Ladies and gentlemen and distinguished members of the Canadian Parliament, on behalf of the Balochistan People’s Party, I would like to express our heartfelt thanks and profound gratitude to the Canadian people, the honourable members of the Canadian Parliament and the  Ahwazi- Canadian Centre for the Human rights who facilitated and made this opportunity possible.  

Balochistan People’s Party sincerely values the opportunity provided to us to bring to the Canadian people and to the world attention, the solution which in our view will result in solving the plight of the oppressed people in Iran.

Today, millions of Iranians people have been forced to flee Iran and live in exile because their basic human rights were not been monitored very closely by the international community.

Thousands of Iranian young and old men and women being kept in jails and tortured to death because of trying to exercise and defend their basic humanitarian and democratic rights.

History will never ever forget and forgive the slaughter of several thousands of Iranian young political prisoners that took place within two weeks in the summer of 1988 by the direct order of the current Iran's fanatic Islamic regime’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

Human rights abuse has not stopped with in the Iranian borders. The wave of the human rights violation has even touched and reached the Canadian people. I am sure no one of you has forgotten the death under torture of the Canadian reporter Zahra Kazemi in the hands of the Islamic regimes secret service agents.

Although Islamic regime’s human rights record is obvious and clear for most of us, but I would like to discuss and bring to your attention the Human Rights violation in a part of today’s Iran, called Balochistan. Iran is multinational and multi cultural country consisting of six major nationalities, Ahwazi Arab, Azerbaijani Turk, Baloch, Kurd, Persian and Turkmen, a country that not only the basic human rights denied by the Fanatic and chauvinistic rulers of the dominant nation, but also in addition to that, the national and cultural rights of the none dominant nationalities is violently denied and suppressed as well.

Let me be specific about the Islamic regime’s characteristic policies in Balochistan where I belong to and am a victim myself:

Balochistan, “the land of the Baloch” is presently subjugated by three countries of Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. It is strategically situated in the Iranian plateau at the eastern flank of the Middle East, linking the Central Asian states with the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean. It possesses the coast of the Northern part of Oman Sea from the strait of Hormoze to Karachi.

Balochistan as the 2^nd largest province of Iran covers a large part of southern and South Eastern part of today’s Iran borders, from the Strait of Hormoz to Gwatter a small town near the Oman Sea that is divided between Iran and Pakistan and the whole border with Pakistan and partially with Afghanistan.

 Bloch whose population is about four millions in Iran, has its own national identity which is based on its own language, culture and its historical territory which is different from the dominant nation's identity, and the high majority of them are Sunni Muslims. For having these differences they are systematically being treated as the third class citizens in Iran.

In 1928 Western Part of Balochistan was forcibly annexed by Iran. Since then the policies of the Iranian regimes in Balochistan are characterised by persistence violation of human rights. Under the previous monarchist and the current Islamic regimes of Iran, the Baloch people have always been deprived of their cultural, social, economic, and other fundamental human rights.

- Bloch children are barred from receiving education in their mother language, and do not receive proper education facilities, hence not equipped with the competent knowledge to enter in the Iranian Universities. Those who succeed after passing many hurdles are excluded in other processes where religion affiliations are tested.

- In the employment market Bloch young men and women face a combination of obstructions; language, culture and religion differences. They are excluded, simply, because of being Bloch. Most of young men and women are forced to leave Balochistan to the neighbouring countries in search for Job.

- Successive Iranian governments have been engaged in demographic manipulations to systematically reduce the Baloch people population to a minority in their own homeland.

- In addition, among the many repressive policies is the destruction of the homes of poor Baloch people and their displacement. This is done in order to provide the best located land to the non-Baloch, specifically to the Security Forces, which are brought in from other parts of Iran to carry out the regime’s chauvinistic policies.

The Government’s policy has been based on easy access of non-Bloch people to purchase best agricultural, business and residential land at a cheap price and set up governmental sourced and facilitated businesses.

While the international community, international media and opinions are focusing on regime’s stand off on nuclear weapons issue, the Islamic regime is using this crisis to suppress Bloch people collectively.

During the last 6 months, the Iranian regime has increased its oppressive policies in Balochistan; it is collectively punishing Baloch people especially its security forces have increased killing young Baloch under different pretext.  Since May 2006 the regime started a military operation in Balochistan where several hundred civilians have been arrested and tortured in jails and about 200 Baloch have been killed so far in the check points, at home or have been hanged in public places.

Every day, all across Balochistan, young Baloch get executed by the decree of Hojjatol Islam Mohammad Ibrahim Nekoonaam the Islamic revolutionary judge for Balochistan, as well as being kidnapped and killed by the Special secret force of spiritual leader Ayatollah Khamenehei named “Mersad” or get killed in “planned” accidents leaving every day some Baloch families mourning for the loss of their beloved ones.

Here are some factual atrocities just within the last Nine months of clearly alienating and violating the human rights and increasing the tension and unrest in Balochistan  since the current president of the Islamic regime of Iran  Mr Ahmadinejaad took the power;

- In the first week of January 2006 in the city of Raask in Balochistan two young students driving a car, failed to observe the temporary set up security forces stop sign, the security forces chased while shooting at them in a crowded area. Consequently the two young men in the car with another by passer were killed and left one injured.  Till now, none of the perpetrators have been prosecuted.

- On 22 of January 2006 in Provincial Capital Dozaap (Zahedan) three youngsters (Abdullah Nutizhai age 15 years, Ruhala Nutizhi age 16 years and Masoud Shabaksh age 18 years) were riding on a motorbike to visit a sick cousin in a hospital. The regime’s security forces approaching from the behind deliberately hit the motorbike. When these youngsters fell to the ground the security forces shot them while grabbing their half dead bodies and beating them with the stock of their guns. Two of them were killed at the scene and one sustained severe injuries, taken and admitted to hospital by witnesses. Again no one has been prosecuted.

- On Monday 10th of April 2006, three Baloch clerics, Molavi Nea'matulla Mirbalochzahi, Molavi Abdul Hakim Gamshadzahi, Molavi Abdullah Narooi and their two associates were killed in a mysterious car accident. The so called accident happened in a way that the target car travelling from Zahedan (provincial capital) was hit by an empty unmarked bus which was occupied only by its driver and his assistant. Having experienced many times this way of killing opponents by the Iranian regime for over a decade, the Baloch people are questioning this so called accident and holding the Iranian Intelligence services responsible for this suspicious killing.

- Towards the end April 2006, two young Baloch men that were working as gasoline sellers on the road between cities of Zahedan and Bam were involved in a car accident. Mersaad a paramilitary group that works under the direct order of the Iranian supreme leader Mr Khamenaie, were the first to get to the scene. After checking the injured identities and finding them ethnically Baloch and Sunni, instead of getting help they got shot on the spot.

- Since Monday 15th of May 2006 the Islamic Republic has launched a massive military operation against Baloch people in Balochistan. The Iranian Army using helicopter gun ships and air strikes to kill innocent Baloch. To justify the current army operation in Balochistan the regime accused Baloch militant resistance organizations.

- June 20, 2006; a man (Gholam Qaljaee) has been hanged in a prison in the city of Zabol.

- July 12, 2006; four men (Mehdi Zehri, Houshang Kiani, Jamaloddin Jamali, Abdol-Rahman, Safarzhai ) were hanged in public in city of Zabol and one (Majeed Rigi) in Zahedan the Province capital of Balochistan. The five were accused of “instigating trouble”.

- Between 15 and 17 August, in different attacks in villages in Iran-Shahr district 5 people were killed. 

- On the 7^th August a young man named Najib Karzi was hanged accused of being a member of Baloch Resistance group which later on appeared to be a an Afghan building worker without any connection to the armed resistance groups.

- 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, where they were forced out of their homes.

- On 24 of August  Amir Hamzeh Eidouzehi a young man was hanged in public in Khash and Another young men Ali Jan Moradi was hanged in Iran-Shahr on 27 August 2006 all accused of anti government rebels.

- On 21 September Mr Abdolali Baloch and Mr Mohammad Shibak got hanged in the prison of Zahedan.

- On 23 September Mr Shah Mohammad Barakzahi and Nader Rigi hanged in the prison of Zahedan.

- On Sunday 24 September, Mr Khodamorad Lashkar Zadeh, Nezar Ali Karimi and Mr Gholam Koohkan  got hanged in public respectively in  Zahedan, Iranshahr and Zabol . All  accused of the bogus charge of drug issues.  

Balochistan People’s Party appeals to the international community to do not allow the Iranian regime to use its current nuclear crisis with the international community to suppress Baloch and other oppressed nations by accusing them of being Western powers corporates. We request the  international community to send a fact finding mission to see the damage that have been caused by the latest military operation, persecution, arrests and executions in Balochistan. 

Our Party strongly believes that we the people of Iran historically have suffered and still suffering from not having the opportunity of exercising our humanitarian and basic democratic rights.

For the achievement of our rights, change of the theocratic regime of Iran towards establishing a democratic system is the first and inevitable step.

At the same time we believe that the right of self determination for the suffered and oppressed ethnics in Iran would be the core of implementing democracy in Iran. With out solving this principal  and historical crisis of national sovereignty, there never would be a practical and lasting democratic system Iran.

Balochistan People’s Party believes that the only way to save the people of Iran, Middle East, Central Asia and of course the world from the respectively oppression, interference in internal affairs, terrorist activities of this regime, is to change it before it acquires nuclear weapons.

We should act together before it is too late, and before this fanatic regime arms itself with nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Under nuclear protection this regime will spread and support international terrorism and extremism and will continue to suppress its own people.

The opposition amongst the oppressed nationalities because of their experience of the former monarchist regime and the current theocratic regime during the last few years, have closely worked together and by being united have developed a secular, democratic and federal structure that could put Iran to a democratic path after the regime change.

 Unlike past years, now, there is a united opposition against the Iranian government. The Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran that consisting of almost all political parties and organizations which struggling to establish a federal, secular and a democratic government, based on parity of the constituent parts in Iran, along with the Front of Oppressed Nations for the Right of Self-Determination , can serve as a catalyst and organizing factor for a united opposition to change the terrorist and extremist government of Iran.

Last but not least word, we need your support. We need the international communities support in order to achieve our humanitarian and democratic goals.

Thank you all for patiently listening to my speech.

Rahim Bandoui, 2e spokesperson for the Balochistan People's Party.

Contact@BalochPeople.org