The Green Scroll of Freedom ( fa, تومار اعتراضی جنبش سبز) is the world's longest petition scroll, measuring over 2,000 metres in length. Its creation was driven by members of the

Iranian diaspora Iranian diaspora refers to Iranian people or those who are of Iranian ancestry living outside Iran.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the Iranian president after the disputed Iranian presidential election in June 2009, condemning the human rights abuses committed against Iranian protesters, and standing in solidarity to demand universal human rights, justice, and freedom for the Iranian people. The primary goal of the Green Scroll campaign is to reassure Iranians inside Iran that they are not alone in their struggle.

Origin

Ali Tehrani, a 44-year-old Iranian residing in

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the close proximity of the ci ...

(Canada) came up with the idea for the Green Scroll campaign in late June 2009 while watching the Iranian government unleash abuses against people in his home country. Tehrani's original concept was to hang the finished Scroll from the

CN Tower The CN Tower (french: Tour CN) is a concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway c ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

or the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, as an act of worldwide protest against Ahmadinejad's pending inauguration for a second term as Iran's president. The idea spread rapidly amongst members of the Iranian Diaspora. In cities around the world, Iranian activists purchased rolls of green cloth from local sources, and quickly collected thousands of signatures from Iranians and non-Iranians alike between July 10 and 12. Eventually, over 190 cities worldwide sent rolls of cloth to Paris, France, where they were sewn together into one continuous banner. When all the pieces were assembled, and The Green Scroll of Freedom was made with the signatures collected stretching for over 2,000 metres in length.

Purpose

The purpose of the Green Scroll of Freedom campaign are as follows: 1. To tell the world Ahmadinejad is not Iran’s legitimate president 2. To condemn the human rights abuses, rapes, torture, killings, and other injustices that have been unleashed against peaceful Iranians 3. To demand universal human rights, freedom, and equitable justice for the Iranian people 4. To encourage foreign governments not to recognise Ahmadinejad's “Coup d'etat” government 5. To show unity between all Iranians outside of Iran 6. To demonstrate to Iranians inside of Iran that they are supported by people around the world, and assure them that they are not alone in their struggle 7. To generate ongoing media attention about the struggle of the Iranian people

Display history

Paris

The Green Scroll of Freedom made its public debut on July 25, 2009, in Paris, France in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, encircling a large portion of the

Champ de Mars The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after t ...

. This coincided with (but was not planned as an official part of) a global day of action on July 25 in over 100 cities worldwide by a coalition of Green Iranian activists.

New York

In response to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's appearance at the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

meeting in New York City on September 23, 2009, the Green Scroll was shipped to New York, where on September 24, 2009, it was marched across the Brooklyn Bridge. New York Police Department officials were afraid that if the Scroll was marched across as one continuous banner, in the event part of scroll was blown by winds onto the Brooklyn Bridge roadway, the 2,000 metre-long Scroll would pose a serious safety hazard for both cars on the road and people on the walkway. For this safety reason, the NYPD required that the Scroll be cut up into fifty (50) foot sections, and carried across the Brooklyn Bridge on cardboard poles. Most of the sections were numbered as they were cut, so that the Scroll could be re-assembled in the original order later.

Washington, D.C.

On November 15, 2009 (also World Students Day), the Green scroll was marched across the national mall, starting at the base of the Washington monument and finishing at the steps of the U.S. Capitol building. Greenscrolldc

International reactions

In the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

, police blocked Iranian protesters from signing the Green Scroll, the Dubai-based National newspaper reported. The police told the crowd that "they were forbidden from sending official petitions from United Arab Emirates soil, as Iran and the UAE have diplomatic ties".

References

External links

Greenscroll Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Scroll Campaign 2009 Iranian presidential election protests Mahmoud Ahmadinejad History of civil rights and liberties in Iran