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UNPO CONDEMNS INCREASING MINORITIES REPRESSION IN IRAN
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The Hague, 28 July 2005.
Statement released by Nicola Dell’Arciprete, UNPO Assistant General Secretary
The election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in the repression of all Iranian citizens’ freedom, and in particular that of ethnic minorities.
In the Arab-populated region of Khuzestan, 100 days after the recent uprising in Ahwaz, Iranian authorities have arrested 30 Arabs demonstrating against a fraud scandal involving the new regime. Also the recent execution of two young men for alleged homosexuality is a manifestation of the increased discrimination against ethnic Arabs. The London-based Times newspaper reports that the young men executed were originally from the Arab-populated province of Khuzestan.
In the region of Balochistan, the construction of the new India-Pakistan-Iran pipeline is raising concerns over exploitation of natural resources and the supposed threat that indigenous Balochis pose to this enterprise.
Clashes between Iranian authorities and ethnic Kurds have been reported also in the cities of Oshnavieh and Mahabad.
The UNPO condemns the Government’s repressive policies against all the Iranian citizens. Iran is a multi-ethnic country in which half of the population belongs to ethnic minorities such as Azeri, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Kurds, Arabs, Lurs, Balochis, Turkmen. While Iranian minorities are committed to co-existing in peace in a secular, democratic and federal Iran, the government’s policies of discrimination and persecution impede any peaceful change in the region.
The UNPO calls on the European Union and on all governments, which entertain ties with the Iranian Government, to suspend all relations with the Iranian regime until the respect of the most basic human rights for all the Iranian citizens and ethnic minorities is restored.
Statement released by Nicola Dell’Arciprete, UNPO Assistant General Secretary
The election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in the repression of all Iranian citizens’ freedom, and in particular that of ethnic minorities.
In the Arab-populated region of Khuzestan, 100 days after the recent uprising in Ahwaz, Iranian authorities have arrested 30 Arabs demonstrating against a fraud scandal involving the new regime. Also the recent execution of two young men for alleged homosexuality is a manifestation of the increased discrimination against ethnic Arabs. The London-based Times newspaper reports that the young men executed were originally from the Arab-populated province of Khuzestan.
In the region of Balochistan, the construction of the new India-Pakistan-Iran pipeline is raising concerns over exploitation of natural resources and the supposed threat that indigenous Balochis pose to this enterprise.
Clashes between Iranian authorities and ethnic Kurds have been reported also in the cities of Oshnavieh and Mahabad.
The UNPO condemns the Government’s repressive policies against all the Iranian citizens. Iran is a multi-ethnic country in which half of the population belongs to ethnic minorities such as Azeri, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Kurds, Arabs, Lurs, Balochis, Turkmen. While Iranian minorities are committed to co-existing in peace in a secular, democratic and federal Iran, the government’s policies of discrimination and persecution impede any peaceful change in the region.
The UNPO calls on the European Union and on all governments, which entertain ties with the Iranian Government, to suspend all relations with the Iranian regime until the respect of the most basic human rights for all the Iranian citizens and ethnic minorities is restored.
