حزب مردم بلوچستان Balochistan People’s Party بلوچستانءِ اُستمانءِ گــَل
Today.Az » Politics » Balochis and
Azeris rally in London against Iran's executions
16 November 2006 [13:47] - Today.Az
Balochi and Azeri groups have united behind the campaign for a halt in
Iran's campaign of executions and ethnic cleansing against Ahwazis.
The Balochistan Peoples Party will participate in the demonstration outside
the Iranian Embassy in London on Saturday from 1pm. Like the Ahwazis, the
Balochis - a mostly Sunni nation located on either side of the Iran-Pakistan
border - are facing mass executions as the Iranian regime attempts to quash
a growing rebellion in Balochistan. During the last two years the Iranian
intelligence agencies, particularly the Mersad group, appear to have
followed a policy of "shoot and kill" instead of arresting young Baloch
accused of being members of the Baloch resistance movement. The Iranian
regime has launched a series of military operations and "war games" in
Balochistan, using both helicopter gun-ships and air strikes. According to
government's own media sources, the regime has shot, executed or hanged,
more than 200 Baloch individuals over the past few months, relying heavily
on accusations of drug smuggling, anti revolutionary activities, and
cooperation with the United States and Great Britain.
Balochis have been preyed upon by the Iranian regime. On 23 August 2006, the
Marsad Group attacked a village near Zahidan, the provincial capital of
Balochistan, and killed two young men in front of women and children. They
were forced out of their homes, to search for the members of resistance
movement and weapons. The two young men had protested against the ill
treatment of the women. On the 24th of August Amir Hamzeh Eidouzehi, a young
man, was hanged in public in Baloch town of Khash, and another young men,
Ali Jan Moradi, was hanged in IranShahr on 27 August 2006, both were accused
of instigating public trouble and drug trafficking, a sentenced without
trail. On the 24th of September three men identified as Ali Karimi, Gholam
Koohkan, and Khodamorad Lashkarzadeh, were hanged in prison in provincial
capital Zahedan. These dissidents were also executed on charges of drug
smuggling and convicted without trial.
Azeri Turks, comprising around a third of the Iranian population and also
subject to racism in Iran, have also backed the campaign to halt the
execution of Ahwazis. The Azerbaijani Youth Association is lobbying the
European Parliament and European governments to take action. A
representative wrote to the British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS),
saying: "It is with great concern that I have heard about Ahwazis in Iran
facing execution. When it comes to life we make no difference on if they are
Arabs or Turks. We must show solidarity with each other and together fight
against these fascists."
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Balochistan observes ‘black day’ to mark Musharraf’s visit
staff report
http://dailytimes.com.pk/
17-11-2006
QUETTA: Balochistan observed a
black day and went on a complete shutter-down strike on Thursday as
President General Pervez Musharraf paid his first visit to the volatile
southwestern province since the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.
Police simultaneously rounded up more than 100 political activists,
including National Party (NP) Secretary General Mir Hasil Khan Bezanjo.
Business activities came to a complete standstill throughout Balochistan as
a peaceful but organised black day and shutter-down strike was observed in
the Baloch capital of Quetta and almost all districts of the province on the
behest of the Baloch nationalist group, the National Party.
The Pashtoon nationalist outfit, the Pashtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party as well
as the Pakistan Peoples Party, backed the call for the strike and black day.
Most shops and business centres in Quetta remained closed from dawn till
dusk. This included shops in the busy business centres along Jinnah Road,
Prince Road, Liaquat Bazar, Sariab Road, Zargoon Road and Abdul Sattar
Market.
“The call for the strike was meant to protest General Musharraf’s visit. His
hands are red with Baloch blood. We can’t welcome him amid relentless
military operations against our innocent people,” said one National Party
leader.
Sources said that all three districts of the Mekran Division – Turbat,
Panjgur and Gwadar – also observed a complete shutter-down strike and a
black day as President Musharraf arrived in Turbat to inaugurate the Mirani
Dam mega project. The province-wide strike was observed by opposition
parties in the wake of the president’s first visit to the province since the
death of former Balochistan Governor and Chief Minister Nawab Akbar Khan
Bugti who was killed mysteriously on August 26.
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European Parliament Adopts Resolution on Minorities in Iran
2006-11-17
http://www.unpo.org/article.php?id=5859
The European Parliament adopted last night an
extensive resolution on the present situation in
UNPO and Member
representatives have worked closely with MEPs responsible for the
resolution, and have urged and successfully campaigned for the inclusion of
a number of Ahwazi-Arab activists presently facing the threat of imminent
execution, following secretive and widely condemned trials on charges
relating to terrorism and Mohareb (enmity with God). The European Parliament
has now joined UNPO and a large number of politicians, activists and
international institutions, in calling on the Iranian Government to
immediately halt their executions, and to reconsider their widespread use of
the death penalty as a means of silencing political opposition. The
Resolution also expresses concern about the methods of execution still
widespread in
The Resolution in full:
European Parliament
resolution on
P6_TA-PROV(2006)0503
B6-0597 , 0602 , 0604 , 0607 , 0609 and
0614/2006
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions
on
– having regard to the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to all of
which Iran is a party,
– having regard to the EU-Iran Human Rights
Dialogue,
– having regard to the 8th EU Annual Report
on Human Rights (2006), adopted by the Council on 17 October 2006,
– having regard to the EU Presidency
statement of 20 December 2005 on the EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue,
– having regard to the Council Conclusions
of 10 to 11 April, 15 to 16 May and 17 July 2006, the Council statement of
26 July 2006 on Freedom of Expression, the Council statement of 5 May 2006
on Human Rights in Iran, the Council statement of 24 August 2006 on the
death of Akbar Mohammadi and the imprisonment of Manouchehr Mohammadi and
the Council statement of 5 October 2006 on Freedom of the Press,
– having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules
of Procedure,
General situation
A. whereas the situation in Iran regarding
the exercise of civil rights and political freedoms has deteriorated in the
last year, notably since the presidential elections of June 2005, despite
several commitments by the Iranian authorities to promote universal values,
B. whereas
Political prisoners
C. whereas the Iranian authorities have
announced that a report prepared by the judiciary had produced detailed
evidence of human rights violations, including torture and ill-treatment of
prisoners and detainees in prisons and detention centres, but also had
confirmed that measures had been taken to address the problems identified,
D. whereas nonetheless the practice of
torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, solitary confinement, clandestine
detention, cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment and impunity for State
agents continue to be widespread,
E. concerned that the Centre for Defence of
Human Rights (CDHR), co-founded by the 2003 Nobel peace laureate Shirin
Ebadi and provider of pro-bono legal defence to Zahra Kazemi, Akbar Ganji
and Abdoulfatah Soltani, was declared an illegal organisation by President
Ahmadinejad in August 2006 and that the Ministry of the Interior has
threatened those who continued their activities with prosecution,
Prosecution of juvenile
offenders
F. deeply concerned about the increasing
reports regarding the sentencing to death and execution of juvenile
offenders, while noting that
Minority rights
G. whereas some minority rights are granted
by the Iranian Constitution, such as the right of minorities to their own
language, but to a large extent such rights cannot be exercised in practice;
whereas in recent months minority groups have demonstrated, calling to be
allowed to exercise such rights, which has led large-scale imprisonment of
participants,
H. whereas the Azeris, the largest ethnic
minority in Iran, were openly offended by cartoons as an ethnic minority
grouping by a State-owned daily newspaper in May 2006; whereas other
minorities continue to be discriminated against and harassed due to their
religious or ethnic background, such as the Kurds and the inhabitants of the
area around Ahwaz city, the provincial capital of the ethnic Arab-dominated
Khuzestan province, who are for example 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,
Freedom of religion
I. whereas, apart from Islam, only
Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Judaism are recognised as religions by law,
while those who practise unrecognised religions, such as Baha'is and Sufis,
are discriminated against and violently repressed; whereas notably the
Baha'is cannot exercise their religion and are moreover consequently
deprived of all civil rights, such as their rights to property and access to
higher education,
J. whereas even members of the clergy
opposing Iran's theocratic regime are at risk, as witnessed by the case of
Ayatollah Sayed Bouroujerdi, who was arrested with his followers in October
2006, and whereas they are still detained,
Freedom of the press
K. particularly concerned about the
increasing reports of arbitrary arrests of and threats against journalists,
cyber-journalists and webloggers; whereas at least 16 journalists have
reportedly been arrested since the beginning of the year, ranking Iran among
the very worst countries in the world for the prosecution of journalists and
for its crackdown on press freedom by closing virtually all critical
newspapers and online magazines, in which connection family members are
being harassed, travel bans imposed on journalists and satellite dishes
confiscated,
L. whereas, according to reports, the
Iranian authorities are increasingly filtering internet sites and blocking
access to several dozen online publications and political, social and
cultural weblogs; whereas, by preventing free use of the internet, the
Iranian authorities are cracking down on the Iranian public's only means of
access to uncensored information,
Women's rights
M. whereas
N. whereas demonstrations for legal reforms
to end discrimination against women have been broken up and participants
have been arrested, although later released again,
Violation of other rights
O. whereas in September 2006 President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad openly called for a purge of liberal and secular
academics in the universities, whereas the Iranian Government is
increasingly barring university students from pursing their higher education
despite the fact that they have passed competitive entrance exams, and
whereas the judiciary has prosecuted numerous students and sentenced them to
imprisonment, fines or flogging during the past year,
P. whereas people are still imprisoned and
at times executed for sexual offences, inter alia for adult consensual
sexual activity between unmarried persons and homosexuals,
Q. whereas in 2005 Iran accounted for the
second highest number of executions worldwide, 282 sentences of capital
punishment being reported, of which 111 cases were executed between October
2005 and September 2006; highly concerned, moreover, that people are still
being condemned to death by stoning despite the moratorium on stoning
imposed in December 2002, and notably in this regard women for crimes of
sexual misconduct,
R. having regard to the announcement by the
Head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran in April 2004 that
torture would be banned and to the subsequent reform of legislation by the
Iranian Parliament, approved by the Guardian Council in May 2004,
S. whereas in December 2006 there will be
elections to the Assembly of Experts, a pillar of the clerical establishment
which chooses and supervises the work of the supreme leader, as well as
Council elections; whereas for the Council elections it has been reported
that in the electoral districts of Rey and Shemiranat nominees have been
refused registration and for the Assembly elections the reformists have
threatened an election boycott if all nominees are not admitted,
T. deeply concerned at the failure to comply
fully with international standards in the administration of justice, the
absence of guarantees of due process of law and the absence of respect for
internationally recognised legal safeguards,
Violation of
international obligations
U. whereas Iran has not agreed to a further
round of the EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue that was established in 2002 and
whereas, after the fourth round held on 14 to 15 June 2004, Iran ceased
participation, despite repeated efforts by the EU over the last year and the
current year to offer dates for a fifth round,
V. whereas EU relations with Iran have been
based on a threefold approach, characterised by negotiations on a trade and
cooperation agreement, political dialogue and a human rights dialogue, and
whereas the political dialogue has been suspended because of the current
Iranian position on its nuclear programme,
General situation
1. Expresses its serious concern about the
deterioration of the human rights situation in
2. Calls upon
Political prisoners
3. Calls on the Iranian authorities to
accelerate the process of investigation into the suspicious deaths and
killings of intellectuals and political activists, to bring the alleged
perpetrators to justice and to unconditionally provide adequate medical
assistance to those prisoners who are in poor health;
4. Calls on the Iranian authorities to
unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience, notably Keyvan Ansari,
Keyvan Rafii, Kheirollah Derakhshandi, Abolfazl Jahandar and Koroush Zaim;
5. Welcomes in this context the recent
release of former Member of the Iranian Parliament Sayed Ali Akbar
Mousavi-Kho'ini, as well as the earlier releases of Ramin Jahanbegloo and
Akbar Ganji; expects that Mr Ganji, who was invited to the European
Parliament in October, will be able to return to
Prosecution of juvenile
offenders
6. Is appalled that there are still cases of
executions of minors and sentences of stoning and that, despite government
assurances, at least two sentences of stoning have been carried out;
7. Strongly condemns the death penalty as
such, condemns in particular death sentences passed against and executions
of juvenile offenders and minors, and calls upon the Iranian authorities to
respect internationally recognised legal safeguards with regard to minors
such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
Minority rights
8. Calls upon the authorities to respect
internationally recognised legal safeguards with regard to persons belonging
to religious minorities, officially recognised or otherwise; condemns the
current lack of respect for minority rights and demands that minorities be
allowed to exercise all rights granted by the Iranian Constitution and
international law; further 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;
9. Remains concerned about the fate of the
lawyer Saleh Kamrani, who defended Azeri Turks in a law suit and disappeared
on 14 June 2006; 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;
Freedom of the press
10. Reminds the Government of Iran of its
obligations, as a signatory to the International Covenants on Civil and
Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to safeguard
fundamental human rights, notably the freedom of opinion, and calls for the
release of all imprisoned journalists and webloggers, including Motjaba
Saminejad, Ahmad Raza Shiri, Arash Sigarchi and Masoud Bastani;
11. Condemns the arrests and imprisonment of
cyber-journalists and webloggers and the parallel censorship of several
online publications, weblogs and internet sites, as these are the most
uncensored source of news to the Iranian people; also condemns the wave of
arbitrary arrests of journalists as well as the severe restriction and, in
particular, the closure of media in Iran;
12. Calls on the Iranian Parliament to amend
the Iranian Press Law and the Penal Code to bring them into line with the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and notably to repeal
all criminal provisions dealing with the peaceful expression of opinions,
including in the press;
Freedom of religion
13. Calls on the Iranian authorities to
eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds; notably
calls for the de facto ban on practising the Baha'i faith to be lifted;
14. Expresses its concern about the arrest
of the two lawyers Farshid Yadollahi and Omid Behrouzi, who received prison
sentences while defending Sufis in Qom; expresses equally its concern for
the safety of Ayatollah Sayad Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, who has been
advocating for years the separation of religion from the political basis of
the State and who has been rearrested, reportedly with more than 400 of his
followers;
Women's rights
15. Expresses its concern about the
continuous discrimination in law and in practice against women, despite some
progress; condemns the use of violence and discrimination against women in
Iran, which remains a serious problem; further condemns the use of violence
by the Iranian security forces against women who had gathered earlier this
year to celebrate International Women's Day on 8 March 2006; condemns
furthermore the Iranian security forces' violent disruption of a peaceful
demonstration on 12 June 2006 by women and men advocating an end to legal
discrimination against women in Iran;
16. Urges
Violation of other rights
17. Strongly condemns the open call by
President Ahmadinejad for a purge of liberal and secular academics in the
universities and calls for all those expelled to be allowed to return and to
teach according to the elementary rights of academic freedom;
18. Deeply deplores the deaths of student
activist Akbar Mahdavi Mohammadi and political prisoner Valiollah Feyz as a
result of their hunger strikes and calls for the release of Manoucher
Mohammadi; requests that students should not be barred from higher education
due to their peaceful political activities;
19. Demands that adult consensual sexual
activity by unmarried persons should not lead to prosecution; further
demands that people should not be imprisoned or executed on grounds of their
sexual orientation;
20. Calls on the Iranian authorities to give
evidence that they are implementing their declared moratorium on stoning,
and demands the immediate and strict implementation of the ban on torture as
announced, passed by the Iranian Parliament and approved by the Guardian
Council; moreover demands that the Islamic Penal Code of Iran be reformed in
order to abolish stoning;
21. Is deeply concerned that for the
upcoming elections nominees once again have not been able to register and
that reformists will boycott the elections due to the undemocratic
procedures for the listing of candidates for the elections;
22. Calls upon the Iranian authorities to
make efforts to ensure the full application of due process of law and fair,
transparent procedures by the judiciary, to ensure respect for the rights of
the defence and the equity of verdicts in all types of court;
European initiatives
23. Calls on Iran to recommence the EU-Iran
Human Rights Dialogue with the European Union and, further, calls upon the
Council and the Commission to closely monitor developments in Iran and also
to raise concrete cases of human rights abuses as the basic condition for
progress in EU-Iran economic and trade relations;
24. Calls on the Commission, in close
cooperation with the European Parliament, to make effective use of the new
Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights in order to ensure democracy and
respect for human rights in Iran, for example by supporting uncensored
media;
25. Calls on the Council to examine the way
in which Parliament may become involved in the regular updating of Council
Common Position 2001/931/CFSP of 27 December 2001 on the application of
specific measures to combat terrorism(1) , taking into account developments
from 2001 onwards;
26. Welcomes the first visit by a Majlis
delegation to the European Parliament in October and expresses its hope that
these fruitful exchanges, as well as this resolution, will form part of a
continuous dialogue which will lead to a gradual rapprochement between Iran
and the European Union on the basis of shared values as enshrined in the UN
Charter and Conventions;
27. Instructs its President to forward this
resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative for CFSP,
the governments and parliaments of the
(1) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 93.
Link to European Parliament Text
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Outcry as Iran
set for 11 public hangings
Nov 2006
The Scotsman
By Margaret Neighbour
Tehran's hardline Islamic regime is preparing to publicly hang 11 Iranian
Arabs convicted of "enmity with God" for their alleged involvement in a
bombing campaign in which over 20 were killed last year, after what rights
activists say were summary, secret trials.
The executions are due to take place by Monday, according to Iranian media
reports. The intention apparently is to disperse the hangings in several
cities with largely Arab populations in order to spread fear, activists say.
Campaigners insist the men are innocent and paying the price for merely
hailing from the disadvantaged Arab minority.
Their heavily edited "confessions" were shown on television on Monday night
after months of incarceration in which they were tortured and their families
threatened, the British Ahwazi Friendship Society said.
The pending executions are raising a storm of protest from British MPs. The
human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, backed by Labour MP Chris Bryant
and Tory MP Michael Gove, is urging the government to petition Iran to
commute the executions.
The sentences were imposed after swift trials behind closed doors which
human-rights groups say did not meet international standards.
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Baloch and Arabs gathered in London to Condemn Iran
http://gedrosia.blogspot.com
Saturday November 18, 06- A
demonstration was held out side Iranian embassy in London by Baloch and Arab
of Iran against the indiscriminate hangings of Baloch and Arabs by Iranian
authorities in Iran.
The demonstration chanted slogans against Iranian injustices and
discrimination against Baloch, Arabs and Kurds. They called current Iranian
rulers as fascists and said that the solution was none other than total
separation from the Persian dominated state of Iran.
The chanted slogans included ‘Baloch want; freedom, Arab want; freedom,
Kurdish want; freedom’. They also shouted ‘justice for Arab, justice for
Baloch and justice for Kurds’.
All Arabs were flying the flag of Arab Ahwaz and Baloch were gathered under
the Sun on Green, Red and Blue flag of Balochistan.
The gathering was addressed by Rahim Bandui from BPP, Jamshid Ameeri from
BUF-Democrats who spoke on the injustices from the Baloch prospective and
others from Arabs and Kurd side.
Photos of the Demonstration:
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Baloch want independent homeland:
Bizenjo
By Shahid Husain
19-11-2006
KARACHI: Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo,
Secretary-General of the National Party said on Friday there was an urge
among the people of Balochistan to have an independent homeland but it was
essentially a result of frustration generated by the country’s ruling elite
that was adamant to suppress Baloch nationalism through use of force.
“An urge is something different from a movement. I agree that there is an
urge among the Baloch to emerge as an independent nation. There are no two
opinions about it. But this urge is a result of frustration,” he told The
News. “Even those, who want reconciliation, are being treated badly by the
establishment,” he added.
The comment by Bizenjo, a former leader of Baloch Students Organisation (BSO),
appears to be a forewarning in the wake of an article written by well-known
American scholar Selig S Harrison and an authority on Baluchistan in French
newspaper Le Monde diplomatique.
“Only 2,260 Baluch fled their villages in August to escape bombing and
strafing by the US-supplied F-16 fighter jets and Cobra helicopter gunships
of the Pakistan Air Force, but as casualty figures mount, it will be harder
to ignore the human costs of the Baloch independence struggle and its
political repercussions in other restive minority regions of multi-ethnic
Pakistan,” Harrison, director for the Asia Centre for International Policy,
Washington, said in an article “Pakistan’s Baluch insurgency” published in
October 2006.
“The big difference between earlier phases of the Baloch struggle and the
present one is that Islamabad has so far not been able to play off feuding
tribes against each other. Equally importantly, it faces a unified
nationalist movement under younger leadership drawn not only from tribal
leaders but also from an emergent, literate Baloch middle class that did not
exist three decades ago,” Harrison, author of “In Afghanistan’s Shadow:
Baluch nationalism and Soviet Temptations”, said.
Commenting on Harrison’s analysis, Bizenjo said the people of former East
Pakistan were willing to be part of a federation that ensured their rights
but they were forced by the then military junta to go for independence.
“We have records of at least 300 people hailing from Balochistan who have
gone ‘missing’ but thousands more ‘disappeared’ from the Marri-dominated
Kohlu region and nobody knows about their fate,” he said.
About reports on Friday that he himself was “missing” after security
agencies picked him up in Gwadar, he said: “I reached Gwadar on November 15
for preparations for a strike called by our party. At about midnight police
and other security agencies raided the place where I was staying. I was kept
at a police station during the night and then a police mobile dropped me in
Sher Shah at about 3.30 on Friday morning,” he said. “I did not get any
formal orders that I was being expelled to any other province but was told
that I could not visit Gwadar,” he said.
Bizenjo dismissed the notion that Baloch were anti-development. “In the name
of development the government has so far constructed two highways-Gwadar-Rato
Dero Highway and Gwadar-Uthal Highway-but we need more highways. The cost
incurred on these highways is only a fraction of our share of highways,” he
said.
“Nobody ever interfered when these highways were being constructed,” he
elaborated. He went on to say that the much-trumpted Mirani dam was
conceived by late Ghulam Ishaq Khan, when he was a director of the Planning
and Development Department. “But today an impression is being given as if
the idea of building the Mirani dam was conceived by the present
government,” he said.
Asked whether or not his party was in favour of the Women’s Protection Bill,
passed by the National Assembly the other day, he said the National Party
was a secular, democratic party and it hails the passage of the bill but
that does not mean it condones the policies of the Musharraf regime.
http://www.thenews.com.pk
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Draft resolution on violating human rights in Iran adopted by UN General Assembly
24-11-2006
UN General Assembly adopted a draft resolution on violating human rights in
Iran initiated by Canada, European Union member-states and the USA.
70 states including, Ukraine and Moldova, supported the resolution on Iran;
48 states including Azerbaijan opposed to its adoption; other 55 UN
member-states abstained from voting. Torturing in Iran, discrimination of
ethnic minorities, intimidation and persecution of political opponents,
human rights activists, religious ‘dissidents,’ journalists, and NGOs’
representatives in Iran are stressed in the resolution. Authors of the
resolution paid attention to violating international norms in the process of
administration of law in Iran, usage of cruel, inhuman or disgracing methods
of treatment and punishment including such ones like flogging and amputation
of extremities.
It is said in the document that the General Assembly expresses extreme
concern about conducting mass public executions. Delegations called on
Tehran to join the Convention against Torture and to put an end to impunity
for violating human rights due to making responsible those guilty. They
called Iran to abolish public executions and to liquidate all forms of
discrimination and force against women, as well as discrimination in
accordance with religious, ethnic, and language signs. Tehran was
recommended to refuse to oppress minorities, in particular, Arabs, Azeris,
followers of Baha’i faith, Baluchi, Kurds, Christians, Jews, followers of
Sufism and Sunnis; Azeri Press Agency informs.
http://www.regnum.ru/english/744302.html
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Two Baloch leaders named in bomb blast case
Islamabad, Nov. 24 (PTI): A
case has been lodged against Baloch leaders Mir Suleman Daud Ahmedzai and
Mohd Aslam Bhotani in connection with a bomb blast outside the residence of
a district officer in February.
The two Baloch leaders have openly criticised the Pakistan's army air strike
in Dera Bugti in August which left their leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti dead
and are planning to approach the International Court of Justice against
Islamabad's alleged violation of a 1947 agreement on merger of Balochistan
province.
Official media reports here said that Khan Kalat, Mir Suleman Daud Ahmedzai
and Deputy Speaker Balochistan Assembly Mohammad Bhotani has been named by
District Coordination Officer, Dera Bugti, Abdul Samad Lasi in connection
with a bomb blast outside his house in Hub town.
While naming the two in the case, Lasi claimed that the blast had caused him
serious financial loss.
Lasi said he could not record his statement earlier as he could not visit
his residence in Hub during the last ten months due to his official
engagements in Dera Bugti."My house was closed during this period as I had
shifted all my family members to Karachi after the blast", he was quoted by
the state-run APP news agency as saying.
Pakistani security forces yesterday registered a case of treason against one
of the grandsons of slain Baloch nationalist leader for speaking against the
Army and the government.
http://www.hindu.com
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Over 350 BNP workers held, says Mengal
Dawn
By Amanullah Kasi
QUETTA, Nov 26: Balochistan National Party (Mengal) president Sardar Akhtar
Mengal has said that law-enforcement agencies have arrested over 350 leaders
and workers of the party from different parts of the province to stop long
march planned by the BNP.
Speaking at a press conference in Hub town on Sunday, he said the government
was scared of BNP-M’s ‘Lashkar-i-Balochistan’ long march from Gwadar to
Quetta on Nov 30.
By arresting party leaders and workers, the government wants to sabotage the
long march," Sardar Mengal said. However, he added, despite the arrests the
march would start according to the programme.
He said the government was aware that thousands of people would take part in
the march as they had participated in the long march of the BNP-M after the
death of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.
He said the government had failed to gather Baloch Sardars for the official
Jirga convened by the federal government.
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Baloch leader put under house-arrest ahead of anti-Govt march
Zeenews
Islamabad, Nov 28: A Baloch
nationalist leader has been put under house-arrest ahead of a planned
anti-government "long march" in Pakistan's restive southwestern province of
Baluchistan.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal, president of Balochistan National Party (BNP), has
planned to lead the march on November 30 from the port city of Gwadar to
Quetta, the provincial capital.
Mengal was detained at his house near the town of hub last night "to
maintain peace and order", police said.
He led a rally at hub yesterday and criticised the government's policies.
BNP claimed that police have arrested about 70 of its activists and local
leaders from different areas in the province and are continuing raids for
more arrests.
The march will terminate at Quetta on December 11, where the BNP central
leaders will address a public meeting.
The party's secretary general Habib Jalib said the march has been organised
against the construction of military cantonments, mega projects,
"extra-judicial killings" in the province and the killing of tribal leader
Nawab Akbar Bugti.
Mengal yesterday said that the march, named "Lashkar-e-Balochistan", would
be held as per plans despite the arrests of his group's workers and leaders.
He said the long march would be tantamount to a "vote" against the
government's policies.
Bureau Report