—

Source: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-785340?ref=feeds%2Flatest

Campaigns have been focused in Washington - what about Europe?

[www.thecommentator.com, By Wahied Wahdat-Hagh]

The most negative aspect of the negotiations between the P5-plus-one (the UN Security Council Five plus Germany) and Iran is the dearth of attention being paid to human rights violations in that country. Iranian nuclear activities have no relation to the suppression of religious minorities, women, human rights activists and workers.

The Iranian Bahai community in particular is in a precarious position.

According to article 6 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, genocide means any act of “killing members of the group”, “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group” and “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”. In article 7, “crimes against humanity” is defined as acts of widespread or systematic violence directed at any civilian population – including murder; enforced disappearance of persons; persecution; and imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law.

In this context, persecution refers to the intentional suppression of fundamental rights contrary to international law by reason of the identity of the group or collective. Also according to the Rome Statute, enforced disappearance of persons means the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by, or with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of a State or political organisation.

Both articles 6 and 7 apply to the situation of the Iranian Bahai. In 1991 the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council drew up a secret memorandum, which is nothing less than a government blueprint for the repression of the community in Iran. This “confidential” document indicates clearly that the Spiritual leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, and the former President of Iran, Hashemi Rafsanjani were behind it. The memorandum calls for the blockade of “their progress and development”, i.e. that of the Bahai community.

According to Bahai World News Service, some 541 Bahais have been arrested in Iran since August 2004. About 109 Iranian Bahais are currently in prison simply because of their faith. 437 Bahais are still in the Iranian court system – some are in prison, some on release with trials pending and some have appealed their verdicts. They are accused of promoting propaganda against the government since they do not believe that Mohammad was the last prophet.

Thousands of Bahais are not allowed access to higher education, are interrogated and threatened. Economic pressure on them destroys their quality of life. Since the beginning of the Islamic revolution in 1979, they have not been allowed to take up positions in the civil service in fields such as education and law. Their pensions are also denied.

Barring Bahais from higher education specifically aims to impoverish them. This puts massive pressure on the community since they believe that education, particularly for girls, is of utmost importance for the development of society. Bahais are prohibited from attending universities and even schoolchildren are harassed and expelled.

Hezbollah arsonists also attack Bahai-owned business. Their shops have been closed and some of the owners imprisoned, with even much needed medical doctors being thrown out of their offices and clinics. One often-used tactic is to arrest innocent members of the Bahai community and demand high bails and property deeds. They are required to give information about their daily lives, actions and even neighbours. Physical assaults and efforts to drive them out of villages are common and their rightful inheritances are denied. This clearly displays a systematic singling out of their community.

Even if a Bahai is dead, he or she is still not free as their cemeteries are desecrated and destroyed and they are often denied their burial rights. The state media incite hatred and propagate misinformation about them. Muslims who are associated with Bahais are intimidated into ending their relationship with them. The authorities attempt to get Bahais to spy on other Bahais, both in Iran and abroad. They are threatened by phone calls and letters. Their religious texts are forbidden.

This Islamic form of anti-Bahaism is reminiscent of the Nazi regime’s persecution of the Jews in the 1930s. The Nazis demonised the Jews just like the Iranian Islamists demonise the Bahais because they believe in the emancipation of men and women and reject militant Jihadism. Bahais believe that parliamentary democracy is the best way forward and call for human rights oriented ethics to be at the fore when working towards world peace. Clearly the Iranian state clerics consider the Bahai faith as dangerous since it conveys ideas which are seen as invalid by the totalitarian rulers of Iran.

Europe should pay more heed to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and not allow state-sponsored genocide in the 21^st century. Even if the Iranian regime cooperates in nuclear negotiations, the massive problems in relation to the repression of Iranians and the exportation of terrorism remain.

Wahied Wahdat-Hagh is a Senior Fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy

—

Source: http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1152/stop_state_sponsored_genocide_and_crimes_against_humanity

[Of particular interest to Iran Press Watch is the paper by Margit Warburg which considers the situation of the Baha'is in Iran:]

Warburg, Margit, “Baha’is of Iran: Power, Prejudices and Persecutions,” pp. 195-218, in Religious Minorities in the Middle East: Domination, Self-Empowerment, Accommodation, Edited by Anh Nga Longva and Anne Sofie Roald. Leiden, Brill Academic Publishers, 2012.

This chapter presents and analyses the position of the Bahaʾis of Iran and their relationship with Iranian society, including the State and the Iranian ulama. After the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran in 1979, the Bahaʾi minority has sufffered from intensifijied persecutions, and the analysis deals primarily with these persecutions as seen in the light of the Bahaʾis’ historical relationship with the Iranian State and the ulama, respectively. The analysis includes the issue of the position of the Bahaʾi minority in Iran, the doctrinal tensions between the Bahaʾis and the ulama, and the diffferent prejudices about the Bahaʾis, which fuel the popular support to the persecutions.

—

Also see:

• “The Expression of Self-images Through Prejudices and Persecutions: Shi’ites versus Baha’is of Iran,” p. 8, Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt today Local dynamics and foreign influences (http://www.cmi.no/file/?481)
• Baha’i, I, http://bahai-library.com/pinella_warburg_i_bahai
• Baha’i: A Religious Approach to Globalization

Speaker Judith Won Pat – pictured center – addresses the Guam legislature during a vote about the denial of access to higher education in Iran. The vote, which passed by a majority of 14-0, was held on 27 April 2012.

[BWNS 27 April 2012] HAGǺTÑA, Guam — The Senate of the western Pacific island territory of Guam has called upon the United States of America to keep up its pressure on Iran over human rights abuses.

A resolution was unanimously passed this morning by the island’s 15-member legislature. Fourteen senators voted in favor of the resolution, with none against. One senator was absent and did not vote.

Guam – the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands – is a U.S. territory with its own elected governor and legislature. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by the Senate’s speaker Judith Won Pat and two other senators, urges the U.S. Congress and President – on behalf of the people of Guam – to “continue their efforts in calling upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure that the nation’s youth will not be denied access to higher education because of their faith.”

The resolution specifically cites Iran’s official government policy to “ensure that ‘progress and development’ of the Baha’is ‘are blocked’ with explicit directives that Baha’is ‘must be expelled from universities…’”

Situated in the western Pacific, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. A United States territory, it has its own elected governor and legislature.

“Although we are small on Guam and far away and removed from the situation in Iran, we want to show the world that we have compassion for the Baha’is’ suffering and persecution,” said Benjamin J.F. Cruz, vice-speaker of the Senate and a co-sponsor of the resolution.

Legislative Secretary Tina Rose Muña Barnes added, “When I put my name on the resolution to co-sponsor it, I did so with conviction because I believe that education and knowledge is a key to success. And knowing youth are being denied that opportunity I asked myself, how can I not stand up and add my voice? We should not be afraid to stand up and say, ‘I want to help.’”

The Senators’ made their remarks at a public hearing on 16 April, ahead of today’s vote.

The first recorded mention of the Baha’i Faith in Guam was 1936. Today there are some 200 Baha’is on the island. “It is our hope that this resolution will hasten the end of denial of education to the Baha’i youth of Iran and will allow them to be free to serve their country and the world,” said a spokesperson for the Guamanian Baha’i community.

—

Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/907

]]> http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/8936/feed 0 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/8918 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/8918#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:01:02 +0000 editor http://www.iranpresswatch.org/?p=8918 Questions and Answers at Stanford University in Farsi with English subtitles regarding “Iranian Taboo” documentary.

source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBCFz-UOfAM&feature=youtu.be

Sama wrote a letter to his younger brother (Alborz) after he was also expelled from the university because of his religious beliefs. The letter he wrote is as follows:

My Dear brother Alborz, I love you and I am with you all the time. The day when you came with Mom to visit me at Evin prison, Mom told me, during a few minutes of greeting, that you, my little brother, had recently been expelled from the university. I was so sad; it was as if it was the end of the world for me. I had a strange feeling I had never felt before, even when they expelled me. I was quite shocked. I stared at you, while you had a smile on your face, as if you were telling me that I was not alone, and that you also have been deprived of your rights because of your beliefs. At that point I wished that no one else would join me on this difficult path.

The difficult moments of that day came to an end, and I was ashamed that we have not done enough, so that you could have your rights. I kept thinking that perhaps what my friends and I and previous generations had done to get back our legal right of a higher education in our country had been all in vain. Injustices such as being denied an education, being expelled from universities, and being sent to prison solely for questioning why our right to an education, to which we are entitled under our constitution, has been taken away. For hours all these thoughts preoccupied my mind and ruined my hopes, which at that point were my only haven — hope of a future in which no one anywhere in the world is deprived of their rights due to their beliefs, a hope of a land wherein all its youth, Baha’i and non-Baha’i, men and women, are not deprived their rights, especially the right to an education, which is the most exalted human right.

I was immersed in my thoughts for a day or two, and reflecting on the past, I realized it has always been costly to achieve lofty goals. Reviewing the history of the Baha’i Faith, so many lives have been sacrificed and so many properties have been confiscated; perhaps there should be even heavier costs paid before we reach the point when everyone has equal rights. So I am thankful for you and all our friends who have sacrificed one of their dearest wishes, which is a higher education. Upon reflection, I am certain that all our youth’s efforts, either in previous generations or in our time, will not have been in vain at all.

If a few years ago Baha’i youth could not even take part in the entrance exam, now, because of all the efforts and follow-ups, they can attend the exam — some of them have been able to study at the best Iranian national schools for a few terms before they are expelled. Be assured that after our legal effort there will come a day when we will all be studying at Iran’s universities without any inequality or discrimination, and that we will use all our power to reconstruct Iran and serve our noble compatriots.

Rest assured that these sacrifices will not be forgotten, and be even more certain that those beautiful days of equality will come soon.

My Dear Alborz, from behind the prison bars your proud smile revealed to me that you and your friends know these facts better than I do. My hope for a brighter future is now strengthened, and my beautiful days here are more colorful.

I am here with my new friends, who are mostly professors, but also students deprived of receiving an education due to their beliefs.

Accept their warmest regards and convey it to your friends as well.

Love forever, Sama

—

Translation by Iran Press Watch

Source: http://www.edu-right.net/archive/544-sama-letter

“In the name of God.
All members of the Bahai cult are guilty as being infidels & are regarded as “Najes” (an islamic term for being inherently unclean/dirty), thus people are advised to avoid proximity in food & other things because of their contagious nature AND it is paramount that the believers combat the schemes & devious nature of this misled cult.”

—

Source: http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=47094

It is not hard to love someone without having seen him; we love so many things without seeing them. Like the heat of the fireplace in the thick of the winter. Iqan was this warmth. Many of us owe a lot to Iqan. I’m talking about myself. Pity that I can’t describe how one day everyone will know how great a man Iqan was; though even now we know that he is a great man.

Great men are not few. Sama Nourani [another detained Baha'i youth -- see http://www.facebook.com/notes/human-chain-project/one-year-prison-sentence-of-sama-nourani-upheld-in-appeals-court/164913790240005] is another great man; great men who have great plans and hope to accomplish their goal. Yesterday, while reading the following posting on Iqan’s Facebook page my heart sank:

‘ I am checking my belongings for the last time. I am heading out to Evin in one and a half hours. I hope the next time I post something on Facebook, noticeable ease and freedom for my countrymen will have been established through your efforts, my precious ones…’

At the time we had company. Perhaps if I had been alone, I would have burst into tears. I read Iqan’s Facebook posting out aloud to our guests. We fell silent for a while, only silence; a silence that probably Iqan is also experiencing.

Normally, I am not used to talking about someone in this fashion; especially in public. I believe if we love someone like Iqan, we should follow their path. Placing his picture beside ours and bemoaning the misery of his conditions is no help for Iqan, nor for other Iqans, nor for ourselves.

But I write this just for Iqan, because I love him deeply. Long live dear Iqan; awaiting your release.”
—

Translation by Iran Press Watch
Source: http://freedomofpen.blogspot.ca/2012/04/blog-post_09.html

U.S. Republican Senator Mark Kirk is the chief sponsor of the resolution calling for the release of Baha'i prisoners.

[radio free europe, 30 March 2012] By RFE/RL

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has urged Iran to release jailed leaders of the Baha’i faith.

A resolution passed unanimously on March 30 calls on Tehran to free seven Baha’i leaders sentenced in 2010 to 20 years in prison on charges that included spying for Israel.

The resolution also called on U.S. President Barack Obama to sanction more Tehran officials over human rights violations, including abuses against Iran’s Baha’i community.

With some 300,000 members, it is Iran’s largest religious minority.

It faced persecution both before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (Republican-Illinois), a chief sponsor of the resolution, said its passage “sends a strong message that the U.S. will hold the Iranian government accountable for violating the basic human rights of its people.”

—

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/us_senate_urges_iran_to_release_imprisoned_bahai_leaders/24532981.html

]]> http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/8882/feed 0 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/8871 http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/8871#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 01:00:49 +0000 editor http://www.iranpresswatch.org/?p=8871

In New Delhi, campaigners from United4Iran, the Trans Asia Alliance and the Asian Center for Human Rights joined Baha'is in a peaceful march on Sunday 1 April across the city, calling for the release of Iran's jailed seven Baha'i leaders. Following the march, the group gathered at the city's famous Red Fort.

[BWNS 3 April 2012] NEW YORK — The plight of Iran’s seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders has been capturing the public’s attention in 12 of the world’s major cities, where a day of action marked the combined total of 10,000 days that the seven have so far spent in prison.

In an initiative coordinated by human rights organization United4Iran, the image of the seven was widely displayed on Sunday 1 April – on mobile billboards, buses, bicycles, a canal boat, and T-shirts.

The billboard image of the Baha’i leaders was a mosaic of smaller photographs of hundreds of people currently jailed in Iran including journalists, trade unionists, politicians, student and women’s activists, and religious leaders.

“The plight of these seven is representative of the countless Iranian men and women who have been jailed for defending their freedom and human rights,” said Firuzeh Mahmoudi, United4Iran’s director and founder.

“Our message to the seven is this: The world has not forgotten you, and we will continue to fight for your freedom and that of other Iranian prisoners of conscience.”

In New Delhi, India, around 200 campaigners carrying banners marched across the city in an action that was co-supported by the Trans Asia Alliance and the Asian Center for Human Rights. The Center’s director Suhas Chakma said, “Iran has failed to respect international human rights standards on fair trial and therefore must release the seven unconditionally.”

In South Africa, buses displaying the image of the seven prisoners are following routes in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria.

A large truck bearing the same image toured Brazil’s federal capital, Brasilia. Brazilian supporters wore T-shirts that spelled out “Libertem Baha’is Irã” (”Free Baha’is Iran”).

In Berlin, Germany, the picture of the seven was displayed around the city on special bicycles. The initiative was launched by German Member of Parliament Serkan Tören, who is a Muslim of Turkish origin. “I urge the Iranian Government to grant the Baha’i Faith community the right of religious freedom to which Iran has an obligation under international law. I urge the international community to maintain pressure on Iran in order to fulfill its international obligation,” said Mr. Tören.

In the Netherlands, the poster of the prisoners travelled by barge on Amsterdam’s canals while mobile billboards also generated interest as they toured Sydney (Australia), Paris (France), Wellington (New Zealand), London (U.K.) and Washington D.C. (U.S.A).

The seven Baha’i prisoners are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. Prior to their arrests in 2008, they were members of an ad-hoc national-level group which attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran’s Baha’i community. They are each serving 20-year jail terms handed down after six brief court sessions characterized by a lack of due legal process. The seven categorically denied such charges as espionage, propaganda against the Islamic republic and the establishment of an illegal administration.

“The seven were, and remain, totally innocent of any wrongdoing,” said Bani Dugal, the Baha’i International Community’s principal representative to the United Nations.

“Ten thousand days of their lives have literally been stolen from them forever – days which they would have dedicated to the service of their fellow countrymen,” she said. “The day is long overdue when these prisoners are freed to be able to make their contribution to the country they love.”

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Source: http://news.bahai.org/story/904

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