Protesters in Montreal call on media to shed more light on Iranian demonstrations

Around 200 people gathered outside CBC/Radio-Canada today, urging local media to highlight the Iranian uprising against a 47-year clerical regime.

Hundreds of people gathered in front of Radio-Canada’s offices on Tuesday afternoon to demand “more objective” local media coverage of the political situation in Iran.

Protesters yelled, “CBC tell the truth!” outside the media building on René-Lévesque Boulevard in Montreal, holding signs that called for media outlets to “Listen to Iran” and “Not remain silent.”

“We are here to make a complaint to CBC and other television stations,” said Mohamad Reza, an Iranian-Montrealer who served in the Imperial Guard in Iran. “They are not covering enough what is going on in Iran.”

Reza also criticized how the coverage is being framed.

“They don’t mention this is an uprising,” he added. “The people want to topple this regime. It’s been 47 years. Enough is enough.”

The protesters in Montreal argue that media outlets are not providing comprehensive coverage of the situation in Iran.

“Please believe our words. Don’t leave us alone,” one protester yelled into a megaphone. “We are so fed up.”

Demonstrators claim 12,000 people have died in protests against the Iranian government over the past two days, many more than reported by most media.

READ MORE: Death toll from Iranian protests surpasses 2,000, activists say, as chaos recalls 1979 revolution

Media reports claim that at least 2,000 protesters have been killed, citing Iran Human Rights and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Many media outlets have been unable to independently assess the toll, particularly due to recent internet outages in the country.

Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Since the end of December, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets of the country to protest, demanding an end to the Islamic Republic proclaimed in 1979.

Authorities have arrested thousands of protesters and imposed an internet blackout on Jan. 8.

With information from The Associated Press