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Iranians show solidarity with liberty TV in 3rd telethon

NCRI – In the third ever telethon in solidarity with the opposition “Simaye Azadi, Iran’s national television” on November 26, Iranians from inside the country and abroad called to pledge donations, offering a sum of 500,000 dollars which will be used to finance a part of the programs of the satellite channel broadcasting round the clock in Iran, Europe, the Middle-East and the United States. This channel, which regularly provides information on the Resistance movement, has a very large audience.

NCRI – In the third ever telethon in solidarity with the opposition “Simaye Azadi, Iran’s national television” on November 26, Iranians from inside the country and abroad called to pledge donations, offering a sum of 500,000 dollars which will be used to finance a part of the programs of the satellite channel broadcasting round the clock in Iran, Europe, the Middle-East and the United States. This channel, which regularly provides information on the Resistance movement, has a very large audience.

For the first time and in an unusual and spontaneous way, many people voluntarily announced their will to pay a monthly sum “until the overthrow of the mullahs’ dictatorship and the establishment of democracy in Iran.”

The 14-hour telethon targeted Iranians inside the country and the community throughout the world, with only one 30-minute break for television news. All telephone lines were busy. Many had to wait for hours to be connected. A wave of messages full of affection, attention, passion, emotion, tears and prayers for “Simaye Azadi” was aired on the television station.

The large participation of TV viewers, which included men and women, the young and old, from all social backgrounds and from all ethnic and religious groups, and in particular the influx of teenagers and young people, was most impressive.

The wide range of donors – children, high-school pupils, students, experts, artists, sports champions, businessmen, workers, employees, humble refugees – shows that the fight against the mullahs’ dictatorship has not been forgotten and that it is more vivid than ever.

A very significant aspect of this wave of support is the commitment of the vast majority of donors to provide financial assistance until the collapse of the religious dictatorship. This is genuine promise of confidence and solidarity on a national scale to overthrow this tyranny.

The massive participation, the financial pledges, the acceptance of sacrifices and the systematic homage to Ashraf City where the fighters for liberty, the People’s Mojahedin, live in particular reveal a deep aspiration for change by the whole Iranian population and the extremely large social base of the Resistance in Iran and abroad.

As a TV viewer said while announcing the amount of his gift, what matters is not so much the support coming from everywhere through hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the fact that the donors praise Simaye Azadi and Ashraf City.

Many stories were moving, inciting other donors, families and groups of friends to unite from Iran and abroad in order to bring an ever-increasing help. 

One of the characteristics of the donations was that they all represented a sacrifice, not simply a deduction from one’s savings. One elderly woman gave the money put aside for her medical treatment and the money for her children’s birthday. A modest Iranian employee said, “It is a good reason to help you because we want to breathe freely”. A lorry driver from northern Iran proudly stated, “I no longer drive for myself, but for Simaye Azadi.” There were also children who phoned in and said that they had broken their piggy banks, students who gve up some books, families who cancelled their holidays, and others who would sell their dearest belongings to send money.

This program may be considered as a popularity poll for the Resistance and the will for democratic change in Iran.