Balochistan are located in south-eastern Iran, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, countries with their own significant Baloch populations. It is strategically situated at the eastern flank of the Middle East, linking the Central Asian states with the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean. It occupies the northern part of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea from the Strait of Hormuz to Gwater, a small village divided between Iran and Pakistan. Some estimates put the Baloch population in Iran at over four million, (The Economist, 1 June 2006).

Western Balochistan was annexed by Iran after the defeat of Baloch forces by Reza Shah’s Army in 1928. The reign of the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran was also the beginning of a centralized state structure with a unified national identity based on Persian national features, where the Persian language, Persian race, and Shiite religion were given prominence. The Pahlavi regime laid the political and constitutional foundations that have allowed subsequent regimes to discriminate on people based on ethnic differences, by adopting a policy of forced assimilation of other nationalities into the Persian national identity.

Colonization of Balochistan by Iran

Balochistan status as best could be described as a colony of the Iranian state, rather than as part of the country. The Iranian state has institutionalised discrimination by undermining the equality of the citizens by restricting the rights of none dominant nationalities based on religious and linguistic differences with the Persian nation. It treats Baloch as third class citizens, discriminating them in all level of social cultural and economic spheres:

Social and Economic discrimination

The Baloch face particular discrimination in the job market. For instance, during the Shahs regime only two Baloch were serving in the provincial administration in Zahedan, holding the lowest paid jobs. All others were non-locals. The situation has not changed during the current theocratic regime. During a tour by former President Khatami to Balochistan he had an audience with the provincial authorities. Of those present only one was Baloch: the representative for Zahedan in the National Assembly. Members of the National Assembly are elected in controlled and undemocratic elections in Iran. Situation has deteriated during Ahmadinezhads presidency.

Linguistic Discrimination

The use of the Balochi language is forbidden in formal and public places, and Baloch children are deprived of using their mother tongue as the medium of instruction at schools. The Iranian government does not allow any kind of press freedom in Balochistan. The Baloch in Iran are completely excluded from the structures of political, social and economic powers of the country. According to Director General of Planing, Coordination and International Affairs of the Literacy Movement “ at present, Sistan-Balochistan, East Azerbaijan and Hormozgan provinces have the lowest rate of illiteracy, while Isfahan and Tehran have the highest” Sistan-Balochistan and Hormozgan are Baloch dominated provinces while Tehran and Isfahan are Persian dominated provinces.

Press freedom

Baloch cultural activists have applied to publish a journal on the Balochi language many times. Each time these requests have been rejected or have been granted, conditional on most pages being published in Persian, with only one or two pages in Balochi. Some Baloch cultural activists accepted these conditions, and published journals or newspapers such as “Rooz Dra” and Marz e Pourgohar. Both have since been banned and even their editors have been intimidated and harassed.

Demographic manipulations and assimilation policies

Successive Iranian governments have been engaged in demographic manipulations to systematically reduce the Baloch people to a minority in their own homeland. Furthermore, among the many repressive policies is the destruction of the homes of poor Baloch people in Balochistan and their displacement. This is done in order to provide non Baloch workers, especially the security forces, brought into the province with the best land, Government policy has been based on facilitating access for Shi’a and non-Baloch people to purchase land cheaply and set up businesses.

In many parts of Western Balochistan, the Baloch are rapidly losing their identity. The previously Baloch dominated regions of Bandar Abbas, parts of Kerman and Sistan are the areas most affected by the assimilation efforts of the Persian-dominated Iranian state. The Baloch are now a minority in all these areas, including the capital city of Zahedan.

Physical Violence against the Baloch People, Torture and hanging

Many of Iran’s army garrisons are permanently stationed in Baloch areas, which give the impression that Balochistan is an army zone. The militarisation of Baloch areas have been combined with increased human right violations, collective punishment of Baloch civilians.

On 15th February 2007 Sardar Ghafari the commander of Fathee Military Base in Zahidan said that 65 people had been arrested in connection with explosion in Zahidan the previous day. After the explosion, various agencies, the security forces, the intelligence agency, the Revolutionary Guard and the Mersad Group arrested more than 1000 people. Later Shriyari the representative of Zahidan in the Iran’s assembly said in an interview with the Ayaran weekly that more than 700 hundred had been given death sentences and are waiting for the execution.

These young Baloch men who have been arrested without any charge are being taken to different cities and provinces of Iran for public hanging and execution. It is the Regime’s policy to take such Baloch political and cultural activists and hang them or execute them with others in other areas in Iran to lessen the focus on the executions of Baloch political and cultural activists in its effort to empty Balochistan of its brave educated sons and daughters. Public hanging are often organised as public entertainment. In the place of the hanging the Regime gathers crowds of supporters who shout and take photos.

On the 5th of September, Amnesty International wrote; “ at least four of the executions today, in Shiraz, were carried out in public, although the UN Human Rights Committee has stated: ‘Public executions are... incompatible with human dignity’. At least two of those executed in Shiraz appeared to have belonged to Iran's Baluchi minority. Amnesty International is concerned that members of Iran's Baluchi minority have formed a significant proportion of those executed in Iran” .

Resistance Movement

Since forced annexation of Balochistan by Iran in 1928, the Baloch people have resisted the Persian domination in many ways including with a low-intensity armed resistance.

The increase in human right violations, collective punishment of Baloch civilians, and increased militarization of Baloch areas especially since AhmadiNezhad has become president, has lead to intensification of the armed resistance against the Iranian regime.

The armed resistance movement in Western Balochistan is a native phenomenon with a history of more than 70 years against successive Iranian regimes. Instead of employing negotiations and other peaceful means to end the resistance; The Iranian regime, due to its oppressive character, is accusing the Baloch people of cooperation with the Western powers.

In the absence of political resolve in Tehran to solve Baloch problem through peaceful mean, and continuation of human right violation by Iranian regime against Baloch people, and ignorance of the Baloch people plight in Iran by international community, the armed resistance is intensifying in Balochistan and gaining prominence.

National Self Determination as Conflict prevention
Historically the right to national Self Determination have prevented or have solved much conflict in the changing world. Its implementation has helped to solve many problems between states and subordinate nationalities. This was the case in Europe after first world war by granting the statehood to nation that were struggling for their own state on the bases of language or religion and wishes of the people to establish their nation state or federal state.

After the Second World War when many colonies of the European countries were denied the right to self determination on the bases that “secession” is a violation of its territorial integrity. Most of the movement were compelled to resort to armed struggles and eventually won independent.
United nations in its various declarations provide Self determination and sovereignty of the peoples as preventive mechanism to conflict and war in relation between states and as mechanism for self determination of subordinate peoples. In the December 1960 UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Peoples, Clause 2 provided as follows: "All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development". The right to independent Statehood was guaranteed by Clause 4, which enabled the "dependent peoples…to exercise peacefully and freely their right to complete independence, and the integrity of their national territory shall be respected".
End of cold war also saw a new wave of national sentiment for national self determination and sovereignty; this led to many countries gaining their independent either by peaceful means or by a violent conflict. Many of those countries have developed good governance and have become prosperous and liberal democratic countries in a short period.

In the case of Iran which is also a country with many subordinate nationalities and a dominant nation, in which, the subordinate nations, Ahwazi Arab, Azerbaijani Turk, Baloch Kurd and Turkmen make up the majority, the right for the national Self determination, is the utmost of demand for change in Iran political and geographical structure.

Towards a Resolution on the Baloch National Question

Latest events in Balochistan have shown the Baloch people’s strong resolve to change the current political structure to a system that accommodates its aspiration for national self determination and sovereignty.
The Baloch national question cannot be addressed in bits and pieces. The Baloch nation must be recognized within its boundaries as a people distinct from others, equal in collective rights and duties. It should be given it natural right for national sovereignty to decide it fate as it chooses.

The peaceful implementation of the right to self-determination in its broad sense is a key contribution to the prevention and resolution of conflicts of subordinate nationalities in Iran. In the future any union of states among nationalities living in the Iranian political border today should be structured on the bases of voluntary union of nationalities with shared rule and self rule in a federal secular and democratic republic based on the parity of its constituent unit

A permanent, appropriate and lasting solution should be in line with internationally recognized principles of the right to self-determination and sovereign equality of nations.