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jeudi 31 juillet 2014

U.S. Religious Freedom Report lists Iran as “countries of particular concern”

                   Christians in Iran always living in fear, especially under Rouhani crackdown
        Christians in Iran always living in fear, especially under Rouhani crackdown

In Iran crackdown news, the U.S. Department of State annual report on religious freedom published Monday listed Iran under mullahs rule as one of the “countries of particular concern” in which severe restrictions on people who have beliefs “that did not conform to the state-approved religion”.
The report which deals with the events in 2013 said the Iranian regime “continued convictions and executions of dissidents, political reformists, and peaceful protesters on the charge of moharebeh and anti-Islamic propaganda.”
“The government executed at least 27 individuals on charges of moharebeh, according to credible NGO reports. Authorities at Zaehedan Prison in Sistan-Baluchistan executed a group of inmates on October 26, eight of whom were charged with moharebeh, according to human rights groups.
“Also on October 26, officials executed Kurdish political prisoners Habibollah Golparipour and Reza Esmaili at Uremia Prison and Salmas Prison, respectively, on charges that included moharebeh, according to human rights groups.”
The report highlighted the case of pastor Saeed Abedini. who was detained in September 2012, and was sentenced in January to eight years in prison “on charges related to his religious beliefs.”
“Officials at Evin Prison reportedly subjected Abedini to physical and psychological abuse during his detention, and repeatedly denied him medical treatment and consular access.”
“On November 3, authorities transferred Abedini to Rajai Shahr Prison, a facility reputed to be overcrowded and with insufficient medical care, placing him in a ward known to house violent offenders. Abedini reportedly remained in Rajai Shahr Prison at year’s end.”
The report also said “the government frequently prevented Bahais from leaving the country, harassed and persecuted them, and generally disregarded their property rights.
The 2013 report condemned the repression of Sunnis as well as Sufi communities in Iran.
The report slammed the government’s inaction regarding the persecutions stating that “the government failed to take sufficient action with regard to continued discrimination, restrictions, and occasional attacks against religious minorities. Authorities also consistently failed to investigate crimes committed against members of minority religious groups and against their property, including religious sites and graveyards. “

Palestinian dead figures rise over 1,360 in Gaza

                Israeli forces shelling & bombing Gaza areas

In further Middle East news, the number of Palestinians killed in the past three weeks of air, naval and ground attacks by Israel on Gaza has reached over 1,360. On Wednesday Israeli artillery fire left at least 16 Palestinians killed in aUnited Nations school. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned this attack.
US State Department spokesman Marie Harf also condemned the attack.
The UNHCR said over 3,000 Palestinians had taken refuge in that school. In Gaza clashes to this day 56 Israelis have been killed, consisting of 53 soldiers and 3 civilians.

report: Iran workers staging protests, strikes

                 Workers protests in Tehran

Tehran construction company workers hold protest gathering

In Iran protest news workers of the Quds Mahab Constrction Company in Tehran held a protest gathering outside the office building protesting expulsion of their colleagues. This is a major company active in many huge projects in Iran.
A group of people in Isfahan held a rally on Monday, July 28th, protesting very slow Internet lines. This rally was held outside the regime’s communications company.

Sanandaj
A group of workers in the Katush Road & Construction in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj went on strike protesting the expulsion of a number of their co-workers. This firm is in control of a number of tunnel projects in Sanandaj and 160 workers are the number of its employees.

Marvdasht
A group of biscuit company workers in this city went on strike protesting not receiving their delayed paychecks. This strike began on Saturday, July 26th, have gathered outside the governor of this city.

TehranA number of youths in Jamshidiya clashed with state security forces that intended to harass them. These youths severely beat the agents and broke the leg of one of them, thus leaving the area quickly.

Iran: fate arrested Kurdish college student unknown

                Fate of Iranian Kurdish college student unknown after many days of detention
                            Fate of Iranian Kurdish college student unknown 
                                           after many days of detention

In Iran crackdown news, there is no information of the whereabouts of Afsane Bayazidi, a female Kurdish college student in the Iranian city of Bukan. She was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents on July 27th at her home. Her family has followed up on her whereabouts but they were insulted by the Iranian regime’s agents.
Bayazidi had been arrested once before in November of last year and released on bail. However, the regime’s so-called courts finally condemned her to 2 years in jail on political charges.

Video: No dignity in talking to mullahs, former US Ambassador tells conference

There is no dignity in negotiating with Iran's mullahs who have 'hijacked Islam' to commit unspeakable atrocities, former US Ambassador Marc Ginsberg has told a conference in Paris.
And he said he was waiting for the day when Iranian Resistance leader Maryam Rajavi was welcomed as the leader of her country, as some someone who 'understands the true importance of Islam'.
 Mr Ginsberg, former US Ambassador to Morocco and the the first US ambassador of Jewish faith to an Arab country, told the conference entitled 'Religious dictatorship in Iran, epicenter of sectarian wars in the Middle East': "We also understand the importance of having an Iran that lives side by side with every country in the region in freedom and dignity without the threat the Iranian mullahs pose to the world.
"The proud and peaceful religion that I have come to understand, respect and admire so much has been hijacked by those in Iran who claim to preach the true word of Islam.
"The Iranian mullahs have hijacked Islam in the name of their own piteous devices. I want you to understand that they commit unspeakable atrocities and spread fear and hatred.
"I have called upon my government and the president of the United States that there is no dignity speaking to the mullahs, there is nothing to be gained by making concessions to them."
Iraq's Prime Minister al-Maliki offered no future of peace and harmony, but only more of the 'same extremism we have come to know from Iraq'.
He told Mrs Rajavi: "I want to see the day that you are welcomed in Washington as the leader of free Iran, I want to see the day when my co-religionists respect and admire that there is a leader in Iran who understands the true importance of Islam."

Video- American scholar: West's strategic mistake is ignoring MEK, the center of Iranian opposition

               
The West has made the 'strategic mistake' of side-lining the Iranian Resistance and instead engaging with the Iranian regime in a fruitless bid to halt their production of a nuclear bomb, a leading Middle Eastern expert has told a conference in Paris.
Dr Walid Phares, professor and commentator on global terrorism and Middle Eastern affairs, also accused the international community of abandoning Iranian dissidents affiliated with the People's Mojaheidn Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) stranded in Camp Liberty in Iraq, which he branded a 'jail'.
He told delegates: "In Iran we see a regime that is oppressive that is supportive of terrorism around the region, we see a regime that is supporting another oppressive regime in Damascus, we see that the regime of Iran is not stopping from building its nuclear weapons and its missiles.
"So they ask question why is this happening? but the West and the United States, my own country, now have to ask themselves what have we done?
"We have committed two strategic mistakes over the past few years. We have failed the Arab Spring.
"In Iran, we have done everything but we have ignored the Iranian people and the executions, tortures and in June 2009 when 1.5 million Iranians rose to freedom and were shaking off the foundation of the mullah regime, we abandoned them as well.
"The strategic mistake was to ignore the center of the Iranian opposition, the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), instead we have engaged with the Khomeini's regime, instead we have been transferring billions of dollars of cash to the Iranian regime hoping that it will stop the nuclear bomb, and they are not."
He added: "We have abandoned the noble cause of a free Iran. We did not leave Iraq with a vibrant exiled Iranian community ready to struggle to regain Iran.
"But the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) have shown the world that they can bring Muslim moderates together with Shiite, with Sunni, with Christians, with Jews."
He told the Paris gathering: "You are the other Iran that everybody is waiting for. You are showing, if liberty comes to Iran, every other country every other civil society would have more hope." " I see that the ayatollahs leaving Iran and a lady who would be the president of Iran."

Iranian regime’s repression signals opposition making progress

                 Members of families of 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran gather at burial site of the victims.
This week marked the 26th anniversary of an underreported incident that took place over the course of three months in Iran in 1988. Between July and September of that year, an estimated 30,000 political prisoners were executed after trials before three person death panels seeking to weed out opposition to the Khomeini regime at the end of the Iran-Iraq War.
The main target of this crackdown was the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), or the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).
The Iranian regime has never acknowledged these executions, or provided any information as to how many prisoners were killed.
The majority of those executed were either serving prison sentences for their political activities or had already finished their sentences but were still kept in prison.
Some of them had previously been imprisoned and released, but were again arrested and executed during the massacre.
The wave of massacres of political prisoners began in late July and continued unabated for several months.
By the time it stopped in the Fall, some 30,000 political prisoners, the overwhelming majority of them activists of the MEK were slaughtered.
After a detailed study of irrefutable evidence that included thousands of reports and documents, interviews with the families of victims, the Iranian Resistance declared the number of those slaughtered in 1988 to be 30,000.
It is common knowledge that given that this colossal atrocity was conducted in full secrecy, the international bodies were not given the opportunity to learn of the actual scale of this crime against humanity, especially that in many prisons not even a single prisoner was left to recount the catastrophe.
However, as time passed, many independent experts, witnesses and political figures gradually arrived at this truth and testified to it.
A former cultural advisor to the Iranian regime's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who turned against him following the suppression of 2009 anti-regime protests has confirmed that more than 33,000 people were executed during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.
Prior to him, a senior official of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) who spent many years in Evin Prison for unveiling some aspects of regime’s 'Chain of Murders', secretly sent a video clip abroad in 2008 addressed to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Speaking of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, he said: “The atrocity of this regime is such that in 1988 in just a few nights over 33,700 (thirty-three-thousand seven-hundred) prisoners with sentences of five, two and one years in prison were executed and were buried in mass graves by using bulldozers."
Despite losing more than 120,000 of its activist in this and other violent repressions by the Iranian regime, today the MEK is the principal constituent organization of the NCRI, and it works inside of Iran and on a global scale to advocate for firm policies towards Iran and to expose regime activities and encourage domestic action in opposition to its rule.
After detailing the processes by which the 1988 massacre was carried out and indicting every member of the regime at the time, including current president of the Iranian regime, Hassan Rouhani, for being complicit in it, it is evident that the regime is still working relentlessly to repress resurgent MEK influence.
Despite such a ruthless crackdown focused on the PMOI/MEK, the MEK is making a significant inroads in the Iranian political landscape.
The regime has issued more than 300 publications in the last two years aimed at discrediting the MEK, and has also organized rallies and demonstrations for the same purpose, aiming them at Iranian youth in particular.
The legacy of the 1988 massacre has not, however, been wiped clean by mere propaganda. The MEK remains a prime target of violent repression by the Iranian regime, as well. On June 1, Gholamreza Khosravi, an activist of the opposition group was executed and his body buried in an unmarked grave because of his communications with and financial contributions to the MEK.
Amnesty International focused some attention on Khosravi immediately before and after his execution, but there have been many other victims of Iranian political crackdowns who have not been recognized by Western media. Neither have their killings been considered in a court of law.
It is time that the pervasive silence of the past quarter century be shattered. The UN should launch an independent investigation into one of the most hideous crimes against humanity after the Second World War.
This outcome become more likely as the MEK gains more political clout and public exposure.
On June 27, international supporters of the Iranian Resistance gathered outside of Paris, France. Persons who had previously attended the event insisted that it has consistently grown, with attendance approximately doubling in the past five years.
Outside observers called attention to one of the major factors contributing to this level of commitment among the MEK supporters, indirectly highlighting the history of the 1988 massacre. With 30,000 individuals killed in that event alone, 26 years ago, virtually every one of those who attended this year’s rally know at least one person who was killed by the Iranian regime.

Iran : disparition d’un million de poissons dans la rivière Hirmand et le lac Hamoun

                  Iran
  Un député du Majlis des mollahs a révélé la situation désastreuse au niveau de l’environnement dans la province du Sistan et Balouchistan en Iran. Ce député a rapporté que « l’assèchement du Lac Hamoun et de la rivière Hirmand ont fait disparaitre un nombre important de poisson.
Alors qu’il se plaignait de  la perte d’emploi pour compagnie de pêche dans cette région, il a expliqué qu’au lieu de développer la pisciculture l’endroit s’est transformé en lieu pour l’élevage.
Il a alors révélé que « la mort, le mois dernier, d’un millions de poissons n’a pas fait attiré l’attention des organes et la province est une fois de plus témoin de la disparition des poissons. »

Le régime iranien se sert d’un aéroport civil pour envoyer des armes aux terroristes

                  Le régime iranien se sert d’un aéroport civil pour envoyer des armes aux terroristes
 L'aéroport international de Téhéran est devenu une plaque tournante pour les livraisons d'armes au régime de Bachar al-Assad en Syrie, au Hezbollah au Liban et à d'autres groupes dans le monde arabe par la force terroriste Qods des gardiens de la Révolution (Pasdaran) en Iran, selon des services de renseignement occidentaux, signale un quotidien allemand.
La Force Qods occupe à cette fin tout un hangar dans la zone cargo de l'est de l'aéroport. Le hangar en forme de bloc qui était utilisé il y a encore environ deux ans par Iran Air, sert désormais de centre logistique et de stockage d'armes, a confié au Süddeutsche Zeitung un diplomate occidental ayant accès à ces renseignements.
Des sources avaient rapporté en mai dernier une explosion à l'aéroport qui avait blessé deux pasdaran lors d’un transfert d’obus de mortier.
Le régime iranien utilise depuis longtemps les aéroports et les vols civils pour faire passer des armes.
Ces mesures violent non seulement les résolutions du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies, mais aussi l'accord de l'Organisation de l'aviation civile internationale, dont l'Iran est signataire.

La situation épouvantable des prisonniers politiques à Oroumieh en Iran

                         La situation épouvantable des prisonniers politiques à Oroumieh en Iran
CNRI – L’inquiétude sur le sort de sept prisonniers politiques kurdes à la prison d’Oroumieh amplifie. L’Etat de santé de Ali Ahmad Soleiman, Mostafa Ali Ahmad, Heiman Hassanzadeh, Ali Afshari, Keiwan Esmaïli Mamadi et Behrouz Alkhali justifie leur transfert à l’hôpital que refusent les autorités.
Ali Ahmad Soleiman souffre de problème au niveau de la colonne vertébrale et a de sérieux problèmes de vue est privée de soins médicaux. Alors que Mostafa Ali Ahmad souffre de calculs et d’infections rénales, les autorités refusent son transfert à l’hôpital. Heiman hassanzadeh, blessé par balles lors de son arrestation a la blessure infectée, mais se trouve sans soin à la section des prisonniers de droit commun. Le cas des autres prisonniers n’est pas meilleur.
Le comportement des autorités carcérales constituent un moyen de pression supplémentaire sur les prisonniers politiques dans l’ensemble des prisons, visant à contrecarrer les effets des multiplications des mouvements sociaux dans le pays.

Télé Sud sur la conférence: «Dictature religieuse foyer de la guerre confessionnelle au Moyen-Orient »

CNRI - Le 26 juillet, Maryam Radjavi, présidente élue de la Résistance iranienne, a participé à une conférence à Plaine Saint-Denis près de Paris, intitulée « La dictature religieuse foyer de la guerre confessionnelle au Moyen-Orient ».
Elle a estimé que le régime du guide suprême était l’instigateur de l’extrémisme sous couvert de l’islam et le principal facteur des malheurs et des crises que subit le monde musulman, notamment l’Irak, la Syrie, la Palestine, le Liban et d’autres pays de la région.
Cette conférence s’est déroulée en présence de personnalités politiques et religieuses de nombreux pays de quatre continents, notamment de la France, du Proche Orient et du continent africain. 

mercredi 30 juillet 2014

More reports on protests, clashes & strikes in Iran

                Student protests in Iran

 Tehran Pars Metal Company workers hold protest gathering

In Iran protest news, a group of fed up Pars Metal Company workers in Tehran held a rally on July 23rd demanding their delayed paychecks. This gathering was held outside the office of the company chief.
A group of Stratif Company workers rallied outside the office of this company in Tehran demanding their delayed paychecks. The Stratif Road & Construction Company is among the firms working under the cover of the Revolutionary Guards on special dam and road construction projects between Iran and Iraq.

Tehran

In Iran protest news, a number of young men and women in Tehran on Sunday, July 27th, clashed and beat Bassij agents in the Jamshidiya Parkway area. Bassij agents sought to fine the youths under the pretext of improper clothing and eating during fasting hours, yet they faced stiff resistance and were punished by the youths.
In other Iran news, reports indicate people went to great lengths to disrupt the regime’s so-called Quds rally last Friday. Groups of people in Tehran took advantage of this opportunity and chanted slogans against the regime and its interference in Lebanon and Gaza.
A group of youths in Towheed Avenue in the Iranian capital chanted slogans revealing the Iranian regime’s conspiracy and plots in the Middle East. People in these scenes rose to the youths’ support and chanted with them. The youths also clashed with repressive and security forces that intended to disperse them, with hit & run clashes reported throughout the capital.
In Tehran’s Palestine Square demonstrators chanted slogans against the regime and its criminal policies in Palestine and GazaConflict, clashing with agents dispatched to the area to disperse the crowd.
A number of youths in Tehran Parkway clashed with Bassij agents on Sunday, July 27th. These agents intended to harass the youth but were beaten in response.

Kermanshah – Angry Sahand Company workers on strike
Workers of the Sahand Company in Kermanshah on Sunday, July 27th, rallied and protested not receiving their paychecks for the past 6 months. They are currently on strike at the work site and the angry workers also damaged the stone-breaking equipment of this company.

Iran: six religious minority members arrested in city of Hamedan

               Minorities under severe crackdown in Iran

In Iran crackdown news, on Monday, July 28th, security forces in the city of Hamedan arrested six religious minority members after raiding the home of Einollah Yari, apprehending him and his two children – Hay Pega-Yari, 23, and Amir Hossein Yari, 14 – and transferring them to an unknown location. 
Furthermore, three other by the names of Mojtaba Norouzi and Bahr-Ali Farhadi and his wife, Saharnaz Afruzi, were also arrested and transferred to an unknown location.
To this day there is no precise information on the reason of these arrests and the fate of those arrested. 

US State Dept. report: Iran continues crackdown of religious minorities

                   US State Department

In recent Iran crackdown news, the US government released its annual report on religious freedoms in various countries across the globe, ranking Iran amongst the regimes that represses religious minorities.
US Secretary of State John Kerry presented this report describing harassment by government officials and rights violations against religious minorities by regime such as Iran as very intense.

UN report on increasing inequality amongst men & women in Iran under Rouhani tenure

        Men and women are not at all equal in Iran under the mullahs’ rule
                   Men and women are not at all equal in Iran under the mullahs’ rule

The United NationsHumanitarian Development Group issued a report saying amongst 152 countries in the world Iran under the mullahs is ranked 109th on inequality between men and women. Based on this report, Iran was ranked 107th last year. 
Of course, anyone who has the least knowledge of the situation of women in Iran realizes that such gross inequality in Iran between men and women is not strange at all. However, focusing on other details of this report we come up with significant and shocking aspects in this regard.
First of all, segregation and inequality against women in Iran during the past year, meaning under Rouhani’s tenure, has intensified and the status of women in Iran has dropped two rankings in comparison to other countries across the globe from 107th to the 109th. As far as Iranian women are concerned, this too is not unexpected in offices, schools, universities or on the streets, where they face various issues on a daily basis. However, the truth must be placed before Western governments and policies that are clinging to this deceitful mullah and his smiles and election promises, all to justify their appeasement policies. We have not forgotten that Rouhani in his election rally speech, and even after being elected as president, boasted about women and equal women’s rights!
The second issue raised in this report is the status of women employment in Iran. The women’s share of employment and the workforce in Iran is only 16.4%, meaning unemployment amongst women is 83.6%, and if this is compared to the education status of Iranian women and girls, also mentioned in this report, one can clearly see the cruelty imposed on Iranian women. According to this report 62.2% of Iranian women have intermediate and higher education. This number amongst men is 67.6%, meaning while the education status differential amongst men and women in Iran is only 5.4%, inequality in employment is over 53%, considering the fact that only 16.4% of the women and 73.1% of the men are employed.
This amount of inequality, segregation and cruelty against Iranian women is not in line with the Iranian society’s growth. We only need to remind ourselves of the number of girls attending college in Iran are more than boys, and according to some statistics – which of course are related to 6 or 7 years ago – 60% of all the college students are girls; in recent years the regime has banned and limited girls’ participation in various fields of studies and imposed gender segregation against them in an attempt to change this ration and bring it lower, to thus lower the consequences of this inequality amongst the most educated class of the society.
Another comparison between the status of Iranian women with those in other countries, especially in regional countries that are stated in this report, shows how cruel the existing inequality in Iran is and how far it is from the truth of Iran’s society.
According to this report the status of women in Persian Gulf countries, of which we all know their social and cultural status, are mostly above that of the status of Iranian women. For example, UAE is ranked 43rd, Kuwait is 50th, Saudi Arabia is 56th, Turkey is 69th and Tunisia is 48th. 
However, the cruelty, insult and segregation imposed against Iranian women are much higher than these numbers that only show the quantity aspect of the issue. Where in the world are women insulted and harassed to such an extent because of their cover? Where in the world do women feel so insecure in alleys, streets and work?
However, one has to be fair that this ferocious regime practices equality between men and women on one case; execution and torture. The last example was the execution of 8 individuals on July 20th and 21st in the city of Birjand where four men and four women were executed together!
All these pressures and crackdown against Iranian women result not only from a reactionary ideology and inhumane viewpoint of this regime. In fact, the mullahs’ regime is truly terrified of the explosive potential and revolutionary capability of Iranian women because the truth is that this regime will finally be overthrow by an uprising and revolution with women in the front lines.

Iran official defends gender separation in municipality

                 Even busses are separated in two sections in Iran
                          Even busses are separated in two sections in Iran

In Iran crackdown news, Abolfazl Ghanaii, member of the development and transportation commission in the Tehran city council, said: “We are in a country in which the constitution is based on Islam. Unfortunately, the entrance of Western culture into Islamic countries has resulted in men and women joining in some activities. This is while notwithstanding Sharia issues and their observance, the turnover of an atmosphere in which one gender is active in is a lot higher.” (State-run Tasnim News Agency – affiliated to IRGC Quds Force – July 27, 2014)

Low marriage age in southeast Iran province

                  Young Iranian girls promises away for marriages at young ages

In shocking Iran news, Dahmardehi, director of the Sistan & Baluchestan registration office said: “In the first 3 months of the year, 22,772 births have been registered in the province, which in comparison to last year’s number has had a fourfold increase.”
In new Iran news he admitted that: “The average marriage age in Sistan Baluchestan is two years lower than other provinces. In this province the marriage age of men is 25 and the marriage age of women is 21.” (State-run ISNA news agency – July 27, 2014)

Oust Maliki from power and brand ISIS and Iranian militia as 'terrorists', leading Iraqi politicians demand

                  
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki must be ousted from power and replaced with a secular and democratic leader who represents the interests of the entire country, two leading Iraqi politicians have demanded.
Sunni extremists ISIS should also be banned as a terrorist group, along with Iranian-backed Shiite militias like Asaib al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah and the Badr Corps, former Iraqi deputy PM Rafe al-Essawi and Nineveh province governor Atheel al-Nujaifi wrote in the New York Times.
Their article said Sunni Arab Muslims were now in a perilous position after Iran and the US used their influence to keep al-Maliki in power, which lead to the detention of thousands of Sunnis without trial.
 Exclusion from the democratic process and the violent crushing of peaceful Sunni protests has lead to emergence of ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, whose ideology Mr al-Essawi and Mr al-Nujaifi described as a 'perversion of Islam'.
Sunni tribes are now backing ISIS, not as fanatics, but because they see it as 'the lesser of two evils' compared with al-Maliki, they wrote.
They added: "But Iraqis can change that. First, we need a new prime minister. The Shiite parties must nominate a replacement for Mr Maliki.
"Iraqi politicians also must agree on a new balance between central authority and regional autonomy. The formula should include arrangements satisfactory to Iraq’s Kurds, who already have considerable local power; increased decentralization for the rest of the country; and a new arrangement for managing and sharing the proceeds of Iraq’s natural resources, particularly oil.
"Any agreement must include amnesty for the tens of thousands of Sunnis detained without trial, the release from detention of the Sunni politician Ahmed al-Alwani, the end of the counterproductive de-Baathification program, and the repealing of the counter-terrorism law, which has been used as a pretext to arrest Mr. Maliki’s Sunni rivals."
They said parliament should also reverse al-Maliki’s politicization of the security forces and establish new local forces to safeguard the population in Sunni areas.
They wrote: "The only armed forces permitted in Iraq would be those officially sanctioned by the government. ISIS would be banned as a terrorist group; so would Iranian-backed Shiite militias like Asaib al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah and the Badr Corps.
"A senior American official should be appointed to reach out to Iraqi Sunni leaders in and outside the country. We also need assistance to reform the Iraqi security forces, in which America invested so heavily.
"Another concern is the hundreds of thousands of displaced Iraqis. The government has given help to displaced Shiites but not to Sunnis, who have gotten help from Saudi Arabia and the Kurdish regional government.
"Above all, we must move quickly. ISIS keeps recruiting in Nineveh, and threatening anyone who won’t pledge loyalty. Despite the horrors of our recent history, we can pass through this difficult period — with help from our American friends."

Senate briefing condemns Iranian regime destructive role in Iraq

               
At a senate briefing at Capitol Hill, entitled "Tumult in Iraq: Maliki's Role and Iran's Nefarious Influence," several senior former officials and a U.S. senator strongly condemned the Iranian regime's destructive role in Iraq.
Armed Services and Appropriation committees member Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, former Democratic National Committee Chair and Vermont Governor Howard Dean, former State Department Policy Planning director Ambassador Mitchell Reiss, prominent author and Middle East expert Dr. Walid Phares, and former Senior Antiterrorism/Force Protection Officer, Coalition Forces - Iraq, Retired Col. Wes Martin spoke at the briefing.
The Speakers said the Iranian regime and its ally in Baghdad, Prime Minister alNouri -Maliki, are not part of the solution for Iraq.
They also called for the urgent transfer of exiled Iranian opposition members at Camp Liberty, whose lives are in serious danger as Iraq drifts further into conflict.
Senator Blunt referred to a letter he and colleagues Carl Levin (D-MI), John McCain (R-AZ), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) had recently sent to Secretary of State John Kerry to "press for the protection of Camp Liberty and to expedite the resettlement of the Camp Residents to countries outside Iraq, including the United States."
"We made a commitment. And in a democracy ... it is unbelievably important to do what you say you're going to do," Senator Blunt added, referring to the U.S. government's written promises of protection to Camp Liberty residents.
Governor Dean said if President Obama fails to protect members of the main opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), he "will forever be the president who allowed 2,800 unarmed civilians to be killed on your watch."
Secretary Ridge described Maliki as the "Prime Minister of the green zone," and urged Congress to "be more vocal" and "call for Maliki's ousting."
Colonel Martin noted, "We have constantly pointed out to our government, Nouri al-Maliki is not a good person. ... He's a puppet of the Iranian government."
Drawing on decades of research, Dr. Phares dissected Tehran's designs for the region: "Iraq happens to be the basis of [Tehran's] strategic regional outlook. Iraq is vital for the Iranian regime to reach Syria. And Syria is vital to reach Lebanon and Hezbollah." To protect its expansionist policies, the regime needs the umbrella of a nuclear weapon, he added.
"We have learned over the years that only a strong organized, centralized, multiethnic, pluralistic opposition can be the deterrence and the reversal of the Iranian regime. There are no other alternatives. ... that is crucial to the understanding of why Tehran wants the head of the [opposition] MEK," Dr. Phares added.
Ambassador Reiss called on the U.S. government to find a safe haven for "the brave men and women" of Camp Liberty, and said, "President Bill Clinton wrote in his memoirs that his single largest regret when he was president was his unwillingness to move quickly to stop the slaughter in Rwanda," We hope the same fate will not await President Obama, he concluded.

Iranian regime uses civilian airport to smuggle weapons to terrorist groups - report

                
The International Airport in Tehran has been turned to a hub for arms shipments to the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the Hezbollah in Lebanon and other militant groups in the Middle East and the Arab world by the Iranian regime's terrorist Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), according to the information by Western intelligence, a German daily reported.
The Quds Force has taken an entire hangar in the cargo area in the east of the airport site for these purposes. The block-shaped hangar that was operated until about two years ago by Iran Air, is now to serve the as a logistics center and weapons storage a Western diplomat with access to the intelligence information has told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The sources said last May a explosion at the airport that wounded two IRGC guards happened during the transfer of mortar ammunition.
The Iranian regime has been long using civilian airport and civil flights to smuggle weapons.
These action not only violates UN Security Council resolutions, but also the International Civil Aviation Organization agreement, to which Iran is a signatory.

Proche Orient : fédérer toutes les forces modérées à l’instar de l’initiative de la Résistance iranienne

                           walid phares
Interview de Walid Pharès
L’Est Républicain a publié une interview de l’analyste Américano-libanais Walid Pharès qui a participé à Paris à un colloque le 26 juillet organisé par le Conseil national de la Résistance sur le thème «la dictature religieuse foyer de la guerre confessionnelle au Moyen-Orient ».
Il a évoqué lors de cette interview « l’idée, à travers la réunion qui s’est tenue ce week-end à Paris à l’initiative de la Résistance iranienne et qui rassemblait des membres de la coalition syrienne, des Egyptiens, des Irakiens, c’est de fédérer toutes ces forces, qu’elles soient chiites et sunnites, pour favoriser l’émergence d’un mouvement démocratique. »
Voici l’intégralité de cette interview
Est Républicain - Questions à Walid Pharès Conseiller anti-terrorisme auprès de la chambre des représentants des Etats Unis
Interview publiée dans les éditions du lundi 28 juillet présentée ici en version longue
John Kerry était à Paris ce week-end pour notamment rencontrer ses homologues qatarien et turc, deux pays proches du Hamas. Comment jugez-vous la diplomatie américaine ?
J’avais conseillé de mettre la pression sur le Qatar et la Turquie qui soutiennent, chacun, le Hamas. Sans compter l’Iran qui lui fournit des armes et tire un avantage de cette crise : la communauté internationale détourne les yeux de son programme nucléaire militaire. Plus globalement, en terme de diplomatie, je considère qu’on a raté beaucoup de choses : on a soutenu en Libye des rebelles qui se sont avérés des djihadistes, on voit aujourd’hui le résultat, on n’a rien fait en Syrie et ce sont le Hezbollah et les forces iraniennes qui occupent le terrain. Ces dernières sont d’ailleurs à l’œuvre en Irak où les Etats-unis sont partis sans avoir favoriser l’alliance des modérés.
Combattre l’intégrisme passerait par un soutien aux forces modérées ?
Il faut repenser la politique américaine et transatlantique pour contrer la montée du radicalisme. Et cela passe, à mon sens, par des partenariats avec des mouvements modérés. Ce que j’appelle la majorité silencieuse. En Egypte, par exemple, cette dernière s’est élevée contre les Frères musulmans qui avaient pourtant gagné démocratiquement les élections. L’idée, à travers la réunion qui s’est tenue ce week-end à Paris à l’initiative de la Résistance iranienne et qui rassemblait des membres de la coalition syrienne, des Egyptiens, des Irakiens, c’est de fédérer toutes ces forces, qu’elles soient chiites et sunnites, pour favoriser l’émergence d’un mouvement démocratique. Et ainsi créer une instance comparable à l’Union européenne afin d’avoir un impact sur les sociétés civiles, de façon à hâter le changement. Et pour ce faire, l’Occident doit sortir de ses paradoxes.
Quels paradoxes ?
En France ou aux Etats-Unis, beaucoup de projets portés par les Frères musulmans ont été encouragés. Le résultat, c’est que les Frères contrôlent le message porté dans les mosquées, les institutions médiatiques… Quant au Qatar, l’argentier de l’organisation, qui investit beaucoup notamment dans votre pays, on peut certes différencier l’aspect financier et idéologique, mais il faut juste savoir que l’influence générée par sa richesse protège les groupes islamistes que soutient le pays, de sorte à favoriser l’extrémisme.
Pensez-vous que nous soyons face à une montée de l’antisémitisme ?
C’est une mauvaise interprétation des choses. Les réseaux appuyés par les islamistes manipulent l’antisémitisme. Pour moi, la nouvelle vague de l’antisémitisme, c’est du djihadisme. Dont les premières victimes, en Irak ou en Syrie, sont les minorités chrétiennes. J’en appelle d’ailleurs à une résolution du conseil de sécurité afin d’assurer leur sécurité, comme ce fut le cas au Kosovo dans les années 90.
Dernier ouvrage paru de Walid Pharès « Du printemps arabe… à l’automne islamiste », éd. Hugo Doc, octobre 2013

Propos recueillis par Sébastien MICHAUX

Howard Dean : l’Iran sous les mollahs est un « État terroriste » sans idéologie religieuse

               Howard Dean
Howard Dean, homme politique américain et ancien gouverneur, a affirmé que l’Iran sous le régime des mollahs est un « État terroriste » sans idéologie religieuse et uniquement motivé par ses intérêts politiques.
Dans une interview avec la chaîne télévisée Bloomberg, M. Dean a souligné que la politique américaine à l’égard de l’Iran avait besoin d’une profonde révision. « Le gouvernement américain a coupé l’aile dissidente de la population iranienne et a fait d’importants concessions face au régime iranien afin de continuer durant quatre mois supplémentaires les négociations avec ce régime », a-t-il déclaré.
A propos de la politique américaine dans la région, il a dit : « Je pense que nous avons tout faux. »
M. Dean a également affirmé que les Etats-Unis avaient laissé les 2800 résidents du camp Liberty en Irak dans l’insécurité, après leur avoir promis la sécurité.
Il a précisé que la véritable menace pour l’Irak ce n’est pas le groupe terroriste EIIL, mais c’est le Premier ministre irakien Nouri al-Maliki qui est une « marionnette des mollahs ».
« EIIL est un mauvais problème créé par Maliki. Je pense que l’Irak en tant que pays est fini et ce pays va être divisé par des chiites sectaires contrôlés par l’Iran. Il serait très difficile pour les États-Unis d’empêcher cela » a-t-il conclut.
Interview de Bloomberg avec Howard Dean

Les Etats-Unis appellent le régime iranien à libérer le journaliste du Washington Post

                Le Département d'Etat américain
Le Département d'Etat américain a appelé le régime iranien lundi à libérer un journaliste du Washington Post ainsi que  son épouse et deux autres qui ont été arrêtés en Iran la semaine dernière, rapporte l'AFP.
Dans un communiqué, le porte-parole du département d'Etat Jen Psaki déclaré: «Nous appelons le gouvernement iranien à libérer immédiatement M. Rezaian et les trois autres personnes. Nous continuons de suivre de près la situation." 
A Téhéran, le système judiciaire du régime iranien a déclaré vendredi que Rezaian a été arrêté en Iran, avec sa femme.  Esmaili a déclaré que "les forces de sécurité ont tout le pays sous surveillance et contrôlent les activités des ennemis ... ils ne permettront pas que notre pays devienne un pays où nos ennemis et leurs agents exercent leurs activités."
Rezaian a la double nationalité iranienne et américaine tandis que sa femme a un passeport iranien mais a obtenu la résidence permanente aux États-Unis.
Parce que les États-Unis et le régime iranien n'ont pas officiellement des relations diplomatiques entre eux,  le gouvernement américain a fait son appel par l'ambassade de Suisse, qui traite normalement de ces questions

Constitution d’un Comité des Musulmans de France pour la Défense des Droits des Achrafiens

                 
CNRI - Intervention de Cheikh Khalil Meroun, Recteur de la grande Mosquée d'Evry
Président du Comité des Musulmans de France pour la Défense des Droits des Achrafiens

A la Conférence à Paris, 26 juillet 2014 : la dictature religieuse foyer de la guerre confessionnelle au Moyen-Orient
Madame la Présidente
Mesdames et Messieurs
Avec moi devant cette tribune, il y a des hommes qui ont toujours défendu la liberté, la démocratie ; une paix et une démocratie dans un pays qui nous est très cher : l’Iran.
Je vais vous lire la déclaration de ces hommes qui sont présents et d’autres qui sont absents. Ils ont eu le courage de créer le Comité de la défense de nos frères et soeurs d’Ashraf qui sont actuellement à Liberty.
Au nom du Comité des musulmans de France pour la défense des Achrafiens, j’ai l’honneur de souhaiter la bienvenue aux représentants de la société politique, civile, religieuse, les chiites, les sunnites, et les hommes politiques de toutes sociétés, les parlementaires, des hommes et des femmes venus de tous horizons pour partager avec nous cet Iftar (dîner derupture de jeûne).
Comme il s’agit de la première apparition publique de notre comité qui agit en fait depuis 10 ans, mais qui déclare cette année sa constitution officielle. Je vais vous lire ici la déclaration qui est l’esprit même de cette conférence et qui a la signature des frères qui m’accompagnent.

Les soussignés musulmans français d’origines différents se constituent en Comité afin de défendre  une noble cause qu’ils partagent depuis plus d’une décennie avec leurs frères et sœurs iraniens mobilisés pour l’établissement d’une démocratie et des droits humains en Iran et la protection de près de 3000 réfugiés au camp Liberty en Irak (précédemment basé au camp Achraf) et aujourd’hui exposé à divers dangers menaçant leurs vies et leur intégrité
Nous considérons que les valeurs authentiques de l’Islam fondé sur la fraternité
(إنما المؤمنون إخوة) l’humanisme, la justice, l’égalité nous amènent à soutenir des musulmans persécutés dans leur pays à cause de leur conviction et contraints à l’exile, particulièrement lorsqu’ils ont été victimes d’exactions sous la couverture d’un abus de l’Islam.
Les résidents du camp Liberty, protégés par la loi internationale, reconnus comme demandeurs d’asile par le HCR qui a reconnu la plupart comme des réfugiés et poursuit l’octroi su statut aux restant, ont été victimes de trois massacres au camp d’Achraf, des pressions inhumaines et de plusieurs attaques meurtrières de roquettes contre le camp Liberty dépourvu de protection.

Nous condamnons la politique affiché du gouvernement irakien de « rendre la vie insupportable » pour ces habitants qui va à l’encontre des valeurs de l’Islam, en les privant des mesures minimales de protection, et leur imposant obstacles dans l’accès aux soins, aux médicaments et de mauvaises conditions d’hygiène menaçant leur santé. Jusqu’à la fin de 2013, 18 personnes ont perdus la vie à la suite de cet embargo inhumaine et plusieurs autres se trouvent dans un état de santé critique.
Nous appelons l’ONU et les Etats-Unis à assumer leurs responsabilités dans la protection de ces réfugiés iraniens et obliger le gouvernement irakien de respecter ses engagements internationaux à leur égard et de ne pas entraver les mesures de protection nécessaires.
Nous appelons à l’ouverture d’une enquête indépendante, impartiale et transparente des Nations Unies sur le massacre du 1er septembre 2013 de 52 résidents du camp Achraf et la prise en otage de 7 d’entre eux, dont 6 femmes.
Nous demandons le transfert urgent de tous les habitants camps Liberty vers les Etats-Unis, l’Europe et des pays Musulmans qui font la demande de les recevoir, en attendant, il est nécessaire que les observateurs de l’ONU s’installent dans ce camp en présence d’une équipe des forces des casques bleus de l’ONU pour qu’il n’ y est plus de massacre .
Nous soutenons également les efforts de ce mouvement pour la défense des droits de l’homme en Iran et pour lutter contre la multiplication désastreuse des exécutions et de la pratiques de la torture contre les ressortissants de ce pays quelle que soit leur religions et leur opinions et leurs appartenances. »
 Surtout, il est inacceptable que ça se passe au nom de l’islam qui donne la vie et qui ne peut pas retirer la vie. Notre vigilance doit être d’autant plus grande dans les circonstances actuelles en Irak et dans la région qui seront développées dans les interventions qui vont suivre lors de cette conférence.

mardi 29 juillet 2014

Iran judiciary officials prevent leave for pol prisoner despite undergoing kidney surgery

                Extremely harsh conditions for political prisoners in Iran

In new on Iran political prisoner Bahare Hedayat, she has been summoned to prison by the judiciary despite recently undergoing surgery. Therefore, this political prisoner who underwent surgery on her kidneys yesterday and must be hospitalized for two weeks, has been summoned by authorities to return to prison.
Amin Ahmadiyan, the husband of Bahare Hedayat, said, “All her papers were complete. The forensics have also confirmed this and the prison clinic confirmed that she needed surgery, and even the judiciary had seen all the documents and arrangements were made for her to be sent to a hospital. Finally, last week we were able to get leave to have her undergo surgery. However, despite the fact that we had provided all of her documents, the judiciary did not give her the time she needed. Yesterday we were in the Hashemi Nezhad Hospital and authorities said she must return to prison. Bahare was on the hospital bed and despite the fact that we said she has undergone kidney surgery and must be hospitalized to recover and her returning to the hospital may cause her problems, they didn’t agree and kept on saying she must return.” (Hrana – July 27, 2014)

Iran: five flogged in public in western city

                 Public floggings in Iran under Rouhani

In Iran crackdown news, the inhumane mullahs’ regime on Saturday, July 26th, flogged five men in public in the city of Kermanshah, western Iran, under the pretext of eating during fasting hours. 
Ali Mozzaffari, head of the Kermanshah Province judiciary, said, “Floggings for these individuals were carried out in public. They continued their actions despite being warned by the police.”

Gaza Conflict: Eid al-Fitr in Gaza under barrage of bullets & bombs

                Gaza homes bombed by Israeli forces

The people of Gaza marked this year’s Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan with a barrage of bullets and bombs. Israeli air attacks intensified on the morning of Eid on Monday. A mother was mourning the death of her child killed in Israeli bombings. A father whose child was injured in these attacks says, “Here we have no celebrations for the Eid. We cannot name this as Eid ceremonies this year. This is a shock, not a new year.”

Five years after massacre at Camp Ashraf on July 28-29, 2009

                 
On July 28-29, 2009, Iraqi forces stormed Camp Ashraf and murdered eleven defenseless residents while U.S. forces were still present at the camp and only observed the events as they unraveled. During the same attack, Iraqi forces abducted 36 of the residents.
It was only after 72 days of a hunger strike by the hostages, hundreds of Camp Ashraf residents, and Iranians across the world that the Iraqi government was forced to release the hostages, who by then were on the brink of death.
Amnesty International in its 2010 Iraq Report regarding human rights situation in Iraq wrote that the "Video footage showed Iraqi security forces deliberately driving military vehicles into crowds of protesting camp residents. The security forces also used live ammunition, apparently killing at least nine camp residents, and detained 36 others who they tortured."
" One unit of [American military from Wisconsin] was forced to watch helplessly as 11 of the Iranian refugees who had been under their protection were killed by Iraqi soldiers who stormed the camp firing guns and swinging clubs. The July 2009 incident at Camp Ashraf was condemned by Amnesty International."
 “Our guys were trying to intervene to stop it and they were told they couldn’t,” said Maj. Michael Hanson, deputy director of the Service Member Support Division. The unit’s commander, Capt. Andrew Weiler, wasn’t comfortable discussing the incident or its impact on his troops, said state Guard spokesman 1st Lt. Joe Trovato.
 A Fox News report on August 24, 2009, showed an American soldier "taping the attack by the security forces on the defenceless Camp Ashraf residents. Then when the residents came for help she and another soldier got in a vehicle and drive away. So that had many people at Camp Ashraf and many human rights organizations saying that the U.S. is not doing what is supposed to do in terms of protecting this community."
The attack occurredafter the Obama administration handed over the security of the camp to Iraqi forces. The residents of the camp warned the U.S. against such a course of action.
They had premonitions that putting the Iraqi government in charge of the camp’s protection would have serious repercussions on their safety and security, for the deep ties and alliance between the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, and the Iranian regime, the archenemy of Camp Ashraf residents, was no secret to anyone.
The U.S. government dismissed their concerns and left more than 3,000 Iranian dissidents at the mercy of the Iranian regime’s greatest ally in the region, declaring that the Iraqi government had given assurances on the safety and security of the camp’s residents. A few months later, the worthlessness of those promises were proven.
Less than two years later, in April 2011, Maliki’s forces attacked Camp Ashraf for a second time, making extensive use of firearms and armored vehicles to shoot down and crush the residents. The brutal raid, which lasted several hours, left 36 dead in its wake, including 8 women. More than 350 were injured.
As 2011 came to a close, the U.S. and UN urged the residents of Ashraf to move to Camp Liberty in Baghdad, arguing they would be spared from further bloodshed and would be quickly transferred to third countries. Yet, four missile attacks on Camp Liberty claimed the lives of tens of residents and have left hundreds injured.
Simultaneous with the relocation of Camp Ashraf residents to Camp Liberty in 2012, it was agreed between the U.S., UN, the government of Iraq, and the residents themselves that a hundred residents remain in Camp Ashraf to negotiate the sale of the residents’ property.
The U.S. and UN had given guarantees about the safety and security of those hundred individuals.

A year went by, and the Iraqi government did not allow the residents to sell a dollar’s worth of their property, causing obstructions and persecuting the residents at every step of the way. During this period, the U.S. and UN legitimized Prime Minister al-Maliki’s illegal measures against Ashraf residents through their silence and inaction.
On the dawn of September 1 2013, the hundred remaining residents of Ashraf were attacked for the third time. Nouri al-Maliki's Special Forces broke into Ashraf with the full accord and cooperation of the forces that were supposedly in charge of the camp’s protection, destroyed the residents’ property and brutally murdered 52 of the camp’s residents. Many of the victims were shot in the head while their hands were tied behind their back.
The assailants abducted seven others, including six women on which no information has since been released.
Western governments have condemned this attack, but despite repeated international appeals for an impartial investigation into the horrible September 1 massacre, no action has been taken thus far.
Camp Liberty itself has proven to be anything but a shelter and safe-haven for refugees. The camp was targeted with missiles on four accounts, the last one being December 26 2013. Meanwhile, Iraqi forces refrain from taking measures to provide security for the camp. The threat of further attacks continues to loom over the camp.
Camp Liberty is under a total blockade by Iraqi forces, and the Iraqi government interferes and causes obstructions in every aspect of the residents’ daily lives.
Given the state of unrest in Iraq, the Iraqi government’s open hostility toward the residents of Camp Liberty, and the Iranian regime’s aspirations and continuous plots for the annihilation of opposition members, it is evident that the situation of these 3,000 refugees will only worsen in the coming months.
More humanitarian disasters will surely come to pass unless the UN and U.S. government take action to ensure the safety and security of the residents and put an end to the intensifying siege that the Iraqi government is imposing against them.