Noticias Bahá'ís

Inequality between rich and poor highlighted by UN panel

http://news.bahai.org/story/886

 

 

UNITED NATIONS, 7 February 2011, (BWNS) – While the economic crisis has led many to focus on inequalities at the national level, the extremes between rich and poor internationally have also grown to become a threat to global stability.

 

That was among the themes raised by a panel here, held as part of this year’s session of the UN Commission for Social Development, which runs until Friday.

 

Focusing on the Commission’s theme of poverty eradication, the discussion – organized by the Baha’i International Community and co-sponsored by ATD Fourth World – brought together top-level UN diplomats, officials from UN agencies, and representatives of non-governmental organizations.

 

In his remarks, Ambassador Jorge Valero – Permanent Representative for Venezuela to the UN and Chair of the Commission for Social Development – blamed growing inequality on the excesses of global capitalism.

 

“Inequality and poverty, climate change and the destruction of ecosystems are outstanding issues on the international agenda,” said Ambassador Valero.

 

“These calamities can only be effectively addressed by attacking the structural causes that generate them: a consumerist, selfish and predatory global system that is based on the commodification of man and nature.”

 

Jomo Kwame Sundaram, UN Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development, said that while the issue of inequality is often examined from the national viewpoint, two-thirds of global inequality stems from differences between countries.

 

International differences are “very, very stark,” he said, noting that such inequalities have increased over the last three decades.

 

“The big promise of financial globalization was that if you ease restrictions, there will be a free flow of capital, and it will flow from rich to poor. This didn’t happen. Capital flowed uphill, from the poor to the rich,” said Dr. Sundaram.

 

Other participants in the panel – held on Wednesday 1 February – included: Isabel Ortiz, Associate Director of Policy and Practice at UNICEF; Christine Bockstal, Chief of the Technical Cooperation and Country Operations Group for the Social Security Department of the International Labour Organization; and Sara Burke, a Senior Policy Analyst at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

 

Dr. Ortiz reported that the top 20 percent of the world’s population has more than 80 percent of the world’s income – but the poorest 20 percent have less than one percent of the global income.

 

“National redistribution is not enough to address inequality,” she said. “There is a strong link between high income inequality and social unrest and economic instability.”

 

In his remarks, Ming Hwee Chong of the Baha’i International Community (BIC) drew attention to recent remarks made by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about income inequality at all levels increasing over the last 25 years and posing a serious barrier worldwide to poverty eradication and social integration.

 

Mr. Chong said it is time to ask some critical questions regarding the relationship between poverty eradication and the economic extremes that now exist in the world.

 

Introducing a BIC statement prepared for the Commission, Mr. Chong noted that relationships of dominance – one nation over another, one race over another, or one class or gender over another – contribute to inequitable access to resources and knowledge.

 

The statement also expresses concern that a “materialistic worldview, which underpins much of modern economic thinking, reduces concepts of value, human purpose and human interactions to the self-interested pursuit of material wealth.”

 

Read the statement here: http://news.bahai.org/sites/news.bahai.org/files/documentlibrary/886_BIC_Statement.pdf

 

Mr. Chong said that – while much attention has been paid to the political, policy and transactional dimensions of the current crisis – the aim of the discussion was to collaborate on “creating a space to dig deeper in order to bring to the surface some of the underlying assumptions that shape our economic and social reality.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

To read the article online and view photographs, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/story/886

 

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/

 

 

________________________________________________

 

Copyright 2012 by the Baha’i World News Service. Stories and photographs produced by the Baha’i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha’i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/

 

Baha’i holy writings made widely available to Korean public for first time

http://news.bahai.org/story/885

 

 

SEOUL, South Korea, 1 February 2012 (BWNS) – An ambitious project to translate a collection of Baha’u'llah’s writings into Korean reaches fruition this month with the book’s publication.

 

The volume, known in English as “Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah,” will be the first Baha’i book in Korean to be widely available from bookshops and online retailers.

 

“The main reason for publishing Baha’i literature in our language is to reach out to the whole of society with this new message for humanity,” said Hee Jin Koo, a member of the task force overseeing the publication.

 

First published in English in 1935, “Gleanings” is a well-loved anthology of some of the writings of Baha’u'llah, which were originally penned in Persian and Arabic. The selection includes extracts on such themes as the purpose of life, the unity of religion, and the spiritual requisites of peace and civilization.

 

Work began on the new translation in 2003 when a small group began meeting to discuss a few paragraphs or pages each week.

 

“A particular challenge was the translation of certain religious terms,” said So Jeong Park, who worked on the book. To find a standardized vocabulary, the task force drew on words commonly used in Korea’s various religious traditions – including Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. For other terms, an original translation had to be devised.

 

The first draft was completed in late 2010, followed by a full year of rewriting and revisions.

 

In addition to the 410 pages of Baha’u'llah’s text, the new edition includes a preface that introduces the history and teachings of the Baha’i Faith to a general audience. A lengthy glossary also explains terms found in its sacred writings.

 

“We hope these features will greatly increase the accessibility of the book,” said Dr. Park.

 

The decision to make “Gleanings” available in major bookstores, through libraries and universities, and via online retailers, came late last year after the manuscript was finalized. Earlier translations of extracts from “Gleanings” were previously widely used by individuals and at Baha’i meetings but, until now, no Baha’i literature has been so accessible to the Korean public.

 

In particular, it is believed that publishing an electronic edition will have a great impact.

 

“It means everybody can download it onto their own gadget,” said Hee Jin Koo, “and they are the ones who will participate in distributing and disseminating it far and wide.”

 

 

 

 

 

To read the article online and view photographs, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/story/885

 

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/

 

New crackdown highlights campaign to block progress of Iranian Baha’is

http://news.bahai.org/story/884

 

 

NEW YORK, 26 January 2012, (BWNS) – The Iranian government’s systematic strategy to drive Baha’is to economic ruin shows no sign of abating.

 

According to reports received by the Baha’i International Community, a renewed campaign is under way in Kerman, the major city in south central Iran.

 

“We have learned that the Public Places Supervision Office is denying the renewal of licenses – and revoking some existing ones – for Baha’i-owned businesses in the city,” said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.

 

“A wide range of professions are being targeted – from computer sales and repair shops to real estate brokers. Baha’is involved in the sale of iron alloys, steel, or gold are losing their licenses, as are Baha’i-owned businesses relating to food products, and health and cosmetic services, such as opticians,” she said.

 

Baha’is in Kerman have also been told that they are not allowed to own a large number of shops on the same street.

 

“The authorities have even gone so far as to revoke the licenses of business partners of Baha’is, who are not themselves members of the Baha’i Faith,” said Ms. Dugal.

 

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, many thousands of Baha’is have lost their jobs or sources of livelihood. In 1993, the UN disclosed an Iranian government memorandum – endorsed by the country’s Supreme Leader – that explicitly outlines a plan to “block” the “development of the Iranian Baha’i community.”

 

In addition to the barring of young Baha’is from higher education, said Ms. Dugal, it is clear that the authorities are continuing with a range of other actions to carry out this policy.

 

“We have received accounts of at least 60 incidents in the past five years, designed to curb the economic prospects of Baha’is,” she reported.

 

Some recent examples include:

 

– From 2 to 12 January 2012, more than 70 percent of Baha’i-owned businesses in Sari and Ghaemshahr (Mazandaran province), and a number in Gorgan and Gonbad (Golestan province), were searched in order to find some excuse on which to threaten or arrest Baha’is. Authorities even searched the houses of Baha’is that are working from home, in some cases more than two years since they closed up their stores;

 

– In July 2011, the Baha’i owner of a shop in Abadan received a notice from the Union for Retailers and Manufacturers of Jewelry, Watches and Glasses asking him to return his work license and liquidate his assets within 24 hours;

 

– In June 2011, an optical shop was sealed on the pretext of transferring the license to a new location. The head of the Public Places Supervision Office indicated that the order to seal the shop was issued by the higher authorities. The shop had been previously closed by the authorities in December 2008, along with four other Baha’i shops in Nazarabad. But after a legal battle, the owner managed to reopen in a new location – only to have it sealed again.

 

– After a wave of arson attacks on a dozen Baha’i-owned businesses in Rafsanjan, Iran, in late 2010, some 20 homes and businesses were sent a warning letter demanding that Baha’is sign an undertaking to “refrain from forming contacts or friendships with Muslims” and from “using or hiring Muslim trainees.”

 

– In early 2009, in the city of Semnan, the association of Trade Unions passed a by-law stating that no Baha’i should receive a business license. Soon after, a number of Baha’i-owned businesses and shops throughout the city were subsequently sealed or shut down.

 

– In an example of another kind of economic pressure, a Baha’i in Isfahan – shortly before being fired from his work – requested from the social security agency that he be allocated the amount that had been deducted from his wages for his pension. He received notice that his request was not being pursued as it was a “non-issue,” given the fact that the reason for his losing his job was his membership in “the deviant Bahaist sect.” The notice specified that he and another 14 individuals were fired based on the legal prohibition on their being hired in the first place, and thus their claims were of no account.

 

“International law firmly spells out the right of individuals to be free to work and earn a livelihood, without discrimination,” said Ms. Dugal.

 

“Last month, the international community voted overwhelmingly at the UN to condemn Iran for its ongoing and recurring human rights violations. Surely it’s time that Iran realizes that it can no longer get away with oppressing its citizens and thinking that no one will notice.”

 

Romanian personalities demand human rights for Iran’s Baha’is

http://news.bahai.org/story/883

 

 

BUCHAREST, Romania, 25 January 2012, (BWNS) – Almost 70 prominent Romanians are calling upon the government of Iran to grant Baha’is their fundamental human rights.

 

Sixty-eight celebrated figures – from the worlds of academia, arts, banking, business, media and medicine – have signed a petition, appealing to the Iranian authorities to cease its systematic campaign of persecution of the Baha’is, “who seek only their rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the right to life, the right to liberty and security of person, the right to education and work, and the right to practice their religion…”

 

The letter was instigated by Radu Gabrea, a renowned film director, along with Istvan Haller of Romania’s National Council for Combating Discrimination.

 

Among the signatories are internationally-acclaimed actress Maia Morgenstern, best-known for her portrayal of Mary in “The Passion of the Christ;” television news presenter Andreea Berecleanu; well-known drummer Ovidiu Lipan Tandarica; and a former government minister, Ilie Serbanescu.

 

The petition highlights the case of the seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders, as well as Iran’s “repeated attempts to hinder the progress of the Baha’i community’s efforts to educate its young people,” and a “litany of other abuses and violations of their fundamental rights.”

 

“We do not understand…why the Iranian state sanctions the incitement of hatred against the Baha’is in Iran, why it allows fire bombings and torchings of their places of business, and other forms of terrorization, that seek to drive them out of their towns and cities…” the petition states.

 

“We do not understand why they are harassed when burying their dead, why Baha’i cemeteries are desecrated, why they are denied business licenses, why their businesses and properties are confiscated, and why the Baha’is are denied work and pensions.”

 

Della Marcus of the Romanian Baha’i community said it is unprecedented for such a large number of prominent people to speak up for the cause of the Baha’is in Iran.

 

“We pray that this petition will contribute to making it clear to the Iranian government that there are many around the world that do not accept their state-sponsored persecution of the Baha’is,” said Ms. Marcus.

 

 

 

To read the article online, view photograph and access links, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/story/883

 

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/

 

Slovak politicians call Iran’s persecution of Baha’is “chilling” and “abhorrent”

http://news.bahai.org/story/882

 

 

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, 20 January 2012, (BWNS) – Treatment of the Baha’is in Iran has “escalated to an institutionalised and blatant policy of persecution,” according to a proclamation issued by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Slovakian parliament.

 

The proclamation describes the Iranian government’s incitement to hatred based on religion and belief as “abhorrent.” It also states that the “regime’s endeavors to persecute Baha’is is chilling indeed,” and demands an end to Iran’s “spiralling efforts to destroy the Iranian Baha’i community.”

 

Baha’is “must be guaranteed their full and equal human rights” and “be allowed to contribute to the public life and development of Iran along with their fellow citizens,” wrote the Foreign Affairs Committee.

 

“The fact that this Committee has taken on the situation of Baha’is in Iran is important for two reasons,” said its chairman, Frantisek Sebej.

 

“One, because the democratic parliaments of the world must care about and deal with the denial of human rights of suppressed minorities in other parts of the world, at least for the reason that we are the luckier ones who live in a free world and have the obligation to care for others.”

 

“The second reason is that with such a resolution we can help the Baha’i community.”

 

Noting “a sharp increase in the systematic, government-supported program to destroy the Baha’i community in Iran,” the statement also describes the destruction of Baha’i holy sites and cemeteries as an “atrocious blow to religious cultural heritage of significant value for humankind.” It calls for the immediate release of the seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders and the Baha’i educators jailed for their association with the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education.

 

“At issue are denial of the right to life, liberty and security of person; violent attacks; arbitrary arrests and imprisonments; denial of access to education; confiscation and destruction of personal community property; and the denial of employment, pensions and other benefits,” the proclamation says.

 

The Committee – which approved the proclamation at a meeting held yesterday in the building of the National Council of the Slovak Republic – also resolved to send the statement to senior figures in Iran, including President Ahmadinejad.

 

“Though I do not expect that the Iranian Government will stop the persecution of Baha’is,” said Dr. Sebej, “at least it will not dare to do more horrific things while thinking that no one is watching and nobody cares.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

To read the article online and view photographs, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/story/882

 

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/

 

 

________________________________________________

 

Copyright 2012 by the Baha’i World News Service. Stories and photographs produced by the Baha’i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha’i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/

 

 

Even in death, Iran’s Baha’is face persecution

http://news.bahai.org/story/881

 

 

GENEVA, 19 January 2012, (BWNS) – Eighteen years ago, Baha’is in the Iranian city of Sanandaj were allocated a one-hectare parcel of barren land at the side of a road for use as a cemetery.

 

This rocky mountainside, devoid of vegetation, was hardly prime real estate but – after the first burial there in the autumn of 1993 – local Baha’is got together to landscape the site, dig out the rocks and replace the soil. They planted and watered by hand 250 cypress and fir saplings, contributed by the Office of Agriculture. They installed electricity and built a small room where bodies could be prepared for burial.

 

At every step of the way, proper permits were obtained. When the Baha’is wanted to dig a well, permission was sought and granted from the regional water board. At every expiry date, the permit was correctly renewed.

 

Impressed by the transformation of the site, the Office of Natural Resources suggested that the Baha’is consider planting trees on public land adjacent to the cemetery, thereby expanding the green zone. As a result, the largely Sunni Muslim residents of Sanandaj came to respect the place as a symbol of the Baha’i community’s peaceful presence in their city.

 

But now, the area’s beauty and greenery appears to have instigated a change in official attitudes. Authorities want to repossess the cemetery, reasserting the state’s claim on the land – even though Baha’is were once granted the deeds. An order for it to be confiscated, and the buildings and graves to be destroyed, will be heard in court at the end of this month.

 

Recent harassment of Baha’is in Sanandaj does not bode well for the verdict. On 19 December, Ministry of Intelligence agents carried out early morning raids on 12 Baha’i homes in the city. Baha’i books, pamphlets and photographs were confiscated, along with compact discs, audio cassettes, computers, mobile telephones, computer drives, and various personal documents.

 

“In the light of this upsurge of persecution of the Sanandaj Baha’i community, it looks like the fate of the cemetery has already been decided at the order of the Ministry of Intelligence,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

 

In an announcement on 17 January, the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan called upon the authorities to practice “tolerance and acceptance of other beliefs.” It described the “new wave of pressure and restraints against the Baha’i community” as “inhumane and illegal actions…in violation of civil and political rights treaties and conventions.”

 

 

Disturbing the departed

 

Under Iran’s present regime, the case of Sanandaj is not unique. Since 2007, there have been more than 30 incidents of vandalism, arson, or other problems related to Baha’i-owned cemeteries or efforts by Baha’is to properly bury their dead.

 

“Not content with only persecuting the living, the Iranian authorities seek to disturb the peace of even those who have passed on,” said Ms. Ala’i. “This is the latest in a long string of attacks on Baha’i cemeteries and burial rites. All are in complete violation of international standards of human rights and any decent person’s understanding of respect for the dead.”

 

Among recent examples:

 

– A newly established cemetery in Sangsar, Semnan Province, given to local Baha’is by the municipality, was vandalized by unknown intruders in March 2011. The graves were piled high with dirt, the trees were uprooted, and the two small rooms were destroyed.

 

– In July 2010, graves in the Baha’i cemetery of Jiroft, Kerman Province, were destroyed by unknown intruders using bulldozers.

 

– In late May 2010, the Baha’i cemetery in Mashhad was vandalized at night using a front-end loader and other heavy machinery. The cemetery’s walls, the mortuary, and the place where prayers were recited were severely damaged.

 

Other incidents have involved efforts by authorities to interfere with Baha’i burial rites.

 

In Tabriz, for example, Baha’is had been allowed access to the city’s public cemetery for years. In August last year, the family of a recently deceased Baha’i woman was told that she would have to be interred with Muslim rites. The woman’s remains had to be buried in a Baha’i cemetery in another town. A similar incident occurred last October when the body of a Baha’i man was taken from Tabriz to another Baha’i cemetery some 100 kilometers away and buried without his family being informed.

 

“Iranian officials in international fora consistently claim that Baha’is are not treated differently from others and are only ‘punished’ when they do something illegal,” said Ms. Ala’i. “What precisely have these dead people done to deserve such treatment?”

 

“The beautification of the cemetery in Sanandaj and its surroundings is evidence of the sincere and positive contribution Iranian Baha’is wish to make to their country. What is equally evident is that the authorities find such a thing impossible to accept.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

To read the article online, view photographs and access links, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/story/881

 

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/

 

 

________________________________________________

 

Copyright 2012 by the Baha’i World News Service. Stories and photographs produced by the Baha’i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha’i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/

 

Debate highlights dangerous escalation of religious persecution in Iran

http://news.bahai.org/story/880

 

 

LONDON, 13 January 2011 (BWNS) – Members of Parliament here have sharply criticized Iran for its human rights violations, focusing especially on the “steep rise” in the persecution of religious minorities.

 

In a debate held at Westminster Hall on Wednesday 11 January, MPs highlighted the fact that virtually every religious minority in Iran is now facing oppression.

 

Some 19 MPs, representing the UK’s three major parties, participated in the debate.

 

Watch video coverage of the debate: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=9743

Read a transcript of the debate: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2012-01-11a.109.1

 

In the opening speech, Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside, described the persecution of Baha’is as “pervasive and escalating dangerously.”

 

“The repression takes a number of forms in an ongoing and systematic persecution,” said Mrs. Ellman. “It means arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and the denial of access to higher education and areas of employment. The homes and businesses of Baha’is have been subject to arson attacks, cemeteries have been destroyed, and children have been harassed.”

 

She also expressed concern over the 20-year prison sentences being served by seven Baha’i leaders and Iran’s continuing effort to bar young Baha’is from higher education.

 

Noting remarks made recently by Canadian Senator Romeo Dallaire, Mrs. Ellman said that it “is extremely important that the world does not wait until there is a genocide. It should heed warning and take further action to put pressure on the Government of Iran to stop what they are doing.”

 

Participants also raised the issue of the increasing persecution of Christians in Iran. Andrew Selous, MP for South West Bedfordshire, reported that at least eight Christian leaders have been murdered since 1979, and expressed particular concern over the case of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was sentenced to death for apostasy in 2010 and has since been the focus of an international outcry.

 

Stewart Jackson, MP for Peterborough, spoke of “regular raids on gatherings” of Christians, “harsh interrogations and torture…including demands for the recantation of faith and for information on the identities of fellow Christians; detention for long periods without charge and other violations of due process; convictions for ill-defined crimes or on falsified political charges; the economic targeting of the Christian community through the demand of exorbitant bail payments; and the threat of imminent execution of a house-church pastor.”

 

Regarding Iran’s Jewish community, Martin Horwood, MP for Cheltenham, reported “increasing evidence that anti-Semitism is growing there, and that the small Jewish community there is being blamed for the actions of the Israeli Government.”

 

At the end of the debate, Alistair Burt, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said that while 2011 showed that demands for human dignity are irrepressible, Iran is moving in the opposite direction.

 

“Human rights are universal,” said Mr. Burt, “and Iran’s failure to meet its obligations is punishing and stifling the fulfilment of the wishes and aspirations of millions of people.”

 

Mr. Burt assured those present that the UK will continue to press other countries to support resolutions expressing concern over Iran’s human rights record in the United Nations and at the Human Rights Council.

 

Dr. Kishan Manocha, Director of the Office of Public Affairs of the Baha’i Community of the United Kingdom, has welcomed the wide ranging discussion.

 

“The fact that such a good number of MPs, representing all parties, participated really reflects a high level of concern about Iran’s human rights record, and especially its rising religious intolerance,” said Dr. Manocha.

 

“We are, of course, pleased that Baha’is were prominently mentioned,” Dr. Manocha added. “But we are also happy that UK Parliamentarians are focusing on the problems faced by other religious minorities. We need to speak as one on the situation of religious intolerance in Iran.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

To read the article online, view photograph and access links, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/story/880

 

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/

 

UN investigator who revealed Iran’s “Baha’i Question” memorandum dies aged 93

http://news.bahai.org/story/879

 

 

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, 10 January 2012, (BWNS) – Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, a noted legal scholar who uncovered significant evidence of human rights violations in Iran in the late 1980s and early 1990s, passed away here last Thursday.

 

A prominent diplomat and professor of law, Prof. Galindo Pohl was well known internationally even before his 1987 appointment as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights’ Special Representative on Iran. He had served as El Salvador’s UN ambassador and was also – among other posts – the director of legal affairs for the Organization of American States.

 

But in the field of human rights, his eight years as Special Representative were particularly significant, principally for a series of reports that authoritatively documented the intense, often brutal, violations committed by Iran against its own citizens.

 

In 1990, for example, Prof. Galindo Pohl cited numerous interviews and documents to expose the Iranian government’s extensive use of execution and torture, and lack of judicial safeguards.

 

“The Baha’i International Community wishes to express its deep condolences over the passing of Professor Galindo Pohl, whose impact and influence in the field of human rights will long be remembered,” said Diane Ala’i, the representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

 

“His tireless efforts to interview victims, their families, and others with direct or inside knowledge of the kinds of violations that the government hoped to keep secret became an essential feature of his reports to the UN Commission on Human Rights. These were critical in calling the world’s attention to the brutality of the regime at the time,” said Ms. Ala’i.

 

Prof. Galindo Pohl’s 1993 report to the Commission was notable for its disclosure of the so-called “Baha’i Question” memorandum, a previously secret 1991 letter – issued by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council – that established a national policy for dealing with Iran’s Baha’is, setting limits on their educational, economic and cultural activities.

 

“The public release of this memorandum was extremely important,” said Ms. Ala’i. “It documented how the highest levels of the Iranian government had devised a plan to completely block the development of the Baha’i community in ways that would draw less attention than the executions and imprisonments carried out in the 1980s – but which would still eventually result in the end of the Baha’i community as a viable entity.”

 

Prof. Galindo Pohl visited Iran three times during the course of his mandate and, on those visits, often boldly challenged Iranian authorities by conducting interviews in prison or with individuals that the government otherwise sought to prevent from meeting with him. He was also known to be scrupulously fair, reporting the extensive inquiries he made of Iranian officials – and also their responses.

 

Born 18 October 1918 in Sonsonate, El Salvador, Prof. Galindo Pohl was a graduate of the University of El Salvador, where he obtained a doctorate in law and social sciences. In 1950, he was elected President of the National Constitutional Assembly. He also served as Minister of Education from 1950 to 1956. From 1960 to 1964, he was a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

 

 

 

To read the article online, view photograph and access links, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/story/879

 

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/

 

 

________________________________________________

 

Copyright 2012 by the Baha’i World News Service. Stories and photographs produced by the Baha’i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha’i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/

 

Canadian university presidents speak out for Baha’i educators

http://news.bahai.org/story/878

 

 

TORONTO, 9 January 2012, (BWNS) – Two pre-eminent university presidents are urging all of their fellow Canadians to join them in calling for an end to Iran’s persecution of Baha’i educators and students.

 

The appeal comes from Canada’s former minister of foreign affairs and president of the University of Winnipeg, Lloyd Axworthy, and Allan Rock – who is president of the University of Ottawa and former Canadian ambassador to the UN.

 

In an article in the Canadian edition of The Huffington Post, they speak of how “deeply troubled” they are that Baha’is are denied access to higher education in Iran, and express concern that “the brutal regime in Tehran has turned a deaf ear” to calls to end the systematic persecution.

 

Read the article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/allan-rock/bahai-iran-politics_b_1186039.html

 

“As Presidents of Canadian universities,” they write, “we attach enormous value to access by young people to the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s world. We regard education as the key to a better future for all peoples, and believe passionately that each person has the right to an education.”

 

Their article particularly draws attention to the attack launched by Iranian authorities on an informal community initiative – known as the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) – which was set up to provide education for young Baha’is barred from university.

 

Among those arrested in May last year for their association with BIHE was Nooshin Khadem – an MBA graduate of Carleton University in Ottawa. She is now serving a four-year jail term. A married couple currently awaiting trial, Kamran Rahimian and Faran Hessami, completed their graduate studies in psychology counseling at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education.

 

“They were charged with teaching without valid accreditation,” the article states. “The Iranian authorities confiscated their U of O degrees and then alleged that they had never earned them.”

 

Presidents Axworthy and Rock are encouraging “all Canadians to add their voice in calling on the Iranian government unconditionally to drop all charges against educators, to halt all further aggression towards the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education and to allow the Baha’i access to education. The Baha’i of Iran must know that in resisting the cruel oppression of those who persecute them, they do not stand alone.”

 

The article concludes with the two presidents stating that they are “proud to join” with a “growing group of academics, university administrators and notable advocates for peace including Desmond Tutu, Romeo Dallaire and Jose Ramos-Horta” who are “condemning the Iranian regime’s denial of the right to education.”

 

 

To read the article online, view photograph and access links, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/story/878

 

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/

 

 

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Copyright 2012 by the Baha’i World News Service. Stories and photographs produced by the Baha’i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha’i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/

 

Baha’i International Community mourns passing of human rights expert

 

 

GENEVA, 8 January 2012, (BWNS) – The Baha’i International Community has expressed its condolences over the passing of noted human rights lawyer and Tunisian jurist Abdelfattah Amor.

 

Professor Amor – who has died at the age of 68 after suffering a heart attack – was best known internationally for his 11 years of service as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, from 1993 to 2004.

 

“As the Special Rapporteur, Professor Amor was among the world’s foremost defenders of the right to freedom of religion or belief,” said Diane Ala’i, the representative of the Baha’i International Community to the UN in Geneva.

 

“He bravely spoke out on behalf of individuals and groups around the world who faced religious discrimination, regardless of the political consequences,” she said.

 

In 1995, Dr. Amor visited Iran – among the few UN human rights investigators to do so – and subsequently issued a ground-breaking report that cataloged that country’s widespread discrimination against religious minorities, including members of the Baha’i Faith.

 

A Muslim, Dr. Amor boldly pointed out the degree to which Iran had failed to live up to international human rights standards regarding freedom of religion or belief.

 

“His report relied on detailed interviews and careful legal analysis and is still considered a milestone in human rights reporting today,” said Ms. Alai.

 

Among other things, for example, Dr. Amor pointed out in 1996 that individuals have the freedom to “have or adopt” a new religion, as well as to retain their own religious belief, regardless of national laws that might say otherwise, such as is the case in Iran.

 

In another report issued in 1997, Dr. Amor made clear that governments are not to be the arbiters of what is legitimate religion, deserving of protection under human rights law. “It is not the business of the State or any other group or community to act as the guardian of people’s consciences and encourage, impose or censure any religious belief or conviction,” he wrote, a statement that was seen as significant in the face of claims made by Iran about Baha’is.

 

“Our hearts go out to his family, to the Tunisian people, and to the human rights community everywhere, who are sure to mourn his sudden passing,” said Ms. Ala’i.

 

Dr. Amor was born 4 March 1943 in Tunisia. After receiving a law degree in 1967, he undertook advanced legal studies in Paris. In his early career, he served as a university professor in Tunisia, serving, for example, from 1987 to 1993 as dean of the faculty of legal, political and social science at the University of Tunis.

 

In 1998, during his mandate as UN Special Rapporteur, he was elected to serve on the UN Human Rights Committee, where he continued to be a powerful advocate for the right to freedom of religion or belief. He was a member of the Committee at the time of his death.

 

In 2011, after the Tunisian Revolution, he was appointed as president of the National Commission for the Investigation of Corruption and Bribery under the regime of former Tunisian President Ben Ali.

 

 

 

To read the article online, view photograph and access links, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/story/877

 

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:

http://news.bahai.org/

 

 

________________________________________________

 

Copyright 2012 by the Baha’i World News Service. Stories and photographs produced by the Baha’i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha’i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/