Certain groups have proposed to conduct a “TOP ON YONGE, Persian Festival and Parade” along Yonge Street in North York, Toronto.

We, the undersigned, object to the proposed festival because it ignores the various ethnic groups of Iran and wrongly tries to present all peoples of Iran as Persians. Persians are only one of many ethnicities in Iran, but they dominate the government of Iran. We also object to the proposed march of “Ancient Kings of Persia” at that festival. The march is a representation of Pan-Aryanism that is at the heart of the policy of cultural assimilation, cultural repression and genocide being perpetrated by the government of modern Islamic Republic of Iran against ethnic minorities in Iran.

Such provocative events can hurt the multi-ethnic cultural mosaic of Toronto, and present risk of increasing inter-communal tensions in our great city! We ask the authorities for the City of Toronto, and our local politicians, not to permit the above festival be held with the currently proposed name and activities.