The Iranian Democratic Platform and the Brussels Kurdish Institute organized the “Women Led Uprising in Iran: Iran at the crossroads between Repression or Revolution?” on 6 June in Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union. The conference, which was held in the Spinelli 1G2 Hall of the European Parliament, was organized in partnership with the European Left, Progressive Socialists & Democrats and European Greens.
The program of the conference, attended by MEPs, women’s movement activists, representatives of workers’ organizations and political parties, was as follows:
Opening of the Conference: by Costas Mavrides, EP member of the Alliance of Progressive Socialists and Democrats Group (S&D) in the European Parliament, Iranian Democratic Platform Spokesperson Azad Karimi and Women’s Movement Activist Ellahe Sadr.
Historical origins of the current crisis
The first panel was moderated by Rojin Mukriyan discussed the origins of the current crisis in Iran. Speakers of the panel were: Greens Group/European Free Alliance and Member of Kurdish Friendship Group in the EP Parliamentarian François Alfonsi, Professor Abbas Vali, Spokesperson of Azerbaijan-Iran Democratic Party Simin Sabri, Meysam Beit Seyed, one of Iran’s labor leaders and organizer of worker protests in Ahvaz, Ahvaz-Arab human rights activist, UNPO project manager Shima Silavi, Women’s Movement Activist Fariba Balouch.
Kurd’s responsibilities in Iran’s democratization
In the second panel held in the afternoon, “Kurdish Perspectives and Responsibilities in Iran’s Democratization” were discussed.
Among the speakers of this section, moderated by Diman Sohrabi, were Ebrahim Alizadeh, the spokesperson of the Kurdistan Organization of the Iranian Communist Party, Komala, the leader of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDPI), Mustafa Hijri, and the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) Co-chair Siamand Moeini.
Solution proposals
The third panel, moderated by Soheila Shariari, is titled “The way forward: Proposals for a solution”. In this section, Behreme Rehmani, writer and political activist, Balochistan People’s Party Spokesperson Nasser Boladai, Arab Struggle for the Liberation of Al-Ahvaz Secretary General Said Hamidan, Eastern Kurdistan Free Women’s Association Representative Maryam Fathi made their presentations.
