A group of San Diego County-based human rights leaders gathered downtown on Wednesday to speak out against the recent events in Iran and Iraq, including the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
“We believe there needs to be more done in our own communities to bring out the voices of peace,” said Mejgan Afshan, Founder, Borderlands for Equity.
The local leaders are against a war with Iran and any targeting of Iranian-Americans, both locally and nationally. The group claims that dozens of Iranian-Americans were detained at the U.S.-Canada border over the weekend.
“We don’t want any more war, whether it be in Afghanistan or Iran or Iraq, we can’t afford this crisis and this conflict and we want to take the road and path of peace,” said Mejgan Afshan, Founder, Borderlands for Equity.
Just prior to the group’s press conference, President Trump held his own press conference on Wednesday indicating that he would not respond militarily in Iran after no one was harmed in Iran’s missile strike on two Iraqi bases with U.S. troops.
“We are here to encourage everyone to speak up, to show up and why we’re speaking up now and will continue to do so to tell Congress to support the war powers resolution, to prevent war with Iran, to demand that Iranian-Americans be free to move around our country,” said Reverend Beth Johnson from CA Poor People's Campaign.
Local
After the killing of Iran’s General, NBC7 spoke with local Iranian-Americans, many who expressed their approval of President Trump’s action to kill Soleimani.
“They’re too small, too weak to succeed this turmoil and come out clean. To me, and many friends I’m talking to, this is sort of the end of government of Iran,” said Siamek Ershadi, San Marcos resident who left Iran in 1985.
