Reactions to the Occupy movement

[5] Iran On 12 October 2011, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei voiced his support for the Occupy Movement saying, "Ultimately, it will grow so that it will bring down the capitalist system and the West.

"There are voices in the middle who say, 'Look, we can build a better financial system that is more sustainable, that is based on a better and proportionate sense of what's just and fair and where people don't take reckless risks or, if they do, they're penalized for doing so.'

"[7] On 6 November 2011, Opposition leader Ed Miliband: "The challenge is that they reflect a crisis of concern for millions of people about the biggest issue of our time: the gap between their values and the way our country is run."

[9] United States On 16 October 2011, President Barack Obama spoke in support of the movement, but also asked protesters not to "demonize" finance workers.

[13] Venezuela Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez condemned the "horrible repression" of the activists and expressed solidarity with the movement.

[14] An article in the centre-left Labour Party-affiliated British magazine Progress published on 25 November criticised the Occupy protesters as representing "an unpalatable smorgasbord of religious, political and cultural ideas.

"[15] The Korean Central News Agency of North Korea (the state press) has described the Occupy movement as being "in protest against exploitation and oppression by capital, shaking all fabrics of society.

[20] Also in January, Financial Times commentator Philip Stephens suggested that the global Occupy movement, with its many strands, still does not present a coherent plan for political change.

[29][30] In February 2012, investment magnate Jeremy Grantham wrote in support of Occupy for the Financial Times, suggesting that the central message of the movement ought to be "more sensible assistance for the poor, more taxes for the rich".