Larijani: Injustice main cause of regional uprisings

The main cause of popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa is unjust rule of puppet totalitarian regimes supported by big powers, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said on Tuesday. Larijani made the remark at the international peace and security committee of the 125th meeting of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). He noted that injustice is the main cause of instability and wars around the world. “Nations faced with double standard behavior of big powers conclude that the international system is not just,” he underlined. Larijani called the nuclear issue one of the major issues dealt with unjustly and said the Zionist regime's nuclear arsenal is supported by Washington on the one hand and Iran's peaceful nuclear activities are exposed to sanctions on the other. “The existence of veto power in the UN Security Council is unjust,” the parliament speaker stated. The world's public opinion will not forget decades of support by the West and US for dictators of Egypt and Tunisia, he said, adding that Iran has always paid the cost of his support for oppressed nations of the region, he added. Larijani asserted that the recent uprisings in the West show the unjust aspect of the system ruling the West. “The world has changed and propaganda machines of big powers cannot ignore people's demand for democracy and justice. The Bahraini and Yemeni people believe that the US has given green light for suppression of people in these countries and this has badly defamed the US in the region,” he concluded. Larijani is here to take part in the 125th meeting of Inter-Parliamentary Union being held from October 16-20 with the participation of representatives from more than 120 member states. The body is an international parliamentary institution which convenes twice every year in a member state. The IPU has presently 157 members and its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. Since the beginning of 2011, the Muslim world has witnessed popular uprisings and revolutions similar to what happened in Iran in 1979. Tunisia saw the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a popular revolution in January, which was soon followed by a revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in February. Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have since been the scene of protests against their totalitarian rulers, who have resorted to brutal crackdown on demonstrations to silence their critics. Bahrain and Yemen, however, have experienced the deadliest clashes. Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty's over-40-year rule. Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar - were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13 to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors.