Earlier this month pro-democracy forces in Toronto turned the  Iranian reformist event  where the key note speaker was Mojtaba Vahedi intoan anti-Regime protest.

International Centre for Human Rights in Iranheaded by a well known reformist in Toronto,Hassan Ardeshir Zarazadeh had organized an event featuring Mojtaba Vahedi, theformer chief advisor to Karoubi, who according to his own speech still has alot of respect for both Karoubi and Mousavi. Other individuals on this panel were Farokh Zandi from the GreenSeculars of Toronto, Reza Moridi a member of the Provincial Parliament in Ontarioand Ardeshir Zarazadeh himself.

Independent activists like myself as well as variousopposition groups had announced a protest both outside of the venue of thisevent at Mel Lastman Saquare, as well as protests inside, in form of questionand answers and various commentary.

While tens of protestors gathered outside of Mel LastmanSquare with Lion and Sun flags and chanted anti Regime slogans tens ofactivists attended the event and essentially took over the question and answerperiod voicing their opposition not only to Mojtaba Vahedi who is still closelylinked to Karoubi, but to the Islamic Regime itself.

I was the first speaker and stated that “while the IslamicRegime must be overthrown including both the hardliners and reformists, Vahedihad overlooked the obvious point that he is someone that has worked for theIslamic Regime for 30 years, and his hands are dirty with the blood of Iranianpeople.  I also stated that it was not soeasy to wash his hands off of the blood and cross over and state that he is nolonger a reformist (especially in the face of obvious regard he still feels forMousavi and Karoubi.)  I also stated thatboth Karoubi and Vahedi were two of the individuals who had to be prosecutedfor their crimes against the Iranian people.” I also clearly stated that I do not regard him or Ardeshi Zarazadeh asopposition and that Farokh Zandi had drawn a clear line between himself and theopposition by joining this pro-reform event. While Mojtaba Vahedi wanted to respond to my comments I stated that thisevent and Vahedi had no credibility and that I had no question for him, I wasonly there to voice my opposition.

Other activists were right behind me voicing theiropposition to this Regime Agent who seeing that the Regime is about to beoverthrown has decided to cross over without any accountability for his highprofile role within the Islamic Regime in the past 30 years.

Until recently Karoubi was a high ranking Regime officialwho served as head of Parliament, he was the founder of Martyrdom Foundationwhere systematic human rights violations were carried out against innocentpeople, as well as one of the only four individuals (among 400) who waspermitted by the Guardian Council to participate in presidential[s]elections.  As a chief advisor toKaroubi, for close to 30 years, Vahedi is also guilty of systematic and brutalhuman rights violations against the Iranian people.

What I found amusing during this event was the comments ofother speakers who did their best to try to excuse the crimes committed by highranking regime officials such as Mojtaba Vahedi, by stating that the fact that theyhad made “mistakes” in the past was not important, that the mistakes should beforgotten and that they should be given a second chance.

Reza Moridi in particular compared high ranking IslamicRegime officials to Canadian Government officials who may have made mistakes inthe past… I don’t believe any Canadian Government official carries the blood ofthousands of Canadians on his/her hand.

It is extremely disturbing that a publicly elected CanadianGovernment official would accept to sit at a panel with a high ranking IslamicRegime official who is yet to cut all ties with the Regime, let alone trying toexcuse the past behavior of this and other Islamic Regime officials.

Farokh Zandi the head of Green Seculars in Torontoalso lost what ever credibility he may have had in the eyes of the oppositionby choosing to sit on a panel with Mojtaba Vahedi.

All in all no doubt this event was a great disappointment forthe organizers and Mojtaba Vahedi himself who has tried hard for the past fewyears to pose himself as “opposition” rather than a high ranking Islamic Regimeofficial who is responsible for gross human rights violations against theIranian people and must be prosecuted in a court of law.

The opposition was present and strong as usual and we wereable to send the clear message that Mojtaba Vahedi and the likes of him are notwelcome in Toronto and certainlynot welcome among the opposition.