Hamburg is the home to one of the world’s most important remaining supporters of the inhuman and anti-Semitic regime in Iran: The European-Iranian Trade Bank (EIH). While international sanctions are putting ever-increasing pressure on the Islamist regime, it is noteworthy that a bank in Germany, owned by the Islamic Republic is instrumental in keeping the genocidal Iranian regime in power.

According to US authorities, EIH has provided important financial services to the Iranian nuclear weapons program – EIH is in fact controlled by the Iranian regime. Despite of this fact, Germany is still blocking sanctions against EIH.

To this day, EIH is one of the world’s most important lifelines for the economic viability of the Islamic Republic. Not only German companies conduct their ever-increasing business with Iran via EIH, but companies from other European countries and beyond use this bank for financial transactions which would otherwise be quite difficult if not downright impossible. Starting in 2011 billions of Euros are being transferred to Iran via EIH from the export of Iranian crude oil to India. For months, no other bank in the world could be found willing to provide this service.

Obviously, money and goods that reach Iran with the assistance of EIH strengthen the Iranian regime: This money supports and enables the continued repression of the Iranian opposition, of women, homosexuals, religious and ethnic minorities in Iran, and finances the support for Islamist forces worldwide as well as the war against Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah.

While democratic forces in Tunisia, Egypt and several other countries are rising up against dictatorships, it is crucial to counter Islamist forces and the relentless Iranian efforts of spreading the “Islamic revolution”. Due to the support of its bank in Hamburg, the Iranian regime endangers the pro-democracy movements in the entire Near East!

The German government continues to refuse effective measures against EIH like adding it to the list of sanctions of the European Union and to shut it down. Where is the German rejection of dictatorial regimes and where is the “special responsibility” to Israel?

Since the list of targeted sanctions of the European Union will be updated soon, we demand:

EIH should be closed down and must finally be added to the list of sanctions of the European Union! No deals with the Iranian regime!

We support solidarity with the Iranian freedom movement and all democratic and anti-Islamist forces in the Near East!

Place: Hamburg, Depenau 2 (U Meßberg)

Time: Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, 3.00 pm

At 5.00 pm, there will be a panel discussion with prominent speakers in nearby rooms of the Mahnmal St. Nikolai (Willy-Brandt-Straße 60).

On February 27, 2011 STOP THE BOMB calls for a second protest rally in front of the building of the European-Iranian Trade Bank (EIH). The rally will start at 3.00 pm at Depenau 2, Hamburg (Map).

Afterwards, at 5.00 pm, there will be a panel discussion with Dr. Matthias Küntzel (publicist and political scientist), Mina Ahadi (exil-Iranian human rights activist and spokesperson of the Comittee against Stoning and Executions), Solmaz Shiva (22Khordad-Hamburg), Dr. Kazem Moussavi (Green Party of Iran) and Jonathan Weckerle (Moderation, STOP THE BOMB). The event will take place in the nearby rooms of the Mahnmal St. Nikolai (Willy-Brandt-Str. 60).

http://de.stopthebomb.net/en/d-iran/eih.html#c1947