By Contributor June 18, 2009 in Diaspora, Society

Iranian Protesters in Armenia

About 50 Iranian-Armenian students in Yerevan held a protest in front of the Iranian Embassy on June 16, 2009 in solidarity with those in Iran who have been rallying since the June 12th election where current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner.

“Where did my vote go?” “We don’t want a gnome dictator,” protesters chanted with green flags and masked faces, reports A1+.

“The most dangerous thing is their deportation. They will not only be deported, but also arrested as activists,” said an Iranian-Armenian student. Participants of the protest said that they will hold a strike and will stay in front of the embassy as long as it takes for justice to be restored. “We keep in touch with our parents back home and the situation is complicated there too, but we have hope for change,” said one female Iranian student.

In stark contrast, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian joined the likes of Venezuela, Brazil, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia and Turkey and congratulated Ahmadinejad on his alleged win:

“On behalf of the people of the Republic of Armenia and myself I warmly congratulate you on the occasion of your re-election as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and wish you new successes and achievements.

I’m confident that we will continue working towards deepening and reinforcement of the Armenian-Iranian relations in different spheres. This is what the traditional mutual respect between our peoples dictates.

Once again I congratulate you on this remarkable occasion and wish you robust health, happiness and productive activity.”