‘American People Rising Up against Inequality, Discrimination’

Fereydoon Majlesi made the comment in an interview with the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) where he shed more light on the different dimensions of the ongoing protests in the United States in the wake of police brutality against African Americans.

“In order to review the dimensions and consequences of the murder of a black citizen (George Floyd) in the state of Minnesota, one should take a quick look at the history of racism in the United States,” he said.

“If we refer to this history, we can easily find out that it has been more than 150 years that racial discrimination and humiliation of black people in the US have been going on,” he added.

“By reviewing documents, we realize that this issue has its roots in inequality in the US. We remember that the French Revolution was staged on a platform of equality and fraternity, and decades later, Martin Luther King in the United States hoped to see a day when his children and the black community are living alongside white people without any discrimination. So, I believe the current event and the crisis unfolding in the city of Minneapolis in the state of Minnesota has its roots in inequality,” the analyst noted.

“I believe we are witnessing a new Apartheid in the United States, and the events which have occurred in the past few days shows well that modern barbarism still exists in this country, and now we are seeing another manifestation of this, with Trump being in the spotlight,” he added.

“The fact of the matter is that Trump considers his personal benefit even when he is laughing. In other words, if you see him laughing on TV, rest assured that some business interests lie behind his laughter, and whenever you see him angry, you should know that his and his associates’ interests are in danger,” said the analyst.

“This approach is in stark contrast to Obama’s. Now, if we generalize this simple issue to all ongoing events in the United States, we will see that a state-wide uprising has emerged in Minneapolis which shoes people in the United States, especially black people, cannot stand racial discrimination, particularly in the 21st century,” he said.

This former Iranian diplomat then touched upon Trump’s orders to use excessive police violence against protestors.

“Trump’s behaviour in the last three months following the coronavirus outbreak shows his thoughts not only bear testament to racism, but also is a manifestation of a disorganized policy which is not compatible with the US society and the international community led by capitalism,” he said.

“We saw that Trump resorted to thugs and hooligans on motorbikes to implement his plans with regards to ending the coronavirus quarantine, and these are exactly the very same people who voted for him in 2016. This mentality of Trump has prompted [people] from journalists to Twitter users to oppose him, and this is an event which has taken place in the US for the first time,” he said.

“Hence, I believe the killing of George Floyd by police and the release of footage on social media showing him dying can expose the Trump administration and his conservative team to new problems; moreover, his administration has now come under heavy criticism over the management of the campaign against the coronavirus outbreak,” the analyst added.

“We saw a black CNN journalist being arrested in front of the camera of this very news network, which has triggered a very strong reaction by media outlets and shows that there is no tolerance in Trump’s dealing with protestors; but his stance and attitude toward the Minnesota issue as well as violence against protestors will definitely cause problems for him both inside the United States and abroad,” he said.

“Trump’s actions against protestors and the use of violence in the country will deal a heavy blow to his political honour and status in the 2020 US presidential election. This comes as Trump tries to change the situation with a few smiles and democratic words by bringing Mike Pence (US vice president) into the playing field; however, everyone knows that Mike Pence is much more religious and has a more extremist look than Trump, and that’s why his words won’t work in this regard,” he said.

“So, the piling up of the current problems as well as foreign criticism of Trump and his behaviour over the past three months can easily and definitively bring Bernie Sanders into Joe Biden’s camp, and I believe they will contribute more heavily. On the other hand, Trump has invested in mobilizing the general public, and now his is seeking to take the masses on board,” he said.