PM calls for alliance over Iran

PM calls for alliance over Iran






Mr Blair says moderate countries must take on Iran Mr Blair in Dubai Moderate Muslim states must form an "alliance of moderation" to counter Iran and challenge its influence, UK prime minister Tony Blair has urged.

He called on the world to "wake up" to the monumental struggle between the forces of moderation and extremism.

At the end of his Middle East tour, Mr Blair said the ideological battle was the challenge of the 21st Century. His call comes as he was criticised by Iraq's vice-president on the issue of troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Speaking in New York, Tareq al-Hashemi suggested Mr Blair had supported his idea of announcing a timetable for withdrawal, but was then "brainwashed" into changing his mind by US President George Bush.
President Bush has so far refused to set a timetable for troop withdrawals.
'Partnership possible'
Mr Blair has been on a tour of the Middle East, visiting Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, the West Bank and Israel.

We must recognise the strategic threat the government of Iran poses Tony Blair
In a speech to British and United Arab Emirates businessmen in Dubai, Mr Blair said a new partnership was possible with Iran and Syria, if they were prepared to play a constructive role in the Middle East.
But he warned: "We must recognise the strategic threat the government of Iran poses - not the people, possibly not all of its ruling elements, but those presently in charge of its policy.
"They seek to pin us back in Lebanon, in Iraq and in Palestine. Our response should be to expose what they are doing, build the alliances to prevent it and pin them back across the whole of the region."

He said achieving this would need the support of moderate Middle Eastern countries, but his spokesman later said it was not a call for a confrontation between the two Muslim traditions - Sunni and Shia.

'Unconventional war'

Mr Blair, who is due to step down as prime minister next year, said: "We have to wake up. These forces of extremism based on a warped and wrong-headed interpretation of Islam aren't fighting a conventional war, but they are fighting one against us.
"And 'us' is not just the West, still less simply America and its allies. 'Us' is all those who believe in tolerance, respect for others and liberty.

"We must mobilise our alliance of moderation in this region and outside it to defeat the extremists."

During his tour, Mr Blair has met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip to reassure him of the UK's support for Turkey's bid to join the EU.
And he has met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to discuss the peace process.

In his speech, he set out three priorities to restore momentum to that process, including an early meeting between the two leader and, a relaunch of the political process leading to a two-state solution.

He also called for an office of president of Palestine, which should be given the capacity to improve the lives of the Palestinian people.
It is hoped a stronger role would allow international aid to be channelled through Mr Abbas - bypassing Hamas, which holds a majority in the Palestinian parliament.
The Palestinians have also been suffering under an international aid boycott since Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel or give up its armed struggle, was elected to a majority of seats in January's parliamentary poll.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/6194789.stmPublished: 2006/12/20 15:11:19 GMT© BBC MMVI

Iranian Policy of torture Ahwazi Arabs and accusation western countries is not working any more

Reza Vashahi

Iranian for long time just accused Ahwazi Arabs movement to be under control of Iraq, Israel, Egypt, lybia, UK, Canada, Natherlands, USA and list goes on and on...

Iranian accused all those countries to be behind of Ahwazi movement, but for once did not accept that it is movement from inside Ahwazi community… Ahwazi who must be reach and live on land of black Gold[1], but they have nothing…

In fact Ahwazi Arabs movement is nothing to do with any other country, it is independent from inside. People have a TV and satellite these days, they saw the life in other Arabic Gulf courtiers, then they start thinking that: we have even more Gas and oil from some of them, why we live like this and they live like this?

Add to this not benefiting from Oil and Gas in Ahwaz All these years, racist treatment of Iranian toward Arabs of Ahwaz; it is not difficult to understand why Ahwazi Arabs are active for having their rights back!!!

Iranian instead of understanding the root, which they know it better than any one else, just putting the blame on other countries, ignoring the main cause of Ahwzi Arabs movement and time to time by executing Arabs trying to keep every thing calm again.

But is it work? Is policy of suppression and torture and accusing other countries woks? History showed this did not work, execution and mass murder of Ahwazi Arabs in Mohammareh in 1980/81 by general Madani, a war criminal who died last year, and similar one during 8 year war between Iran and Iraq and secret torture and execution during all these years[2], if they worked by now; there was not any Ahwazi Arabs movement by now.


[1] Ahwaz Area has about 10 and 15 percent of world oil reserves and has third Gas reserves in the world.
[2] Ahwaz occupied by Iranian forces physically in 1925, but in fact it was handed over under Arze Rom agreement.

Iran: Halt Execution of Ethnic Arabs After Secret Trial

Human Rights Watch

(New York, November 11, 2006) – Iran’s Judiciary should immediately halt the imminent execution of 10 Iranians of Arab origin and revoke the death sentence imposed on them, Human Rights Watch said today. The death sentences were imposed following secret trials that Human Rights Watch said could not be considered to meet international standards.On November 9, Abbas Jaafari Dowlatabadi, head of the Judiciary in the southern province of Khuzistan, told the Islamic Republic News Agency that Iran’s Supreme Court has confirmed the execution sentence of 10 Iranian Arabs. He said the condemned men were convicted of carrying out bombings in Ahwaz, capital of Khuzistan, last year. He did not name them. During the past year, the Judiciary has sentenced at least 13 Iranians of Arab origin to death for armed activity against the state. They are: Zamel Bawi; Awdeh Afrawi; Nazem Bureihi; Alireza Salman Delfi; Ali Helfi; Jaafar Sawari; Risan Sawari; Mohammad Ali Sawari; Moslem al-Ha’I; Abdulreza Nawaseri; Yahia Nasseri; Abdulzahra Helichi; and, Abdul-Imam Za’eri. “Iran’s opaque judicial system denies people due process and then hands down a death sentence after a one-day trial,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch. “The Judiciary should stop these executions.” Iranian rights advocates told Human Rights Watch that these trials were held behind closed doors and without any independent or impartial observers present. On June 8, the Third Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Ahwaz sentenced Zamel Bawi, Jaafar Sawari, Risan Sawari and Abdulreza Nawaseri to death following a one-day trial on June 7. Human Rights Watch has been informed that no witnesses were called in the trial of these four men. The Judiciary has not provided dates and details of trials for the other nine men sentenced to death. According to Iranian activists, one of the convicted men, Nazem Bureihi, has been imprisoned since 2000 and was serving a 35-year sentence for “insurgency against the state” at the time of his alleged crime. “One of the wonders of the Iranian Judiciary is that it can accuse a person of carrying out bombings while he’s in prison,” said Whitson. “That lays bare the arbitrariness of his conviction.” Iran carries out more executions annually than any other nation but China. Human Rights Watch, which opposes capital punishment in all instances, called on the Iranian government to stop using the death penalty, due to its inherent cruelty and irrevocability.

Background

During the past two years, Iran’s southwestern province of Khuzistan has witnessed ethnic unrest among its Iranian-Arab population. The province is home to nearly two million Iranians of Arab descent. Protests erupted in Khuzistan’s capital, Ahwaz, on April 15, 2005, following publication of a letter allegedly written by Mohammad Ali Abtahi, an advisor to President Mohammad Khatami. The letter referred to government plans to implement policies that would reduce the proportion of ethnic Arabs in Khuzistan’s population. After security forces tried to disperse the demonstrators and opened fire on them, clashes between protesters and security forces turned violent. The violence spread to other cities and towns in Khuzistan. The next day, Abtahi and other government officials denied the authenticity of the letter, calling it fake. Ahwaz and other cities experienced several bombings after the April 2005 protests. In June 2005, four bombs in Ahwaz and two others in Tehran killed 10 people and injured at least 90. Two other bombings in Ahwaz, one in October 2005 and another in January 2006, killed 12 people. The government has reportedly arrested hundreds of Iranian Arabs since April 15, 2005.


Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/11/11/iran14560.htm

UNPO Appeal on Imminent Execution of Ahwazi Activists in Iran


2006-11-13


The Hague, 13 November 2006 – UNPO remains deeply concerned about the fate of 19 Ahwazi men convicted on charges of terrorism and mohareb (enmity with God) by Iranian courts.
10 of the men; Ali Motairi, Abdullah Solaimani, Abdulreza Sanawati (Zergani), Ghasem Salamat, Mohamad Chaab Pour, Abdulamir Farajullah Chaab, Alireza Asakreh, Majed Alboghubaish, Khalaf Khaziri, Malek Banitamim face execution by hanging, whilst the remaining nice face long prison sentences or exile. Another man, Saeed Hamedan, has also been included on the list of those to be hanged, though without trial, and so as a result of an illegal summary judgment by Iranian authorities.
UNPO has appealed to UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Mrs. Louise Arbour, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, Mr. Philip Alston, condemning the use of public hangings and calling for international action to address the deteriorating human rights situation for the Ahwazi Arabs in Iran.
The trials of the men were marred by gross irregularities, including; forced confessions, the prevention of the accused meeting with their lawyers, and the arrest of the Ahwazi Arab lawyers defending the men. Human Rights Watch immediately called for a stop to the executions and a revoke of the death penalty, citing the failure of the trials to meet international standards.
The Iranian government has systematically used death sentences to silence protests made by its many minorities. The ethnic cleansing of Ahwazi Arabs from their homeland has been documented by human rights groups, and strongly criticized by the United Nations. UNPO remains deeply concerned about the fact that dissidents are routinely killed under the guise of crimes against God.
UNPO has appealed to Mrs. Louise Arbour and Mr. Philip Alston to:
- urge Iran to stop the execution of the 11 convicted men and grant fair trials to the 19 men convicted of the bombing;
-call upon the Iranian government to cease its execution of Ahwaz Arabs for peaceful protest; and-address the issue of unfair trials and extrajudicial and summary executions of the indigenous Ahwaz Arab people

Thursday, November 16, 2006

European Parliament condemns Iran over Ahwazi executions

The European Parliament has condemned the imminent execution of 11 Ahwazi Arabs by the Iranian regime in a motion supported by all political groups.The motion highlighted the Iranian regime's discrimination against ethnic minorities, particularly the Ahwazi Arabs who are "being displaced from their villages according to statements by Miloon Kothari, UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, while some of them remain in detention or have been sentenced to death."It "condemns the current disrespect of minority rights and demands that minorities be allowed to exercise all rights granted by the Iranian Constitution and international law" and "calls upon the authorities to eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious or ethnic grounds or against persons belonging to minorities, such as Kurds, Azeris, Arabs and Baluchis."The motion also "calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt the imminent execution of the Arabs Abdullah Suleymani, Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani, Qasem Salamat, Mohammad Jaab Pour, Abdulamir Farjallah Jaab, Alireza Asakreh, Majed Alboghubaish, Khalaf Derhab Khudayrawi, Malek Banitamim, Sa'id Saki and Abdullah Al-Mansouri."The vote of condemnation was supported by the Conservative, Socialist, Green, Liberal Democrat, Radical and Communist groups, representing the entire spectrum of political opinion in Europe. British Green MEPs Caroline Lucas and Jean Lambert have pushed the issue of Ahwazi Arab rights at the European Parliament and have strongly condemned the Iranian regime's violent persecution of minorities (click here for further details).The European Parliament's unanimous censure of the Iranian regime's treatment of minorities will have a major impact on EU relations with Iran. The mass executions of Ahwazi Arabs have focused attention on the regime's violent racism, with the campaign for a halt in executions gathering pace. The Finnish government - which currently holds the EU presidency - is reportedly preparing to take up the matter of executions of Ahwazis with the Iranian government on behalf of the EU.The lobbying effort in the UK has been intense. William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary and former leader of the Conservative Party, met with Foreign Office officials yesterday to highlight concerns about the execution of Ahwazi Arabs. His office told the British Ahwazi Friendship Society that the officials "assured him that they are taking the case extremely seriously, and that the FCO regularly raises the issue of individual death sentences with the Iranian government. Mr Hague believes it is important that international condemnation of this case is heard in Tehran, and he will continue to follow the matter closely."Labour MP Chris Bryant, a long-standing critic of Iran's atrocious human rights record, is preparing to table an Early Day Motion in the British parliament which will condemn Iran's mass execution of Ahwazis.

http://www.ahwaz.org.uk/2006/11/european-parliament-condemns-iran-over.html

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Syria sends more Ahwazi Arab refugees to their death

The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) has denounced the deportation of another group of Ahwazi citizens living in Syria to Iran in a press released issued this week (click here to download).Human rights organisations and the UNHCR have received credible reports that Syria deported three more UNHCR-registered refugees in addition to Saeed Saki and Faleh Abdullah Al-Mansouri (a Dutch national): Taher Mazrae, Rasool Ali Mazrae and Jamal Obaidawi (pictured).An SHRC media spokesman claimed that Syria have breached its obligations under human rights conventions that commit it to protect recognised refugees. Syria had agreed to host the refugees and permit them to carry out their political activities. The SHRC spokesman called on the Syrian authorities to cease breaking its human rights obligations and to use their influence on Iran to release the Ahwazi detainees. Amnesty International has previously condemned the deportation of Ahwazi Arab refugees as a violation of international law.Currently, 11 Ahwazi Arabs are awaiting execution in Iran. Last week, four more Ahwazis - Risan Sawari, Aqil Sawari, Mohammad Ali Sawari and Jafar Sawari - were sentenced to death.

http://www.ahwaz.org.uk/2006/11/syria-sends-more-ahwazi-arab-refugees.html

Thursday, November 23, 2006

UN General Assembly Criticises Iran's Discrimination of Minorities

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favour of a resolution proposed by the Canadian government which criticised Iran's appalling human rights record and its treatment of ethnic minorities (click here for details).The motion (A/C.3/61/L.41), which received the support of 70 governments on Tuesday, expressed "serious concern at the continuing harassment, intimidation and persecution of human rights defenders, non-governmental organizations, political opponents, religious dissenters, webloggers and union members, among others." It comes just days after the European Parliament gave a damning indictment of the regime's human rights record, highlighting the planned execution of 11 Ahwazi Arab political activists.The General Assembly also voiced "serious concern at a persistent failure in Iran to comply fully with international standards in the administration of justice – including the absence of due process of law, the refusal to provide fair and public hearings, and the denial of the right to counsel by detainees."The motion also highlights "increasing discrimination and other human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities" and calls on Iran to eliminate discrimination based on religious, ethnic or linguistic grounds. Women's rights and political freedoms were also under attack, according to the UN. The General Assembly encouraged the UN Human Rights Council and various Special Rapporteurs to pursue their work regarding Iran, and for the Assembly to continue its examination of the situation at its sixty-second session.The Iranian regime reacted angrily to the international community's condemnation of its human rights record, with its representative calling the motion "another politically motivated exercise pursued by the Government of Canada to serve its narrow political purposes and interests," although he did not identify what those interests were. Rather than address the General Assembly's concerns, the Iranian representative alleged that Canada had "a questionable human rights record, particularly concerning indigenous peoples." He added that "the draft consisted of baseless accusations and unfounded claims, and the situation it described in Iran was predicated on the sponsor's illusions and fantasies." Signalling the regime's defiance, Iran's UN representative claimed that criticism of the country's human rights violations "could diminish prospects for cooperation and understanding on human rights."Countries supporting the resolution included all the members of the European Union. North Korea, Zimbabwe and Uzbekistan voted with Iran against the motion.Meanwhile, British Members of the European Parliament have also called on UN Secretary General to intervene against the ethnic cleansing of Ahwazi Arabs (click here for details).

http://www.ahwaz.org.uk/2006/11/un-general-assembly-criticises-irans.html

النظام الايراني يحكم بالأعدام على 4 أهوازيين آخرين

أفادت مصادر مطلعة لحزب التضامن الديمقراطي الأهوازي من داخل الأهواز مساء أمس 2006/11/19 بأن المحاكم الثورية في
الأهواز، أصدرت حكما على كل من ريسان السواري وعقيل السواري ومحمد علي السواري وجعفر السواري بالأعدام شنقا بتهمة الضلوع في تفجيرات الأهواز و العمل ضد الأمن القومي الأيراني، وتم احالة الاحكام الى مجلس القضاء الأعلى في طهران .
ويقوم النظام بأصدار هذه الوجبة من الأحكام الجماعية في الوقت الذي تطالب منظمة العفو الدولية ومرصد حقوق الانسان ومنظمة الدفاع عن حقوق السجناء في ايران ومنظمة حقوق الانسان الأهوازية (AHRO)من السلطات بأعادة النظر في هذه الأحكام نظرا لعدم مطابقة سير المحاكمات وطريقة أصدار الأحكام مع المعايير الدولية . فلم يسمح للمحامين الاتصال بالمتهمين الا ساعة واحدة قبل بدء جلسة المحكمة ويتم اصدار الأحكام في يوم واحد .
ومن ناحيته تبنى البرلمان الأوربي قرارا يوم الخميس 2006-11-17 قرارا يدين انتهاك ايران لحقوق الانسان و دعاها الى الغاء أحكام الاعدام الصادرة بحق 10من العرب في الاهواز.
وفي نفس الأطار أصدرت إحدى (المحاكم الثورية) في مدينة الفلاحية أحكاما بإعدام ثلاثة من الاهوازيين وهم كل من عبدالحسين حريبي
وحسين مرمضي وحسين عساكرة.وذلك وفقا لمصادر أهوازية موثوق بها في الداخل.وبهذا يبلغ عدد المحكوم عليهم بالأعدام في الفترة القصيرة الأخيرة 17 حالة وذلك بالرغم من مناشدات الأوساط الدولية بايقاف هذه الأحكام.

اللجنة الأعلامية- حزب التضامن الديمقراطي الاهوازي