for 5 p.m.

On Thursday, Where Is My Vote will march with a mile-long scroll across the Brooklyn Bridge. The scroll, which was put together in Paris using pieces of green clothing, includes 20,000 signatures from Iranians worldwide.

NYU student Maral Satari collected more than 500 signatures for the scroll this summer at home in Torrance, California. Satari, who moved there from Iran when she was 10, said she planned to protest in New York as soon as she heard Ahmadinejad would be in town.

“I’m just so amazed that he even has the nerve to come here,” she said, adding she wasn’t sure what effect the protests would have. “I actually hope it brings about some actual change.”

For many of the green-clad protesters who gathered at the corner of Third Avenue and 40th Street, the rally was a chance to show those in Iran they haven’t been forgotten. Volunteers sold t-shirts and pins to protestors carrying signs that emphasized women’s rights, freedom and opposition to Ahmadinejad. Some wore costumes – a grim reaper posed for photos– and many had green fabric tied to their wrists.

According to an article in last Friday’s Wall Street Journal, thousands of exiled Iranians planned to travel to New York from across the U.S. and Canada for Wednesday’s protests. On its website, Where Is My Vote’s New York chapter offered chartered buses from D.C.

When California resident Masi Hashemjan heard the Iranian president would speak in New York, she booked a plane ticket right away.

”I really hope that the UN members get up and leaves when he talks,” she said of Ahmadinejad’s speech. According to a Tuesday report from Toronto’s National Post, delegates from Canada plan to boycott the speech.

“If Ahmadinejad is planning to show up, I’ll be here—even if he doesn’t hear me,” Hashemian said as protestors chanted in Farsi. In English, one popular cheer – “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Ahmadinejad has to go” – rang through the crowd.

Among the crowds of exiled Iranian, some non-Iranians, like Joanne Elmore, showed their support.

“I am totally appalled by what’s happening in Iran,” said the Ohio resident, who heard about this week’s events on Twitter.

Mehdi Karimi, who lives in Berkeley, California, flew to New York Tuesday night. He has protested in support of Iranians for 27 years.

“This is to show our solidarity for the Iranian people, showing that we can get together and demonstrate,” he said. In Berkeley, he’s a member of a group called NorCal for Iran, which sent many of its members to New York.

Mahim Sonati, another Iranian-Californian, shook her head as she considered their decision to come to New York.

“Just, to show that there are some people that would really like to say their words,” she said. “This is not our president. Neither the people of Iran have chosen him, or the people out of Iran.”