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However, seeing this man welcomed like a hero and as a symbol of the Iranian people left a deeply bitter taste in my mouth. As proud as I am of the independent political path our country has taken and the role it plays as an enabler of resistance to Israel, I am deeply aware of the great costs we have been forced to bear as a people by our government. The national resistance to colonialism and oppression abroad has gone hand in hand with our repression domestically. The state-sponsored violence and mass arrests that have shaken our country for the last 16 months are not what the resistance looks like.

Our solidarity with the Lebanese resistance and with the Palestinians should not be pendant on our willingness to silence ourselves domestically, and the acceptance of this silencing by many Lebanese and many Palestinians deeply pains those of us who marched last year yelling "People why are you seated, Iran has become Palestine" and "Whether Iran or Gaza, stop killing people." We are not traitors, nor pro-American, nor Zionist "agents" -- we merely want the same freedom to live, to exist and to resist as we demand for the Palestinians and for the Lebanese.

Unfortunately for us, from the first day of the protests in June of last year the cause of Iranian freedom was hijacked by foreign governments, foreign media and Iranian expatriates who observed from afar the crowds demanding greater civil and social rights. These exploiters spun around and declared shameles... >>>