Mr Terzi Ambassador Giulio Terzi, the former Italian foreign minister was answering questions from journalists during an online question and answer session on May 25 entitled ‘Crisis in the Middle East & Iran´s Destructive Role, Europe´s Policy, P5+1 Nuclear Agreement With Iran’.
By Hamid Yazdan Panah
This past week, the Kurdish city of Mahabad was the scene of intense anti-regime protests, following the suspicious death of a young Kurdish woman. The protests were spurred after the death of Farinaz Khosrawani, a 25 year old Kurdish woman, who died after a fall from the 4th floor of a hotel in which she was employed. According to various reports, Khosrawani’s death was allegedly related to her resistance of an attempted rape by a member of the Iranian intelligence ministry. The incident served as a boiling point for tensions among the ethnic Kurds of the city, who set fire to the hotel in question, and resulted in protests and clashes with security forces.
Unconfirmed reports claimed that two people were killed in clashes with security forces, following the deployment of a large number of revolutionary guards to Kurdish cities. In a statement, Amnesty International stated, “According to Kurdish rights activists outside Iran, the violence started after riot police resorted to batons, tear gas and possibly live ammunition to disperse the crowd, injuring multiple people. The activists told Amnesty International that Ministry of Intelligence officials have since arrested at least 20 people, and some wounded protesters have avoided going to hospital due to fears of being arrested.”
The protests have since spread to neighboring cities, and have included calls for a general strike and other acts of protest. The uprising in Mahabad was supported by international acts of solidarity, as Iranians across the globe staged protests and pickets in support of the upheaval in Mahabad.
The incident is just the latest indicator of the ongoing war between the Iranian regime against ethnic minorities, including Kurds. The systematic discrimination and repression faced by minorities including the Kurds has long been the source of tension and anger in Iran. The protests in Mahabad demonstrate just how quickly these tensions can flair into dramatic anti-government protests.
The Kurdish uprising which took place last week also coincided with the five year anniversary of the execution of a number of Kurdish activists. Shirin Alamhouli, Ali Heidarian, Farhad Vakili, and Farzad Kamangar were Kurdish activists who were executed on May 9th, 2010. They were accused of associating with Kurdish groups who stand opposed to the Iranian regime. A number of Kurdish activists remain imprisoned or on death row for political crimes.
In an interview with Rudaw, Omar Baleki, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran told Rudaw, “On the surface it is just an attack on a single woman, but in reality this injustice and repression has been happening to the Kurdish people for 36 years.”
Hamid Yazdan Panah is an attorney focused on asylum and immigration in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also a human rights activist focused on the Middle East and Iran.
(May 14, 2015) – A new short video published on IranFocus video channel is getting its day of viral exposure as it raises awareness of the roots of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism sweeping the Middle East.
In his remarks at the United States Military Academy at West Point on May 28, 2014, President Barack Obama elucidated at this commencement ceremony: “America’s support for democracy and human rights goes beyond idealism; it is a matter of national security. Democracies are our closest friends and are far less likely to go to war… Respect for human rights is an antidote to instability and the grievances that fuel violence and terror.”
By Hamid Yazdan Panah
Iran’s dissidents appear to be on their own. Once revered and celebrated by the international community, Iran’s dissidents appear to be an afterthought in respect to policy towards Iran. This reality was on full display this past week, as the Iranian regime arrested Nargess Mohammadi, Vice-President of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC). The arrest of Mohammadi is just the latest example of the regimes ongoing war against freedom of speech and human rights activists.
According to information from within the country, gatherings by noble teachers and education-system employees have begun in Tehran and at least 20 other major cities including Mashad, Tabriz, Shiraz, Sari, Ahwaz, Kermanshah, Qom ,and Ardebil in addition to Tehran.
Iran News Update – On Tuesday, the French Senate hosted a conference titled “Islamic Fundamentalism from Middle East to Europe: Challenges and Solutions.” Presenters at the event included founding members and the current president of the French Committee for a Democratic Iran, as well as several foreign dignitaries.
In an online speech and question and answer session, Political Science Professor Raymond
Tanter told a global audience that the Obama administration is beginning to suffer “buyer’s remorse” regarding its policy of favoring “regime change from within” by looking for moderates inside of the existing regime.
According to Shahin Gobadi, a spokesman of the Iranian opposition movement the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), Iranian workers and laborers are becoming more restive and are totally disillusioned about the government of Hassan Rouhani. That is reflected in the marked surge of anti-government protests, strikes, and sit-ins in recent months, Gobadi said.
By former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.)
This past Wednesday could well mark a turning point in the U.S.’s fight against ISIS and other forces of instability and violence in the greater Middle East. The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-Proliferation, and Trade held a hearing entitled “ISIS: Defining the Enemy,” where Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the Iranian opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), was the first to testify. This is a watershed development, especially at a moment when the U.S. government is flying headlong into a nuclear deal with Tehran that can only help legitimize the brutal Iranian theocracy that is fomenting much of the sectarian chaos that is feeding the rise of ISIS.
