Frankfurt is preparing for a major demonstration on Saturday, with organizers expecting about 20,000 attendees. The city’s assembly authority is due to provide further details on Thursday, including the number of registered counterdemonstrations.
That morning, Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s former shah, will accept the Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s Freedom Prize on behalf of the Iranian people at the Paulskirche. The foundation is awarding it for the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom. Pahlavi opposes Iran’s clerical regime.
A separate, all-day rally organized by Pahlavi’s supporters is planned for Ostpark. Its location was moved at short notice from Weseler Werft. Organizers say people from several German cities plan to travel to Frankfurt by bus, and that Pahlavi will speak in the park in the afternoon after the award ceremony.
The decision to give the prize to Pahlavi has prompted opposition from some members of the Iranian community and politicians. At a public session of Frankfurt’s main and finance committee on Tuesday evening, critics from the Iranian diaspora spoke about relatives they had lost under both the clerical regime and the shah’s rule, which lasted until 1979.
The Left Party has proposed that the city terminate its rental agreement with the foundation. The motion was deferred to a meeting of the council of elders before Thursday’s city council session. The SPD plans to stay away from the ceremony as a sign of protest.
Green Party representative Wolfgang Strengmann-Kuhn praised the prize but said he was dismayed by the choice of recipient. FDP parliamentary group leader Sebastian Papke said the award’s message of solidarity with the Iranian people risked being overshadowed by protests against Pahlavi. He described criticism of the decision as legitimate, while warning that preventing the ceremony would send a signal beyond Frankfurt.
The article also reports differing views on Pahlavi’s possible role in Iran’s future. His supporters argue he could become a figure in a democratic Iran, while critics reject him as a legitimate representative of the Iranian people. What role he might play in any new Iranian government remains unclear.
Sources: FAZ.