No stage for the Iranian Regime!

No space for antisemites and murderers of the Iranian opposition at the Frankfurt Book Fair!

Protests Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Infodesk: 8.30 a.m. - 4.00 p.m.

Ralley: 1.00 p.m. Ludwig-Ehrhard-Anlage (Messe City-Eingang)

In the early nineties, the Iranian regime was expelled from the book fair in Frankfurt as a completely justified reaction to the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. Today, the fatwa is still in force, the bounty oh Rushdie’s head has been raised again a few weeks ago, and new death fatwas have been issued by a Shiite cleric against the musician Shahin Najafi for apostasy. Najafi had to flee Iran to Germany because criticized the Iranian regime. Despite the brutal repression against authors and opposition members, ethnic and religious minorities and the threats to destroy Israel, the organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair refuse to expel the Iranian regime. The Iranian rulers, who regularly used the book fair in Frankfurt to spread openly anti-Semitic propaganda, made clear that they not only plan to present literature from pro-regime publishers: Along with Iranian publishers sponsored by the regime, the Iranian embassy will also be present at the event. The activities of the embassy staff are a known and imminent threat to exiled Iranians living in Germany. The Iranian leadership tries to circumvent its international isolation with their appearance in Frankfurt, and it wants to present the regime’s “cultural and educational policy” in a positive light, when in reality this policy consist mainly terror, censorship and incitement. Ali Esmaeli, member of the “Ministry of Culture and Islamic guidance”, has announced a “holy prophet” stand at the book fair to protest against the recent YouTube movie about Mohammad, which he called a production of “the US and the Zionist regime”. Neither the fact that the regime openly threatens to destroy Israel and holds conferences denying the holocaust, nor its announced plans to agitate against the state of the survivors of the holocaust at the book fair prompted the Frankfurt Book Fair management to exclude the regime. The Iranian regime is characterized by its persecution of ethnic minorities, its brutal repression against critical writers, journalists, trade unions and women who are unwilling to live under the discriminatory Islamic laws and by its murderous international acts of terror. It is evidently developing nuclear weapons, which pose an existential threat to Israel, but are also dangerous for Europe. What distinguishes this regime from other Islamist dictatorships is the combination of a messianic-apocalyptic Islamist ideology, anti-Semitism and the pursuit of nuclear weapons.

We demand an exclusion of the Iranian regime from the Frankfurt book fair. Instead, political refugees and opposition members from Iran should be given the possibility to raise their voice against the brutal and antisemitic Iranian dictatorship!

Organizer: STOP THE BOMB

Supported by: Association Antiallemande, Green Party of Iran, Honestly Concerned, Junge Linke Lippstadt, LAK Shalom der linksjugend ['solid] Hessen, Prozionistische Linke Frankfurt, Zionistische Organisation Frankfurt and others.

If you want to support this protest, please contact info(at)stopthebomb(dot)net

Please protest against the participation of the Iranian regime on facebook and by email: Katja Böhne, Head of Communications: boehne@book-fair.com

You can also invite your friends via facebook!