AROUND 250,000 protesters gathered in the German city of Munich recently to demonstrate against the Iranian government. Remarkably, they faced no interference from local authorities or the police. In contrast, when protests were held against the Zionist regime in Israel across multiple German cities, including Munich, the same authorities tried to physically stop the demonstrations, and even attempted to control how the protests were covered by international media.

The official explanation given by the German government for restricting pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests was that these demonstrations were directed against a foreign government. By the same logic, anti-Iran protests could also have been restricted, but they were not, as Germany does not support the Iranian government in Tehran.

The authorities in Germany treated the anti-Iran protests as a ‘human rights’ issue, citing the deaths of protesters in Iran. Ironically, Gaza carnage is not framed as a human rights crisis because the Berlin government supports the Zionist regime and its atrocities in Gaza. This starkly illustrates a double standard, showing that human rights are often emphasised by the West only when politically convenient.

Jahanzaib Ali
Faisalabad

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2026