IRAN CRACKS DOWN ON AHWAZI ARABS
I've updated a few links on the side bar. Thanks to Dan Brett for emailing a link to British Ahwazi Friendship Society, a great site where you can find news and views on the opposition to Ahamadinejad and Co. from the Ahwazi Arabs of Khuzestan.Things aren't looking too rosy for them at the moment:
The Iranian regime's campaign of political repression against Ahwazi Arabs has intensified.If this is true, it could be the excuse the West needs to properly clamp down on Iran's current regime and start giving meaningful support to those brave enough to stand up to Ahmadinejad and the rest of his bully-boys.
The Deputy Governor of Khuzestan, Mohsen Farokhinejad, claimed that a further 40 suspects have been arrested in connection with the 26 January bombings in Ahwaz, according to the Hamsaieaha newspaper.
The British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) has received the names of seven more of those arrested, in addition to the 40 reported previously. These are:
Hassan Telali son of Mansour
Said Naderi son of Hanshool
Hadi Jalali son of Ghasem
Abdolah Obeidawi son of Haj Rahim
Haj Hossein Obeidawi (teacher)
Hamid Hamidawi (65 years old)
Jamal Obeidi son of Naji
Amnesty International has also sent an urgent action regarding the incarceration of children and imams by the regime. Click here for further details.
According to the Hamsaieaha newspaper, Ahmadinejad signed legislation to give more powers to security forces and militias to clamp down on protests by Ahwazi Arabs. This is in response to demands by the Basij, a quasi-military vigilante group loyal to Iran's mullahs, for sweeping powers to deal "more harshly" against "Arab separatists" in Ahwaz. Basijis have been firebombing Arab-owned businesses. Two weeks ago, a store by owned by Arab businessman Rahim Chaldawi was attacked with hand grenades and fire bombs thrown by Basijis.
Meanwhile, the Iranian government is relocating members of the non-Arab Bakhtiari and Ghashghaei tribes from outside Khuzestan onto land confiscated from Arabs. They have been provided with free land, tractors and cattle as well as cash and credit schemes not available to Arabs. The regime has a long-term goal to ethnically restructure Khuzestan to reduce the proportion of the Arab population from 70 per cent to around a third through forced out-migration of Arabs and enticement of non-Arabs from outside the province.
But as we've seen with Darfur, genocide sometimes isn't enough to convince the world community to act to remove repressive regimes.
posted by Dan @ 4:12 pm
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