Pars Today

Pars Today - Bobby Sands was one of the fighters for Irish independence from Britain who carried out the most famous hunger strike of the century in an English prison and lost his life in the struggle against British domination.

"Robert Gerard Sands", known as "Bobby Sands", was from Belfast in Northern Ireland and joined the Irish Republican Army at the age of 18. He was arrested and imprisoned several times.

Bobby Sands refused to wear prison uniform in protest against British colonialism and in solidarity with other prisoners.

His struggles in prison continued as a commander of the Irish Republican Army, using various methods until March 19581, when Bobby Sands began his hunger strike in support of prisoners and to demand the withdrawal of British occupation forces from Northern Ireland.

The demand of "Bobby Sands" was to end the occupation of Northern Ireland by British forces, and to respect the rights of prisoners, including no forced labor, the right to study, weekly visits, and a fair trial.

The British government ignored Bobby Sands' demands, and he taught them a historic lesson. Along with his fellow republican prisoners, he went on a hunger strike, which drew international attention.

Sands died on May 5, 1981, after 66 days of hunger strike at the age of 27 in the prison hospital.

Before his death, the situation had reached a point where Catholic Church representatives asked Bobby to end his hunger strike, and he replied: "Instead of pressuring me to end my hunger strike, go and ask the British government to lift its oppression from us."

His spirit of freedom and anti-colonialism led to a street in Tehran being named after Bobby Sands. After his death, the street on the western side of the British Embassy, which was also the location of the embassy's main entrance, was named after him. The embassy was forced to open a new entrance on Ferdowsi Street to avoid having to write "Bobby Sands" in official correspondence.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, referred to Bobby Sands as an "Irish hero", saying:

"We do not just see him as a combatant, we have heard the message of Bobby Sands' silent lips and we firmly believe in it. This message is the message of the downfall of oppressive powers and empires around the world."

Bobby Sands is so revered by Iranians that a restaurant in northern Tehran has been named after him.

The 2008 film "Hunger" directed by Steve McQueen, is a highly acclaimed historical drama about the 1981 Irish hunger strike and its main character, Bobby Sands (played by Michael Fassbender).

Keywords: Who is Bobby Sands, Bobby Sands Street in Tehran, British colonialism, Irish independence from Britain.

MG/UR