Ethnic Tensions In Iran

[Rasputin]

Speech at 19th annual conference of the Kurdish National Congress (KNC) at the Hilton Hotel in Irvine, California on March 24, 2007. It is of note that midway through the conference an angry individual made threats and demanded the hotel remove the symbolic identity of the Kurdish people from the flag pole in front of the hotel. The incident is being investigated.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Before I proceed, I would like to have a minute of silence for the loss of one of our best members, Mrs. Soraya Sarajadini. Whoever had met Soraya, the late KNC vice president, knows about the dedication of this remarkably assertive and confident leader; she was an advocate of independence and an opponent of injustice, humiliation, and submission. We miss this dear sister and leader tremendously but continue her mission.

After the 2006 annual conference in Washington DC, the KNC board decided to have the next event in Irvine. As the resident of this beautiful and diverse city, I was asked to chair this year's annual conference. In the name of KNC board of directors and the conference committee members, who have worked hard to make this event happen, I would like to welcome all of you.

As the chair of the conference and its preparation committee, I thank every one who stepped in and helped us with achieving our objective. Special thanks to our committee members who were directly involved and alphabetically included: Mr. Dyari Ahmad, Mr. Luqman Berwari, Mrs. Soraya Falah, Mr. Aazad Moradian Mr. Hiwa Nazhadian, the board members Mr. Nyma Ardalan, Mr. Bulan Baban, Mr. Shwan Karim, Dr. Wafa Khorshid, Mr. Brusk Reshvan, Miss. Lana Salih, Dr. Saman Shali, Mr. Tom Ver Ploeg, the alternate board member Muazaz Aziz, and the past presidents Dr. Fouad Darweesh, Dr. Hikmat Fikrat, Dr. Asad Khailany, Dr. Najimalden Karim. They deserve a very loud applause. Thank you all.

I would like to especially thank Dr. Sahli who for the past three years tirelessly has worked hard and brought the organization to a new stage of its development. Now many Kurds in North America, in other part of Diaspora, as well as in Kurdistan look up to KNC as a pluralistic, determined, and assertive organization that does not accept anything less than independence for Kurdistan.

KNC was established in 1988 by the few patriotic Kurdish Americans in response to the chemical bombing in Halabaja. Since they all were men, it's fair to consider them as the founding father of KNC. I refer them as senior members, although they are not qualified for the 25c coffee at McDonald's, as one of our members put it. They have been great role models for many of us who joined the organization later.

Some have criticized KNC leaders as self serving people who are after power, fame, and position. Frankly the people I have worked with in KNC can achieve a much higher position, fame, and power by not working with KNC or being a Kurd at all; because of their dedication, talent, and determination, they could lead any institution they join, but they rather promote a cause that they are compassionate about; not many people dare to take their noble path because it is a tough road to take and requires much dedication without any personal rewards.

Still since 1988 many others Kurds and friends of Kurds have joined and helped this organization to promote the cause of our stateless but courageous, hopeful, and determined people to fulfill their dream of obtaining self determination right. Like any other organizations KNC has had downfalls, yet been persistent and successful in working toward its ultimate objective step by step.

As an example the yearly conferences including the one last year in Halwe and Slemany, the women's conference in Hawler, the youth conference in Nashville, and convincing some of the US legislators as well as human rights organizations to support our cause are not simple tasks. They all required dedication, time, and money. Without voluntarism of our members and supporters these would not have been possible. Thank you all.

Of course more can be done, and I invite all of you to join us to serve our 40 million stateless people who are being treated as second class citizens in four dictatorial countries. One could argue that one of those states is no longer dictatorial. I doubt if it is left for the fanatic section of the "liberated Iraq" they will not hesitate to repeat Saddam's atrocities against the Kurds. Sadam's punishment was carried out by a revengeful fanatic section in Iraq that has a difficult time to forgive and insists on mixing religion and state as the answer for every citizen as indicated in their suggested constitution. Although such a constitution might be of value to some, it might be an insult to others who have other convictions and to some of us who doubt any convictions.

For the past year many Kurds have been reminding the leadership in Southern Kurdistan to declare independence. Some have argued that it is better to wait until all parts of Kurdistan are ready to create one united Kurdish state.

Even I, as a dreamer consider such a hope impractical. While there are multiple Turkish, Arabic, and Persian states, why should we shy away from having a few Kurdish states starting with Southern Kurdistan? How long should Southern Kurdistani people wait until all citizens of Dyarbe***, Qanmishli, and Kermashan have an access to an education in their language as the foundation for a healthy identity and development?

An independent Southern Kurdistan not only benefits all Kurds but also neighboring countries. I am convinced if Kurds are free, they would unite not only with each other but also with the neighboring nations to create a union based on equality and mutual respect, as it is the case in European Union. Such ideas might sound dream-like; however, humankind's achievements have always started with the ideas of some dreamers.

In the eye of our opponents, including some cheaply purchased entrepreneur or self acclaimed intellectuals who had described Kurdish hope an illusion, KNC activists might be seen as dreamers. I believe those opponents are in a dreamless sleep for not seeing their destiny will be the same as the destiny of colonialists, slave-owners and all of those who opposed freedom and equality. I believe independence of Kurdistan is inevitable despite all the obstacles.

I am confident once independent, Kurds will open their arms even to their opponents and wish them a happy Newday. For now they might only wish a happy Newroz to those who believe in freedom and equality!

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

مراجع امنيتی در جمهوری آذربايجان، پنج روز پيش (هفتم آوريل) يکی از فعالان سياسی آذربايجان ايران را بازداشت و بامداد امروز با هواپيما به تهران فرستاده و به مسئولان امنيتی ايرانی تحويل داده اند.
اين فعال سياسی که هادی سيد جواد موسوی نام دارد، آن گونه که گزارش شده از سال گذشته در باکو، پايتخت جمهوری آذربايجان اقامت داشته و به جريانی موسوم به جنبش ملی بيداری آذربايجان جنوبی وابسته بوده که با نام اختصاری اش، گاموح (گونی آذربايجان ملی اويانيش حرکتی) شناخته می شود.

دولت جمهوری آذربايجان پيش از اين نيز برخی فعالان آذربايجانی ايرانی را از اين کشور اخراج کرده اما اين افراد معمولاً به کشورهايی غير از ايران و بيشتر به ترکيه فرستاده شده اند.

جمهوری آذربايجان در سالهای نخستين پس از استقلال خود و به دنبال رشد حرکتهای ملی گرا و قومی گرا در اين جمهوری به پايگاه گروهی از فعالان ايرانی شد که با هدف خودمختاری آذربايجان ايران يا جدايی آن از ايران و تشکيل آذربايجان بزرگ فعاليت می کردند.

اين گروهها در زمان رياست جمهوری اياز مطلب اف از حمايت مستقيم دولت جمهوری آذربايجان برخوردار بود اما اين حمايتها با سقوط دولت او و روی کار آمدن حيدر علی اف که سياست کاهش تنش و نزديک شدن احتياط آميز به ايران را دنبال می کرد کاهش يافت.

الهام علی اف، رئيس جمهور کنونی جمهوری آذربايجان از زمانی که جانشين پدر شد روابط دولتش را با ايران، بويژه در زمينه های اقتصادی افزايش داد و در حال حاضر، حمايت از گروههای قوميت گرا در جمهوری آذربايجان از چارچوب سياستهای دولت جمهوری آذربايجان خارج شده و احزاب مخالف دولت و مطبوعات وابسته به آنها از اين گروهها طرفداری می کنند.

طی دو سه سال اخير که مناطقی از ايران صحنه تنشهای قومی شده، جمهوری آذربايجان پس از سوريه دومين دولتی است که افرادی را که در ارتباط با اين تنشها مورد تعقيب دولت ايران قرار دارند به اين کشور تحويل می دهد.

[Rasputin]

یعقوب یادعلی، داستان نويس ايرانی از پانزدهم مارس (۲۴ اسفند*) گذشته در بازداشت به سر می برد و به توهين و نوشتن مطالبی متهم شده که موجب اخلال در امنيت داخلی کشور می شود.
يعقوب يادعلی در صداوسيمای ياسوج، مرکز استان کهکيلويه و بويراحمد مشغول به کار بوده و در زندان مرکزی اين شهر در بازداشت به سر می برد؛ تلاش وکيل او برای آزادی اش با قرار وثيقه يا انتقال پرونده او به ديگر استانها يا تهران به نتيجه ای نرسيده است.

اتهاماتی که عليه آقای يادعلی مطرح شده به دو مجموعه داستان او با عنوانهای حالتها در حياط و آداب بی قراری باز می گردد که يکی از شخصيتهای زن اين داستانها که با گويش لری صحبت می کند، با مردی غير از شوهرش روابط خاصی دارد.

افرادی در استان لرنشين کهکيلويه و بويراحمد، اين موضوع را توهين به قوم لر تلقی و عليه يعقوب نادعلی به مراجع قضائی شکايت کرده اند.

آقای يادعلی که خود نيز به قوم لر تعلق دارد به دادگاه توضيح داده که به هيچ وجه قصد توهين به اين قوم يا فرد خاصی را نداشته، اما با اين وجود دادسرای ياسوج برای او کيفرخواست صادر و پرونده اش را به دادگاه کيفری استان ارجاع داده است.

محمدصالح نيکبخت، وکيل آقای يادعلی در گفتگو با بی بی سی گفت که به منظور حساسيت موضوع به موکل خود و خانواده اش توصيه کرده که خبر بازداشت او را به اطلاع رسانه ها نرسانند و خود نيز نامه ای به رئيس قوه قضائيه نوشته و خواستار آن شده که برای اينکه درگيری و مسئله ای در منطقه به وجود نيايد، پرونده يعقوب يادعلی را برای رسيدگی به تهران يا به يکی از استانهای همسايه ارجاع دهد اما نمی داند اين نامه هنوز به دست رئيس قوه قضائيه رسيده است يا نه و با درخواست او هنوز موافقت نشده است.



کتاب آداب بی *قراری برنده جايزه بهترين رمان از بنياد گلشيری و جايزه يلدا شده است



درخواست انتقال پرونده يعقوب يادعلی به خارج از استان کهکيليويه و بويراحمد از جانب انجمن دفاع از حقوق زندانيان نيز مطرح شده اما اين درخواست نيز بی پاسخ مانده است.

آقای نيکبخت با اشاره به اينکه يکی از اتهامات يعقوب يادعلی، توهين اعلام شده است می گويد بنابر قوانين ايران، شخص مورد توهين و مصداق توهين بايد مشخص باشد و رسيدگی به اين اتهام بايد بر اساس شکايت شاکی خصوصی صورت گيرد و با توجه به اين موضوع، اگر محاکمه موکل او در شرايط عادلانه انجام شود، چنين شکايتی نبايد مورد توجه قرار گيرد.

از بهار گذشته که انتشار کاريکاتوری در روزنامه ايران به اعتراض گسترده در مناطق ترک نشين ايران و درگيريهايی انجاميد که قربانيانی نيز بر جای گذاشت، حساسيتهای قومی به نوشته های کتب و مطبوعات در ايران افزايش چشمگيری داشته است.

تا آنجا که حتی سال گذشته، توالی دو کلمه در جدول کلمات متقاطع يکی از نشريات گمنام، آن هم چند ماه پس از انتشار اين نشريه، باعث تجمعهای اعتراض آميز در مرکز استان لرستان و بازداشت مديرمسئول اين نشريه شد.

مراجع قضائی و امنيتی نيز در مواردی که حساسيتهايی از طرف قوميتها ابراز می شود بر شدت برخورد خود با نويسندگان و اوليای مطبوعات به ميزان زيادی افزوده اند.

اما صالح نيکبخت می گويد، نوشته های آقای يادعلی تاکنون هيچ گونه اعتراض عمومی در ميان قوم لر به همراه نداشته و احتمال می رود که او قربانی کينه جوييهای شخصی شده باشد.

وی همچنين اشاره می کند که از تاريخ انتشار کتاب حالتها در حياط بيش از هشت سال گذشته و هر گونه شکايتی عليه محتوای آن بايد مشمول مرور زمان تلقی شود و از سوی ديگر کتاب آداب بی قراری نيز حدود سه سال پيش منتشر شده و به چاپ دوم هم رسيده است، بی آنکه اعتراض عمومی به همراه داشته باشد.

کتاب آداب بی *قراری برنده جايزه بهترين رمان از بنياد گلشيری و همچنين جايزه يلدا شده است.

از يعقوب يادعلی مجموعه* داستانهای دیگری با نام احتمال پرسه و شوخی و تیمارها و دکه نیز منتشر شده است.

[Rasputin]

Kurds Cultivating Their Own Bonds With U.S.

The 30-second television commercial features stirring scenes of a young Iraqi boy high-fiving a U.S. soldier, a Westerner dining alfresco, and men and women dancing together. "Have you seen the other Iraq?" the narrator asks. "It's spectacular. It's joyful."

"Welcome to Iraqi Kurdistan!" the narrator continues. "It's not a dream. It's the other Iraq."

With Sunni and Shiite Arabs locked in a bloody sectarian war, Iraq's Kurds are promoting their interests through an influence-buying campaign in the United States that includes airing nationwide television advertisements, hiring powerful Washington lobbyists and playing parts of the U.S. government against each other. A former car mechanic who happens to be the son of Iraq's president is at the center of Kurdish efforts to cultivate support for their semi-independent enclave, but the cast of Kurdish proponents also includes evangelical Christians, Israeli operatives and Republican political consultants.

In the past year, the Kurds have spent more than $3 million to retain lobbyists and set up a diplomatic office in Washington. They are cultivating grass-roots advocates among supporters of President Bush's war policy and evangelicals who believe that many key figures in the Bible lived in Kurdistan. And they are seeking to build an emotional bond with ordinary Americans, like those forged by Israel and Taiwan, by running commercials on national cable news channels to assert that even as Iraq teeters toward a full-blown civil war, one corner of the country, at least, has fulfilled the Bush administration's ambition of a peaceful, democratic, pro-Western beachhead in the Middle East.

But elements of the Kurds' campaign run counter to the policy of a unified Iraq espoused by the U.S. and Iraqi governments. Some senior U.S. officials contend that yielding to Kurdish demands for increased autonomy could break up Iraq and destabilize Turkey, a NATO ally that is fighting a guerrilla war with Kurdish separatists -- some of whom have taken sanctuary in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Kurdish leaders cast their self-promotion initiative as a bulwark against attempts to restrict their federal rights. With only 40,000 or so Kurds living in the United States, Kurdish officials insist they have no choice but to pursue the dual strategy of wooing non-Kurdish constituencies and lobbying in Washington.

"We have to use all the tools at our disposal to help ourselves," said Qubad Talabani, the son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, sent here as the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative in Washington.

Kurds want the sort of "strategic and institutional relationship" that Israel and Taiwan have with the United States, Talabani, 29, said. "It doesn't matter which party is in power in Washington -- the U.S. government isn't going to abandon either of those countries," he added. "We are seeking the same protection."

Talabani, a former Maserati repairman, was raised by his grandparents in Britain and moved to Washington in 2000 knowing nothing about power politics. He soon began dating -- and later married -- a State Department staffer working on Iraq policy. He wears French-cuff shirts and Windsor-knotted ties with pinstripe suits. He lunches at the Bombay Club and works two blocks from the White House.

He has more clout than any other Iraqi in Washington because of his ability to call his father directly and because he represents the collective view of an influential minority -- one that holds enough seats in Iraq's parliament to wield effective veto power over a proposed law to distribute national oil revenue to Iraqis, as well as other legislation sought by the United States. By contrast, Baghdad's ambassador to Washington is a secular Sunni Arab who has limited sway with his Shiite-dominated government.

Talabani is in regular contact with senior officials in the White House. He drops in on members of Congress, and he has met with four of the presidential candidates: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.).

"We've been on the fringes for too long," Talabani said.

[Rasputin]

It is clearly known to the readers of Iranian.com that there are so many articles out there simply discussing what being an Iranian means, relating the realities of today's Iran to its past, therefore trying to find a definition for Iran and Iranians. Why have these people come together and formed a country called Iran? There are so many confusing messages out there and there is no clear consensus whatsoever. This may not be the case for most of the countries out there where there usually is a large majority who speak the same language and have very similar traditions.

There are also many countries out there that clearly lack a definition of their own, i.e. the populace are confused why they are together forming a nation. Most of these countries are found in Africa, where the borders have usually been drawn by the European colonisers, often simply using straight lines when drawing the maps. The result has been that we have been witnessing so many wars in Africa because of the lack of a strong authority to create stability and enforce the law, and of course the populations of these orphan states have been unable to find common grounds to come together and form a strong authority. And the same issue is currently true about our neighbour, Iraq, unfortunately.

My endeavour to analyse the identity crisis of Iranians was also influenced by the feedback (insults, accusations, and also a small number of happy ones) to my recent articles about the Achaemenid rulers, and I was quite surprised by the level of the emotional response of those who find the pre-Islamic history of the Persian Empire as the most significant chapter of Iran's defining moments.

In countries where there is no clear popular notion of why the people who constitute the nation have come together, there is a very strong possibility of two cases, either chaos and civil war, or a ruthless dictatorship. This reality has been tested in the near and distant past in so many countries, including our own.

Iran is quite distinct in many ways and many Iranians and observers often neglect this distinctness very often. Iran is probably the only relatively large country in the world where there is almost no significant ethnic majority in place, though the country has not been defined or created by foreigners but by Iranians themselves, although the formation of the boundaries have been influenced by powerful regional and world powers. This is something quite interesting to analyse. Official statistics in Iran show that Persians are 51% of the population. Even the statistics of the CIA show that Persians are 51% of the population in Iran. It is a bit mind-boggling that the majority has just turned out to be 51% and not 55% or 65%! Maybe the proportion of the Persians is close to 50% but not exactly there.

And of course in a not-very-literate (where many people even to this day call themselves Shia Muslims rather than anything else) country like Iran it is very difficult to measure who is what! The statistics of the CIA being the same as the official statistics of the Iranian authorities clearly shows that the CIA has, at least to some degree, been influenced by Iran's official statistics. And why these official statistics, in a country where there has never been a democracy, show that the Persians are 51%? If the Persians in a rigorous and objective census would turn out to be 47% or 37% wouldn't the authorities cut some percentages from other minorities and add to the Persians in order to give the impression that Iran actually has a clear ethnic majority? I think they would, and I doubt many would disagree with me. However no-one really knows the reality because no-one has ever done a rigorous and objective census about the regional and personal identification of Iranians.

However this extremely messed-up country, ethnic-wise, has been able to stay independent and quite powerful for over 500 years, ever since the Safavid reinvigorated the ancient Iran (that became known as the Persian Empire in the West). And this is something pretty much unique. I am not aware of any other country this size, at present tine, and in such an unfriendly area of the world, to be such a messy place, though relatively powerful, united, and independent. So, why is this surprising reality? How has this country been able to survive for so long, stay independent and united? This subject has usually been neglected mostly due to political prejudices of authorities and individuals who have been unable to look at the issue from a more objective point of view.

Let's not exaggerate this uniqueness of Iran because up until the early 20th century Iran had a much more complex regional peer, the Ottoman Empire, where the majority of population were Arabs though the empire was ruled by Turks. And the Ottoman Empire had succeeded to survive and grow much larger for much longer than any of Iran's dynasties, ever. The basis for the survival and strength of the Ottoman Empire was Islam, the protection of it, and of course the defence of it from Christians in Europe, and Shiites in Iran. While the Iranian Shiites have always been numerically inferior to both the Christians and the Sunnis in the Ottoman Empire, therefore they were much more inclined to be fearful of their neighbours. This strong level of fear created the unity that linked several ethnic groups together among which Persians and Turks (Azerbaijani is often used in order to prevent confusion with the Anatolian Turks) being the most significant.

Some Persian or Iranian nationalists may relate the unity of the Iranian Turks and Persians to anything other than the Shia religion, though clear evidence to support this hypothesis cannot be found. Iranian authorities, ever since the Safavid, have been struggling (some times failed, other times succeeded) to subdue the Sunnis of their neighbouring areas. Very large areas of western Afghanistan of today for instance used to belong to Iran, and although the language (pretty much the same as Farsi, or Persian) and traditions (the same celebration of Nouruz and about everything else) of the people populating western areas of Afghanistan are extremely close (if not the same) to that of Persians (the Farsi spoken in most areas of Afghanistan is more like a dialect of the Farsi in Iran though Mazandarani for instance is far more different than Farsi and hardly comprehensible to other Iranians), their majority desire to follow Sunni Islam alienated them from their fellow Persians and often caused wars and disputes. Later Afghans preferred the protection of the British rather than being a part of Iran. The same has been the case for the Kurds and also the Baluch, who (some of them who were not added to other countries) unwillingly remained within Iran to this day.

Therefore the only real reason for the unity of the various peoples within Iran has been their adherence to Shia Islam, and newly discovered nationalism of the late 19th century onwards has so far failed to undermine this unity. Of course many nationalist Iranians will still argue about the nationalist notions of the past century or so such as the superior Aryan race of the Iranians, or the glory of the pre-Islamic Persian Empire (whose proud descendants they feel to be). These theories, or more like hypotheses, have the sole value of arousing emotions, without any real substance. The cultural boundaries of what can be called greater Iranian influence goes far beyond Iran's present territories, stretching from Tajikistan, most of Central Asia's Turkic speaking peoples, to Azerbaijan and the Kurds of Turkey.

This cultural area is what has remained of the all-powerful Persian Empire of the pre-Islamic world. However a more close examination of the Iranian culture also shows that it was not related to race or nationality (as evoked by current and near-past Persian nationalists) but strongly, or solely, related to Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism almost vanished and what has remained has been the rich cultural influence it left behind which co-existed with Islam. And this cultural area has never been a strong basis for bringing together individuals and peoples in order to create a country, as can be seen due to the centuries-long fights between Shias who ruled Iran and Uzbeks, Afghans, Kurds and others who have long been a part of the Iranian cultural area . All these disputes took place simply because of the desire of every of these ethnic groups to protect their own religious identity.

[Rasputin]

II Part

The strong resurgence of nationalism among the Persians of Iran, and also other Iranian groups, especially the Turks (Azerbaijani Turks) is a very bad sign for our country. Extreme ideologies often push others toward extreme as well. And the lack of a proper liberal education, without racial, national or religious prejudices, creates the best fertile ground for promoting extremism. Extremist Islam both in the wider Middle East, and also practised by Iranian authorities (to some extent) has pushed many non-religious Iranians to resort to their own extremism, and the best choice has been nationalism.

And the result has been that today an Iranian can write almost anything bad he wants about Islam, and most Iranians (especially those who can read English) would not care at all, though if one writes anything less than nice and pretty about the great Persian rulers of two millennia ago, or the Aryan purity of the Iranians, then he/she must expect plenty of not-so-nice responses. And this is just a strengthening of an ideological aggression that is the natural course of events as we can see, though definitely in a very bad direction. The direction that also pushed Nationalist Serbs to the abyss of Yugoslavia, let alone the most gruesome of all, the events of the second World War.

Nationalist extremism, or Religious extremism, in the Middle East, are both no less worse than the other. However the Iranian theocratic regime is not as extremist in its pursuit of religious purity as many believe, tolerating and even protecting religious minorities of Iran, such as the Armenians, or even the Sunni to some degree. That could not have been said about the Taliban, and it definitely cannot be said about the House of Saud or the rulers of Bahrain. The Iranian regime is annoying to the West mostly because of its expansionist and irredentist tendencies, creating instability and agitation in the region and therefore in the wider world, especially because of affecting a vital source of oil for the economy of the whole world.

However, both Westerners and also Iranians of various ideological and political stripes shall think twice before asking for the complete and sudden demise of the current Iranian regime, because in case Iran would not turn into another Iraq it very likely risks falling in to the hands of extremist Nationalists, maybe a man like Saddam Hussein or Slobodan Milosevic! This does not mean we should support a dictatorial regime, such as Iran's current one, but simply to be careful and not rush into ideas and conclusions, because we may actually get what we wish for, and regret it.

[Rasputin]

Iranians find tenous refuge in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria - The young Iranian reaches for his Turkish coffee, nervously eyeing patrons in the smoky Damascus cafe.

He's all too aware of his increasingly precarious status in Syria.

When Abu Sana (not his real name) came here a year ago, he thought he would find a safe haven among his fellow Sunni Arabs. He's a young political leader who belongs to the small Ahwaz ethnic minority in Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan Province, where local activists contend that for decades they have been forcibly uprooted by Iran's Shiite government.

But, now, as a result of the strengthening alliance between Iran and Syria, he's worried that he and about 250 Ahwazi refugees will become the little noticed casualties of the anti-Western axis forming in the Middle East.

His concerns are not unfounded. Five of his political activist friends were nabbed by Syrian security services in early March. Like Abu Sana, most were students, and all were registered with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) office in Damascus as political asylum-seekers.

Abu Sana, a member of the opposition Ahwazi Liberation Organization, worries that if he's picked up by Syrian police he'll miss his opportunity to be resettled by UNHCR in the US later this year. And if he's sent back to Iran, he says, he could be killed. He received the death penalty in absentia after fleeing Iran in December 2005. The exact charges have not been made public.

"I feel like a caged bird that is going to be slaughtered and knows it," he says in hushed tones in a noisy cafe. "I beg the world to protect this bird."

Syria and Iran have been odd, but enduring, bedfellows for the past 27 years, united in an anti-Western alliance that transcends founding ideologies: Syria is an authoritarian, secular regime that outlaws political Islam, while Iran is a Shiite theocracy.

The two countries have recently strengthened their defensive ties, inking two agreements on military cooperation, one in 2006 and another in March.

Iran's defense minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, highlighted the importance of the military pacts following a meeting with Syria's president in Damascus in March.

"We consider the capacity of the Syrian defensive forces as our own and believe that expansion of defensive ties would ... help deal with threats of the enemies," he said.

The five Ahwazis seized on March 5 this year (who were later released in Syria) were the second batch to be detained by Syrian authorities in the past year. According to Syria's National Organization for Human Rights, five others were arrested in May 2006 and handed over to Iranian authorities. Among them was Faleh Abdullah Mansouri, a Dutch citizen in his 60s who heads the Dutch-based Ahwazi Liberation Organization. He is reportedly being held in Tehran's Evin prison and has been sentenced to death.

"That should never have happened," says Laurens Jolles, UNHCR representative in Damascus. "It was clear they were refugees sent back to an uncertain fate."

The Syrian government denies handing "prisoners of conscience" over to Iran, but says it has security agreements with Tehran to exchange prisoners.

Forbidden from speaking Arabic, the Ahwazi population of Khuzestan Province is one of the most economically and socially deprived in Iran, according to Amnesty International.

Miloon Kothari, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, highlighted the living conditions in Khuzestan following his visit to Iran in July 2005.

"There are thousands of people living with open sewers, no sanitation, no regular access to water, electricity, and gas connections," he said. "In deprived neighborhoods, you can actually see the towers of the oil refineries and the flares and all that money, which is a lot, and it's going out of the province."

"People feel like the central government hasn't tended to them like it should," says Karim Sadjadpour, a Washington-based analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There's a sense among some Ahwazis that the reason they're neglected is not because of geography, but perhaps because they're Arab and Sunni, rather than Shiite and Persian."

Unrest in Iran's oil-rich region

Tensions exploded in April 2005 when militants launched attacks against oil installations.

Several different Ahwazi opposition groups claimed responsibility for the attacks.

"The Iranian security apparatus has clamped down in the region and detained hundreds of people," Hadi Ghaemi, a New York-based Middle East researcher with Human Rights Watch said. "They have handed down execution sentences for dozens of people allegedly connected to bombings. Those trials have been very unfair."

Iran says its security measures are a necessary to prevent deadly attacks and thwart efforts by separatists to Balkanize the country.

Back in Syria, Abu Sana moves from house to house hoping to avoid being nabbed by authorities and sent to Iran. "The West cares about animal rights, but we are humans with no rights," he says. "Can't they protect us?"

[Rasputin]

اعزام هزار كرد مسلح به مرزهاي ايران


دولت خودمختار كردستان عراق بيش از يك هزار نفر نيرو به مرزهاي ايران اعزام كرد.

به گزارش از خبرگزاري "آسيا نيوز"، مقامات كردستان عراق با هدف حفاظت از مرزها يك هزار نفر نيروي پيشمرگ را در مرز مشترك با ايران مستقر كردند.

هدف اصلي از اعزام اين نيروها جلوگيري از قاچاق تسليحات و نفرات براي گروه هاي راديكال اسلامي در عراق نظير "انصار الاسلام" عنوان شده است.

"انصار الاسلام" يكي از تندروترين گروه هاي اسلامي در عراق است كه روابط نزديكي با طالبان و القاعده دارد.

ژنرال "جابر يوير"، از فرماندهان كرد عراقي گفت: يك گروه متحد "انصار الاسلام" كه خود را "تيپ القاعده كردستان" مي نامد، بارها به نيروهاي كرد عراقي در منطقه اي حوالي شهر "پنجوين" حمله كرده است.

وي افزود: نيروهاي جديد در دو تيپ اعزام شده اند كه برخي واحدها وظيفه پشتيباني از واحدهاي ارتش و ايستگاه هاي مرزي را بر عهده خواهند داشت و برخي ديگر به صورت واحدهاي گشت زني در كمين دشمن خواهند بود.

گفتني است منطقه كردستان عراق در مقايسه با ساير مناطق اين كشور از وضعيت امنيتي بهتري برخوردار است اما بمب گذاري هاي اخير موجب بروز نگراني هايي نسبت به اوضاع امنيتي آن شده است.

[Rasputin]

Iran bans foreigners from border province

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran has banned all Afghan and other foreign nationals from a sensitive southeastern border province as part of a drive to deport tens of thousands of illegal migrants, a senior police chief said Tuesday.


"No legal or illegal foreign nationals are allowed to live, work and travel in any cities of Sistan-Baluchestan province, in line with the scheme to deport foreigners," deputy police chief Hossein Zolfaghari told state media.

Zolfaghari said "more than 65,000 illegal foreign citizens have been apprehended in Sistan-Baluchestan province", which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, since Iran launched the plan to expel illegal immigrants on April 21.

Iran has expelled tens of thousands of Afghans over the past month, mostly from Sistan-Baluchestan, and Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi has said Tehran wants one million Afghans to be repatriated by next March.

But Iran has agreed to slow down the process after the speed of the deportations prompted the Afghan parliament to sack two cabinet ministers.

The Iranian interior ministry said it has already repatriated 85,000 illegal Afghans and the United Nations confirmed on Monday more 70,000 had been returned home.

Afghans without proper employment papers are estimated to form half of the two million Afghans, mostly Shiite Hazara or Sunni Persian-speaking Tajiks, who fled the conflict at home and still live in the Islamic republic.

Sistan-Baluchestan is the main narcotics transit route from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the markets of Europe and the Gulf, and a frequent scene of bloody clashes between smugglers and police.

The authorities are also concerned about the emergence of a shadowy Sunni militant group known as Jundallah, which has claimed responsibly of a series of deadly bombings and abductions in the province.

[Rasputin]

'حمله ايران به کوهستان قنديل در کردستان عراق'


ارتفاعات قنديل پايگاه اصلی فعاليت پژاک است
مقامات کردستان عراق می گويند طی ساعات متمادی در طول روز چند روستا در ارتفاعات قنديل که ميان ايران، عراق و ترکيه مشترکند، هدف حملات توپخانه و خمپاره از جانب ايران قرار گرفته اند.
فرماندار شهرستان پشدر که روستاهای بمباران شده در آن قرار دارد گفته که انتظار می رود اين حملات تلفات جانی و خساراتی برجای گذاشته باشد اما از ميزان اين تلفات و خسارات هنوز اطلاعی ندارد.

به گفته مقامات کردستان عراق، هدف ايران از اين حملات، سرکوب گروه کرد مسلح موسوم به پژاک است که طی سالهای اخير با نيروهای نظامی و انتظامی ايران درگير بوده است.

ايران پيشتر نيز در تعقيب افراد پژاک مواضعی را در کردستان عراق بمباران کرده بود.

گروه پژاک (حزب حيات آزاد کردستان) در واقع شاخه ايرانی حزب کارگردان کرد ترکيه است و از ظهور و فعاليت آن چند سالی بيش نمی گذرد.

ارتفاعات قنديل و همچنين نواحی کوهستانی نوار مرزی ايران و ترکيه پايگاه اصلی فعاليت پژاک است.

زمستان گذشته سپاه پاسداران ايران عمليات گسترده ای عليه پژاک اجرا و اعلام کرد که تعدادی از اعضای اين گروه، از جمله سه تن از فرماندهانش را به قتل رسانده است.

اما در مقابل شماری از اعضای سپاه پاسداران نيز کشته شدند که يکی از آنان سرتيپ سعيد قهاری، فرمانده لشکر سوم نيروی زمينی سپاه بود که بر اثر سقوط هليکوپتر حامل خود در منطقه موسوم به جهنم دره در شهرستان خوی همراه با هفت نفر از همراهانش جان باخت.

[Rasputin]

'درگیری مرزی در غرب ایران تلفاتی داده است'


درگیری در مناطق مرزی آذربایجان غربی روی داده است
گزارش شده است که درگیری بین نیروهای مرزی ایران و افراد مسلح در غرب ایران تلفاتی برجای گذاشته است.
به گزارش خبرگزاری دولتی ایران - ایرنا - شامگاه دوشنبه این هفته تعدادی از افراد نیروهای مرزی ایران هنگام بازگشت از عملیات پاکسازی، در مناطق کوهستانی شهرستان سلماس هدف حمله افراد مسلح قرار گرفتند و هفت تن از آنان کشته شدند.

مراسم تشییع جنازه نفرات دولتی کشته شده در این درگیری روز چهارشنبه، 30 مه، در شهر سلماس برگزار می شود.

ایرنا مهاجمان را "تروریست های مسلح" در غرب کشور توصیف کرده و افزوده است که در این درگیری، چند تن از نفرات سپاه پاسداران زخمی شده اند.

در ادامه این گزارش آمده است که پنج تن از مهاجمان نیز کشته و یکی از آنان دستگیر شده است.

ایرنا گفته است که نیروهای مرزبانی روز دوشنبه به منظور انجام عملیات پاکسازی برای جلوگیری از قاچاق کالا به منطقه کوهسار شهرستان سلماس اعزام شده بودند ولی هنگام بازگشت هدف حمله افراد مسلح قرار گرفتند.

این خبرگزاری در عین حال گفته است که از وابستگی مهاجمان به "گروهک ضد انقلابی و عوامل خارجی" اطلاعات دقیقی در دست نیست.

شهرستان سلماس در غرب استان آذربایجان غربی واقع شده و با ترکیه هم مرز است.

مناطق غرب ایران به خصوص نواحی شمالی مرز ایران و عراق در ماه های گذشته شاهد درگیری بین نیروهای ایرانی و اعضای وابسته به گروه های مسلح کرد مخالف دولت ترکیه بوده است.

هفته گذشته مقامات کردستان عراق از آتشباری توپخانه ایران به سوی نقاطی در ارتفاعات قندیل، واقع در مرز مشترک ایران، عراق و ترکیه، خبر دادند.

پیشتر نیز گزارش هایی از عملیات نیروهای ایرانی در مناطقی در داخل خاک عراق علیه نفرات و پایگاه های کردهای مخالف دولت ترکیه مخابره شده بود.

[Rasputin]

عابد فتاحی, نماينده اروميه در مجلس هفتم از فعاليت گسترده نيروهای ,پژاک, در مناطق مرزی خوي*، سلماس*، ماکو خبر داد.

فتاحی در گفت*وگو با خبرنگار سياسی آفتاب افزود: فعاليت نيروهای پژاک در مناطق خوي*ـ سلماس*ـ ماکو بيشتر از ساير مناطق کردستان است.

وی تصريح کرد: خلاء موجود در مرزهای ترکيه و عراق و عدم تسلط نيروهای انتظامی اين دو کشور بر مرزها، موجب شده که اين گروه در مرزهای ايران فعاليت بيشتری داشته باشند.

فتاحی اضافه کرد: نيروهای پژاک در مرزهای ايران به صورت گروه*های تيمی حرکت مي*کنند و مکان ثابتی ندارند.

[Rasputin]

کردهای ايران با 8 فرستنده تلويزيونی کُردی، با سيمای ج. اسلامی وداع گفته اند
صف های کيلومتری بنزين در شهرهای مرزی کردستان
رشته های پيوند کردستان
با تهران از هم گسسته!
پرچم کردستان حتی روی منجوق دوزی روسری های سه گوشه محلی نيز نقش بسته
گزارش "اورامان نجيری" برای پيک نت





نامه ای حاوی اطلاعات فشرده و کوتاه زير در باره اوضاع کردستان برای پيک نت ارسال شده است که ميخوانيد:

1- صف سوخت در پمپ بنزين شهرهای بانه، سقز، ديواندره بعلت قاچاق مواد سوختی به کيلومترها رسيده است. مسافرين بيشتر از 15 ليتر بنزين نمی فروشند. با سهميه بندی سوخت اين مسئله تشديد شده و همه هم می دانند که ماجرا باز می گردد به تحريم های اقتصادی و از همه مهم تر، پيش بينی حمله.

2- اين نه اغراق است و نه جنگ روانی و نه تفسيری برای تبليغات: هرگز پايگاه حکومت در کردستان تا اين اندازه ضعيف نبوده است. اگر بنويسم حکومت اصلا پايگاهی امروز در کردستان ندارد دروغ ننوشته ام. اکثر مغازه ها و اماکن اسم های کردی دارند. هرچه حکومت بيشتر خواسته فقه شيعه را بيشتر به کردها تحميل کند و هر چه بيشتر با فرهنگ و زبان کردها بيشتر ستيز کرده، نتيجه اش معکوس بوده است. در بوکان در يکی از روسری فروشی ها يک روسری سه گوش منجوق دوزی می خواستم بخرم. فروشنده يواشکی از زير ميز يک روسری توری درآورد که تمام منجوق های آويز آن رنگ پرچم کردستان بود. اکثريت قريب به اتفاق مردم ماهواره درخانه دارند و حسابشان را با تلويزيون جمهوری اسلامی جدا کرده اند. کانال های اوليه همه تلويزيون ها در هر خانه ای که رفتم 8 کانال کردی بود.

بانه شهری مرزی است و بازارچه های مرزی دارد. به همين علت در تموم ايام سال، بخصوص در ايام تعطيلات مردم شهرهای ديگر از سراسر کشور برای خريد به اين شهر می آيند. اجناس بازارچه های مرزی بانه و مريوان از ترکيه، عراق، دبی و چين وارد می شود.

با وجود درآمد نسبتا زياد مسافر و باصطلاح توريست، وضع شهرها هيچ تغييری نکرده است. کوچه ها ی بعضا خاکی و آسفالت جاده ها مثل پوست پياز ورق ورق شده است.

در کنار اکثر جاده های اصلی، جاده های فرعی منشعب می شود که قاچاقچی ها از آنها عبور می کنند. بيکاری موج می زند و به همين علت بر تعداد قاچاقچی ها روز به روز افزوده می شود. قاچاق از مصالح ساختمانی شروع می شود تا بنزين و گازوئيل. در اين ميان وسائل منزل و کالاهای ضروری مردم بسته به شرايط بازار عراق گاه زياد قاچاق می شود و گاه گمتر. از مسافران تابستانی و باصطلاح توريست ها نوشتم و درآمدی که وارد بانه و بوکان می شود اما تاثيری در وضع ظاهری شهرها نمی دهد. برای نمونه روزانه جمعيت زيادی از سراسر ايران به اين منطقه می آيند تا غار "سه لاهون" را ببيند که 150 سال پيش توسط يک فرانسوی بنام "ژاک دومورگان" کشف شده است. شمار نسبتا زيادی قايق اين مسافران وتوريست ها را در اين غار جابجا می کنند.

[Rasputin]

حملات تازه پژاک به پليس و سپاه پاسداران ايران


مناطق کردنشين استان آذربايجان غربی حوزه فعاليت مسلحانه پژاک است
يک هفته پس از آنکه حمله ايران به مواضع گروه کرد پژاک در کردستان عراق گزارش شد، اخباری از کشته شدن دست کم سه تن از مرزبانان و يکی از نفرات سپاه پاسداران ايران به دست افراد اين گروه مخابره شده است.
آن گونه که منابع ايرانی اعلام کرده اند، دو درجه دار نيروی انتظامی روز يکشنبه گذشته (دهم ژوئن) هنگام بازگشت از مأموريت در منطقه مرزی بورالان در نزديکی مرز ترکيه در شهرستان ماکو هدف حمله قرار گرفته و کشته شده اند.

همان روز و صدها کيلومتر دورتر، در نزدیکی پاسگاه مرزی ابراهیم شیلان در شهرستان پيرانشهر، يک درجه دار ديگر نيروی انتظامی نيز گرفتار تله انفجاری شده و جان خود را از دست داده است.

در مناطق مرزی همين شهرستان، يک سرباز وظيفه سپاه پاسداران نيز هدف حمله مرگبار واقع شده است.

منابع رسمی ايرانی از حمله کنندگان به اين افراد تحت عنوان "اشرار مسلح" ياد کرده اند که معمولاً در مورد افراد حزب حيات آزاد کردستان (پژاک) به کار می رود که شاخه ايرانی حزب کارگران کرد ترکيه (پ ک ک) شناخته می شود و طی دو سه سال اخير بارها مرزبانان ايرانی را هدف حمله قرار داده است.

پاسدار وظيفه ای که بر اثر حمله مسلحانه جان باخته، خود کرد و اهل روستای کردنشين لينگيجه در شهرستان بوکان بوده و سه مرزبانی که در اين حملات جان باخته اند نيز محلی و اهل شهرستانهای نقده و خوی در آذربايجان غربی بوده اند که ترکيب جمعيتی مخلوطی از کرد و ترک دارند.

از زمستان گذشته که سپاه پاسداران ايران عملياتی عليه پژاک آغاز کرده، درگيری ميان طرفين شدت گرفته و طی اين مدت، دست کم دو بار، مناطقی در کردستان عراق نيز که گمان می رود نيروهای پژاک از آنها به عنوان پناهگاه خود استفاده می کنند هدف آتش توپخانه سپاه پاسداران قرار گرفته است.