Atrocities committed on our Baloch brothers in Iranian dominated Balochistan
BPP condemns show trail and execution by hanging of Nasrollah Shanbehzai

Nasrollah ShanbeZahi has been executed by hanging in public on Monday (19-02-2007; 10:00 AM) at local time in capital of Balochistan, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

An Iranian revolutionary court in Balochistan accused Mr. Shanbezhai a day after the last week's bombing that killed 11 members of The Elite Revolutionary Guards who are not accountable to any other authorities but are directly under the command of Ayotollah Khameneyi.

A Baloch nationalist resistance group known as “People's Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI)” has claimed the responsibility for the last Wednesday's (14 February 2007) bombing has been fighting with the rgime’s military forces for years since their groups members were kept in jail and hanged in public in the early summer of this year.

In a press release PRMI communicated "we only act in self-defence and whenever the Iranian regime kills an innocent Iranian, we act in accordance to all United Nations conventions that allow people and nations to defend themselves against aggression and genocide. We strive to force the Iranian regime to abandon its brutal policies against the Baloch people and other Iranian citizens. We campaign to stop discrimination, brutality, injustice, corruption and ethnic cleansing in Iran."

It is widely known that there are no civil courts or defence lawyers available in Iran for any defendant to prove his innocence, it was also unfortunately the case for Mr. Shanbezhai too. He has been beaten, tortured and forced by Iranian secret police to read a written confession of guilt on TV.

According to local people Mr. Shanbezhai was innocent but his only crime was that he was a relative of one of the members of PRMI movement.

According to the Iranian official news agencies the secret police have rounded up more then 65 Baloch people allegedly in connection to the PRMI organisation. In fact these were the people mostly youngs who had curiously gathered at the seen taking photos with their mobile phones.
Considering the Iranian regime's human rights violations we strongly believe these people do not get a faire trail and independent defense lawyer.

Balochistan People Party condemns this show trail and execution by hanging of Nasrollah Shanbehzai and appeals to the international community specially the security council of the United Nations:

1-To put diplomatic pressure on the Iranian state to stop human rights violations in Balochistan and release all political prisoners including the recent arrested Baloch people, to prevent a tragic outcome and stop its ideological war on Sunni Baloch and Baloch people’s national genocide.

2-In order to highlight the situation and suffering of Baloch people in Iran, we request the international Human Right Organisations to send a fact finding delegation to Balochistan.

Nasser Boladai, Spokesperson for Balochistan People Party 20-02-2007

CC: The European Parliament
CC: UNPO
CC: Amnesty International
CC: Human Rights Watch
 
Letter to UN-Ban Ki-Moon Secretary-General United Nations

Mr Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General
United Nations
New-York 19th February 2007
USA

Re: Security Council’s Press Statement No. SC/8957 dated 15th February 2007

Dear Mr Ban Ki-moon,

We learnt that United Nations Security Council on 15th February 2007 debated and subsequently in a statement condemned the bombing on Wednesday of Revolutionary Guards of Iranian regime in Zahidan. It is astonishing to see the UN as the protector of human rights body to be drawn into an unusual and unprecedented act by taking side with the Iranian state which is renowned for its violation of humane rights.

Sadly the Security Council was selective in its approach towards condemning terrorism and violence, therefore did not take into consideration the plight of millions of innocent Baloch people in Balochistan who have been under relentless oppressions, discriminations and total neglect in every aspect of life (political representation, economical, security, social advancement, religion, education and cultural) by the Iranian regime since its inception. The people of Balochistan are peace-loving and law-abiding in nature, but the unbearably harsh treatment of the Iranian regime for past 28 years wore out their patience as literally no civic venue in Iran is left for them to direct their sufferings.

It undoubtedly would have been far plausible for the Security Council if such a hasty statement was delayed pending on a thorough investigation by a commission from the UN. In only last year alone the regime has executed over 100 people in public in Balochistan with no fair trial or observation of their trial by international bodies. These executions are even acknowledged by the Iranian regime, and well publicised in the official press in Iran. Baloch are humiliated and degraded to an extent that such violent outcomes are inevitable whether one condemn or condone them. Therefore Baloch people see themselves at war with the regime. In a war attacks on one another happens. The difference is that one has so called the legitimacy of state with powerful and destructive apparatus such as Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guards), and the other has bare hands coupled with utter neglect of international community, even the UN!

We as a political organisation of Balochistan in exile simply ask the UN and its relevant bodies what actions have been taken or at least sought to see if Baloch peoples’ human rights are being safeguarded in Iran in the face of ongoing executions. Is there been any efforts by the UN to see whether the executed Baloch people had a fair trial? Is anyone ever been sent to Balochistan to meet with the local Baloch people and report back to the UN in New York on their treatment by the Iranian regime? Or even anyone in the UN has ever thought of Baloch peoples’ concerns? It is regrettable to say that the answer to all of the above questions is a painful no!!!

In the light of above questions, it is clear that the Security Council has resorted to some appeasement policy in the detriment of Baloch peoples’ human rights. In Balochistan no political party or activity is allowed. Baloch political organisations and parties are persecuted under the pretext of being anti-revolutionary and so on. We are forced to continue our civic political struggles for our rights in clandestine and outside Iran. No doubt every one desires to see development of civic society to further ones goals and rights, but in absence of any degree of freedom whether individual or collective in Balochistan, some Baloch fighters act as ‘eye for an eye’, so it would be fruitless to expect people or groups to recognise tyranny and injustices of Iranian regime, and furthermore to expect them of accepting oppression and eventual cultural genocide even at the cost of their identity and existence.

Now that the statement of Feb, 15th 2007 by the Security Council is a fact, we request you and the Security Council to reflect the concerns of oppressed people of Balochistan in future, and send a special representative for a fact-finding mission to Balochistan as a matter of urgency as it is feared that the statement of Feb, 15th 2007 by the Security Council has provided the regime with legitimacy to round-up any one and put to death innocent Baloch in summary trials. One innocent person, Mr Nasrullah SHANBEHZAI was already forced by torture to confess taking part in the bombing in a staged appearance which was broadcast on the state TV. It is reported in the media that he was summarily tried and sentenced to death by hanging within a day of his arrest!!!
His only crime is his relation to some members of the movement which claimed responsibility for the bombing. There are reliable reports that over hundred innocent Baloch have been indiscriminately arrested in Zahedan in less than two days.

On behalf of oppressed Baloch people Baluchistan National Movement (Zrombesh) appeals for your urgent intervention to safeguard innocent lives in Balochistan and bring the Iranian regime into accountability under the international law for violating the democratic rights of Baloch in Balochistan.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Baluchistan National Movement- Iran

CC: Mr Peter Burian
President of The Security Council
United Nations
New-York
 
SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON IRAN

15 February 2007 Security Council. SC/8957. Department of Public Information

The following Security Council press statement on the terrorist attack in Zahedan, Iran, was delivered today by Council President Peter Burian ( Slovakia):

The members of the Security Council condemned the terrorist attack on a bus in the south-eastern city of Zahedan in Iran, carried out on 14 February 2007, which killed at least 18 people and wounded many more.

The members of the Security Council reiterated that no cause can justify the use of terrorist violence. They underlined the need to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of this terrorist attack, as with all terrorist attacks.

The members of the Security Council extended their sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Iranian people. 15.2.07
 
An open letter to International Community

Dears,

The ongoing violation of basic human rights in Balochistan by the Iranian regime is a serious concern to us and people of Balochistan. The authoritarian regime of Iran has recently launched a fresh sever onslaught on Baloch people, on activists for democracy and on human rights of people in Balochistan.

Regime by denying such rights to people, Balochistan is made a vast militarized zone. In 2006 alone thousands of armed forces assisted by similar numbers of par-military forces were deployed in Balochistan. In addition the regime has begun to build a vast wall along the borders with Afghanistan & Pakistan. The only objective of this policy by the regime to erect such a wall is to prevent Baloch people of all sides (Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan) from having interactions and communications, and from sharing cultural values.

We consider the construction of this wall as making Balochistan a giant prison to Baloch people. It is worth noting that all these unnecessary and cruel measures are being taken and declared to the world under the bogus pretext of ‘war on drug trafficking and of course Al-Qaida’.

In late November 2006, the Iranian authorities took many diplomats from the European embassies from Tehran to Zahidan, the capital of Balochistan to oversee the build up of armed forces of the regime and implementation of its project to construct the wall. The European representatives also met with the “butcher judge” of the regime the cleric Nikonam.

The regime hand-picked this savage cleric and sent him from Tehran to Zahidan-Balochistan to suppress and crash the Baloch movement for democracy and right of self-determination. The cleric butcher since his arrival in Balochistan has been issuing mass arrest and sentenced many people to long-term prison. A large number of them are sentenced to death by hanging, and their sentences were carried out in public places and squares in different cities in Balochistan.

The atrocities of the regime in Balochistan and other parts of Iran are being overshadowed by the nuclear stand off. In our view the international community is also to be concerned for the grotesque violation of human rights and crackdown on movement for democracy in Iran. Of course the concern for the nuclear issue with the regime is paramount to the security and stability of the region since the regime is ideologically fanatic and irresponsible in character and deed. Meanwhile the regime in the stand off with international community has been taking utmost advantage to crash in a savage manner with full force and all available cruel means the basic democratic rights of citizens of Iran, and to deny their legitimate demands and crash their civic protests.

Mass arrest, torture, execution and sudden disappearance of activists for democracy in Iran has been intensified to an alarming level akin to early revolution era since Ahmadinejad assumed office. The regime has been arresting political activists under the fabricated accusation of being foreign spy, and sentencing them as traitors without a fair and proper trial and denying them any access to a defence lawyer. The treachery carries death sentence in Iran.

Baluchistan National Movement – Iran has been fighting against the regimes for inflicting injustices upon people of Balochistan for the past 30 years. BNM- Iran is a political, democratic and secular organization which strives for the right of self-determination of Balochistan, human rights and democratic rights of other nations of Iran. Our sphere of political activity is Balochistan. Balochistan is the largest province in Iran but in contrast to its vastness it is the poorest and most deprived region in Iran.

In Balochistan, Baloch people are being systematically denied education in their own mother tongue - Balochi, culture and religious rights and functions. More importantly, the national identity of Baloch people as a nation is denied outright by the regime. The denial of Baloch identity by regime is in apparent contrast to the Declaration of Human Rights, UN’s Charter and to the spirit of liberty.

In 2006 where in developed countries of the World the struggle was for more individualistic rights, Baloch people were confronted with a brutal regime which denied them their natural and national rights of recognition as a nation.
Nevertheless our nation is not without hope. We firmly believe that in coming years the international community would take a proactive stand and would support our nation’s desire to right of self-determination, recognition of our nation’s identity, for democracy and human rights in Iran.

Baluchistan National Movement (ZROMBESH) – Iran January 2007